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The bank plans to invest in the three initiatives over a period of two years and this was one of the major agenda items in this year’s Detroit Startup Week.
In a statement, Janis Bowdler, the president of JPMorgan Chase Foundation, reiterated that the bank believes that local businesses are the major contributors of Detroit’s economy. She added that they are doing a great job at creating jobs for the city's residents and promoting talent.
Of this amount, $780,000 will go to TechTown, a technology startup incubator based in Midtown. TechTown runs an intensive an annual boot camp known as Retail Boot Camp. The eight-week program trains entrepreneurs seeking to create brick-and-mortar businesses in Detroit.
JPMorgan communicated that part of this amount will be spent in expanding Retail Boot Camp to a biannual event. Another portion of the grant will be used to help local small businesses increase their income and take advantage of installment loans, grants and other financial resources as Detroit’s economy picks up.
The Accounting Aid Society will get another $410,000 of the grant money. The organization helps local citizens and local businesses on tax matters and access to financial resources. According to the Accounting Aid Society, they intend to use a portion of this amount to establish a fee-for-service scheme, expand their tax services and facilitate the local residents’ access to credit.
Another portion of the grant money will be used to network and collaborate with other nonprofits in the region.
The Great Lakes Women's Business Council is the third beneficiary of the grant. The non-profit is famous for helping women, minorities and small enterprises grow their business by training them about business development, certification and networking.
The nonprofit organization will receive $360,000. The Great Lakes Women's Business Council plans to use this money to offer their services and training to an additional 20 women-owned enterprises in Detroit.
JPMorgan has previously invested its grants in Great Lakes Women's Business Council. Over the past 12 years, the bank is estimated to have invested around $1 million in the organization.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. already approved the investments as part of the bank’s Invested in Detroit program.
The New York based bank started the program three years ago, planning to inject around $100 million in Detroit over a three-year term with the aim of helping the city revive its economy.
To this end, the company has been working with local organizations that have a direct impact on the local residents. Businesses such as Great Lakes Women's Business Council, Accounting Aid Society and TechTown interact directly with small businesses.
Why investing in them, JPMorgan is expanding the network and touching a larger portion of the local population.
As of today, the bank has already surpassed the initial estimates and projects to hit the $150 million mark by 2019. They have committed to do even more in the coming years to improve Detroit’s economy.
