JPMorgan Chase’s Philanthropic Commitment To Address Challenges Created By COVID-19

Headquartered in New York City, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a multinational financial services and investment bank holding company. As of 30^th September 2021, JPMorgan Chase was America’s largest bank by market capitalization. With total assets of US$3.758 trillion, JPMorgan Chase is the fifth-largest bank in the world.

On the 18^{th of} March 2020, JPMorgan Chase announced their $50 million commitment to tackling the immediate and urgent long-term health and economic challenges created by the COVID-19 global pandemic. This is their global, philanthropic response to assist people and communities most severely affected by this pandemic, starting with an immediate $15 million commitment with the following breakdown –

• $8 million to assist those small businesses in Europe, China, and the United States who are vulnerable to significant economic hardships;
• $5 million for providing global and immediate food, healthcare, and other humanitarian relief; and
• $2 million to assist existing global non-profit partners who are currently working in their communities to assist with the COVID-19 crisis.

The $35 million balance of their commitment is to be deployed over a period of time, helping vulnerable people and their communities bounce back from this crisis and hopefully benefit from future economic growth. JPMorgan Chase will utilize its principal areas of expertise, specifically small business growth, jobs and skills, financial health, and neighborhood development, applying lessons learned from past experiences, such as AdvancingCities.

Peter Scher is JPMorgan’s Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic region and Head of Corporate Responsibility. Mr. Scher advised that JPMorgan is utilizing its resources to support employees, customers, and communities, but especially the most vulnerable, during this time of crisis. The firm will be providing immediate funds to assist those most impacted by humanitarian challenges; they’ll also be looking for innovative and sustainable solutions to assist underserved communities and small businesses recover once the crisis lessens.

Supplying Humanitarian Community Relief

JPMorgan’s goal is to tackle the immediate healthcare and humanitarian crisis by providing $5 million to specific organizations that are focused on providing food, emergency medical supplies, and other critical health-related fundamentals. The organizations involved and their financial donations include –

• The Solidarity Response Fund, which supports the World Health Organization, to receive $2 million to provide essential supplies and services, like boosting laboratory capacity to enable countries to detect and track the disease, providing protective equipment and other essential supplies to frontline healthcare workers, and hastening efforts to speed up the discovery and development of critical vaccines.
• The Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund to receive $1million to assist US communities in dire need of food security via a network of more than 200 food banks.
• The GlobalGiving Foundation’s COVID-19 European Response Fund to receive $1 million to support vulnerable European populations, focusing specifically on communities where JPMorgan conducts business.
• The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation to receive $1 million to provide both immediate and mid-to-long-term small business and healthcare support. This includes the distribution of medical supplies across China’s affected communities.

In addition, JPMorgan is matching ‘dollar-for-dollar’ employee donations to the above four COVID-19 relief efforts. All employees of JPMorgan have the opportunity to contribute to any or all of the above funds.

JPMorgan Chase Supports Small Business and Non-Profit Partners

According to research carried out by the JPMorgan Chase Institute, half of the small business economy does not have sufficient cash reserves to last more than two weeks, which means that the current climate could severely disrupt the small business sector. Thus, $8 million will instantly be deployed to support underserved and vulnerable small businesses; this includes $5 million in the US market and $3 million in international markets, as follows –

• Assisting Hispanic, Asian Pacific Islander, and Black-owned businesses that could have difficulty accessing capital to ensure their doors stay open. This includes entrepreneurs involved in the firm’s Ascend and Entrepreneurs of Colour Fund foundations in locations like New York, California, and Seattle. Support will involve technical assistance support for problems associated with remote working, and working with local Community Development Financial Institutions by providing interest rate buydowns and zero or low-interest loans to assist in offsetting unexpected challenges and business slow-downs.
• Supporting under-represented, underserved, and vulnerable entrepreneurs and small businesses across China and Europe, helping them navigate and access emerging support – both financially and non-financially.

JPMorgan will also be providing $2 million to their existing non-profit partners who currently face challenges supporting vulnerable populations adversely affected by COVID-19. These funds will be directed to their partners to assist in maintaining operational capacity while they adjust their programming, providing resources to support their resiliency planning, remote working capabilities, communications, and fundraising efforts.

JPMorgan Chase’s Long-Term Pledge

JPMorgan Chase has committed $35 million towards both medium and long-term challenges likely to be faced by communities as the COVID-19 Pandemic continues unfolding, at the same time working in conjunction with community partners, businesses, and Government. Utilizing its core areas of expertise, the firm intends to support the most vulnerable communities, small businesses, and individuals, as they face uncertain work opportunities, financial hardship, the shifting business landscape, and the pressure to maintain or even access affordable housing.

JPMorgan will continue working with existing non-profit partners who require additional support and flexibility to meet their clients’ needs; it will also assist them long-term to help advance an inclusive economy.