JPMorgan Chase joins the US-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership (BPP) with a social investment of US$210,000 to improve the quality of life in the border region. This is the first contribution to the partnership from the business sector.
"Supporting the US-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership is very much on target for us," said Kimberly Davis, President of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. "One of our major goals is to help build assets and wealth creation in low and moderate income communities. We are especially excited about this effort because it supports a broad-based consortium partnering with Latin/Hispanic immigrant communities along the entire U.S.-Mexico border region, an area where JPMorgan Chase has a significant and growing presence."
The investment is part of JPMorgan Chase's corporate social responsibility strategy to promote sustainable development in the communities where they serve. In addition to its support for the partnership as a whole, this grant will specifically benefit five organizations: the Brownsville Community Foundation in its Assets for Independence Program, the Frontera Women's Fund for its rural El Paso Earned Income Tax Credit Program, the Arizona Community Foundation's Campaign for Working Families and its support for Hispanics in Philanthropy, and the San Diego Foundation to support the Family Asset Building Coalition.
Through its participation in the US-Mexico BPP, JPMorgan Chase will play a part in a multi-state, multi-funder and border-wide initiative that seeks to improve financial literacy and build family assets in low income border communities.
"The BPP welcomes JPMorgan Chase as its first corporate donor. This will be the beginning of a real synergy of sectors with one common goal: local sustainability for border communities" said Shari Turitz, Director of Strengthening Bridging Organizations at the Synergos Institute, managing coordinator of the initiative.
This leading global financial services firm will join ten other funders - including the Ford Foundation, the Houston Endowment, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in their efforts to strengthen and consolidate 22 community foundations in the region.
A community foundation is a collection of private and public funds that are pooled together to address community issues. Their boards consist of representatives from different sectors of the community and have the responsibility of determining and monitoring how grant funds are allocated.
The community foundation model has proven very successful in taking on some of the most challenging issues in the border region through their leadership within the non profit sector. They are contributing to local sustainable development by offering grants and other support to community-based groups and increasing overall philanthropic giving.
These community-led organizations have attained remarkable results since the first phase of the Partnership that started in 2002 with the support of the original funders. The community foundations have mobilized more than US$ 3 million locally for operations and community grant making; promoted creative community leadership and local philanthropy and increased their effectiveness in the communities they serve.
With JPMorgan Chase involvement in the second phase of the US-Mexico BPP, community foundations will further improve their capacity and coverage in the region, building community giving programs and improving quality of life for border families.
November 2005