JPMorgan Chase & Co. has awarded a $4 million grant to Equity Atlanta Collaborative— a new group that brings together Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc., Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, and Reinvestment Fund. The nonprofits will work together to provide targeted loan capital and consulting services for high-quality affordable housing projects and small businesses in underserved communities in south Atlanta and Gwinnett County.
 
As part of JPMorgan Chase’s PRO Neighborhoods initiative, the new Equity Atlanta Collaborative partnership was selected and is one of five projects nationwide led by Community Development Financial Institutions to accelerate economic recovery. The five CDFI collaboratives selected for the grant are located in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Miami and New York. A total of $20 million will be granted this year as part of JPMorgan Chase’s $125 million, five-year PRO Neighborhoods commitment.
 
These collaboratives bring CDFIs together to pool resources and expand lending activities for important projects such as building affordable housing, education facilities, opening retail centers, and supporting main street businesses in key neighborhoods. The Equity Atlanta Collaborative will focus on creating or preserving over 700 affordable housing units and establishing over 1,000 jobs through small business and housing development.
 
“CDFIs are essential change agents to helping revitalize neighborhoods and create new economic opportunities for individuals and families, and this investment will help build more paths to prosperity in our community,” said David Balos, market leader for JPMorgan Chase in Atlanta and head of the commercial bank.
 
According to an impact assessment by The Harvard Joint Center on Housing Studies, JPMorgan Chase’s 2014, $33 million PRO Neighborhoods pilot program focused on disadvantaged neighborhoods allowed 26 CDFIs to raise more than $339 million in additional capital for local economic and social service projects. This has resulted in $270 million in loans, financing first-time home purchases, the preservation and development of 1,975 units of affordable housing, lending to 331 small businesses and creating and retaining 4,432 jobs.
 
“I want to thank JPMorgan Chase and the Equity Atlanta Collaborative for their investment in our most vulnerable neighborhoods,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “By providing seed capital for rebuilding, they allow residents in communities that have been left behind to access affordable housing and other essential services close to home. This key partnership between a legacy business and a local nonprofit group will leverage homegrown expertise to give residents an opportunity to thrive and join the prosperity of our growing city.”
 
The Equity Atlanta Collaborative partners have demonstrated success in addressing the issue of economic inequality in Atlanta. ACE is the only small business CDFI loan fund in metro Atlanta, and ANDP is the only local (non-national) housing CDFI. With support from one of the nation’s largest CDFIs, Reinvestment Fund, these organizations will collaborate to devise comprehensive local solutions for some of metro Atlanta’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.