Enterprise Cascadia, a
creditor and consultant to small businesses, community
facilities, nonprofit organizations and consumers in
Washington and Oregon
These grants will in most cases double
the existing capital bases of the organizations and allow
them to grow in a way they cannot today. Additional grants
will be announced at a later date.
“We thank Chase for its generous
support and continued leadership in the CDFI industry,” said
Jeannine Jacokes, Chair of the CDFI Coalition. “With these
funds, the industry will be able to continue its efforts to
further small business growth and strengthen some of our
most underserved communities.”
Over the last 18 months, Chase has
taken additional steps to support small businesses,
including lending 40 percent more in 2010, becoming the #1
Small Business Administration lender in the United States
and encouraging economic development through innovative
programs such as Chase’s “Loan for Hire,” which reduced the
interest rate on a small business loan for every new
employee the business hires.
Chase has partnered with top-tier CDFIs
for more than 20 years and remains a national leader in its
financing. Over the last three years, Chase provided more
than $1 billion in loans, grants and investments to CDFIs
and their affiliates, committing $100 million toward CDFIs
last year: $50 million for charter schools, in conjunction
with a larger $325 million charter school initiative; $25
million to small businesses; and $25 million for other
community needs, to be announced at a later date.
Nationwide, there are more than 1,000
CDFIs with a collective $25 billion in assets. The primary
mission of CDFIs is community development and the
development of programs and strategies to meet the needs of
low-income communities. CDFIs provide comprehensive credit,
investment, banking and development services and are
certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s CDFI Fund.
They have lent and invested billions of dollars in our
nation’s most distressed and underserved communities,
through innovative products and services that effectively
meet the needs of low-income individuals and communities,
and respond quickly and effectively to community needs in a
way traditional financial services firms cannot.
About Chase
Chase is the
U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan
Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial
services firm with assets of
$2.1 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries.
Chase serves consumers and small
businesses through 5,200 bank branches, 16,000 ATMs,
mortgage offices, and online and mobile banking as well as
through relationships with auto dealerships and schools and
universities. Chase also has 90 million credit cards issued.
More information about Chase is available at
www.chase.com.