JPMorgan Chase & Co. commits $3 million to Memphis CDFI Network that includes HOPE

Four organizations from the Memphis Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Network – United Housing, River City Capital Investment, Communities Unlimited and Hope Credit Union – were awarded $3 million through JPMorgan Chase’s sixth annual national competition, Partnership for Raising Opportunity in Neighborhoods (PRO Neighborhoods). With this investment, the Memphis CDFI Network will launch its place-based strategy of working alongside residents in Memphis’ Frayser and Whitehaven neighborhoods, with hopes of moving to other Memphis 3.0, a 20-year comprehensive plan guiding the city of Memphis, communities in the near future. 

“Recognition of our efforts in Memphis, and the support to expand these efforts, is an enormous step forward for the development of a more equitable housing and business landscape in Memphis,” said Amy Schaftlein, executive director of United Housing, “With the support of JPMorgan Chase and in partnership with the three other organizations, we will create opportunities for Memphis families to find social and economic stability through homeownership and business owners to find profitability through stable business loans.”

The proposal submitted by the Memphis CDFI Network, Advancing Resident Priorities for Homeownership and Small Business Growth, focuses on community-level educational opportunities, housing and small business initiatives and access to capital – all in alignment with the needs of the Frayser and Whitehaven communities. Over three years, the commitment will be used to create small business loans, create or preserve affordable housing units, provide consumer loans and increase access to educational programs related to financial literacy, lending and credit and homeownership.

“With this investment, we are excited to launch MEMShops in Frayser and Whitehaven early next year,” said Cynthia Terry, director of entrepreneurship for Communities Unlimited. “We will work with neighborhood partners to recruit and support local residents interested in starting a new business, relocating an existing business, or moving a home-based business into one of these two neighborhoods.”

This national PRO Neighborhoods competition, which launched in 2016 and aims to spark collaboration among community organizations to tackle neighborhood-specific challenges, is part of JPMorgan Chase’s $125-million commitment to neighborhood revitalization.

“We were very impressed by the fact these CDFIs have been meeting for years without a funding incentive to do so. They have been collaborating, thinking, and dreaming about a better future for Memphis,” said Tom Simpson, market leader for JPMorgan Chase in West Tennessee. “As a born-and-bred Memphian, I am very proud to see JPMorgan Chase join with these dedicated community partners. Putting this kind of money into neighborhoods that desperately need investment and attention is huge for our city.”

Certified by the U.S. Treasury, CDFIs fill a vital role in the nation’s financial services delivery system, offering loan products, financial programs and other services to families and communities that are difficult for traditional financial institutions to serve. The Memphis CDFI Network offers a unique collaborative of mission-driven nonprofits that offer holistic offerings such as housing mortgages, homebuyer education, credit unions, consumer lending, small business technical assistance, and small business lending.

Programming is expected to begin in early 2020.

About UHI

United Housing, Inc. is a nonprofit affordable housing agency that serves the City of Memphis, Shelby County and West Tennessee. UHI targets its services to families that are underserved by the traditional homeownership industry. Its mission is to provide quality housing opportunities to Mid-South residents through financial education, mortgage lending, home building and renovation, and creative partnerships with public, private and nonprofit entities. For more information about United Housing, visit http://www.uhinc.org.

About RCCI

River City Capital Investment Corporation is Memphis’ only homegrown Community Development Financial Institution that operates a small business loan fund. It is a mission-driven neighborhood revitalization organization that facilitates loans and support services to entrepreneurs and businesses in underserved communities.

About Communities Unlimited

Communities Unlimited (CU) is a nonprofit CDFI serving Memphis, Tennessee since 1999. CU has offices across seven states to include Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Mostly focused on rural communities, its mission is to drive community economic development through infrastructure improvement, community leadership development, small business startups and growth, and access to capital.

About HOPE 

HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and Hope Policy Institute) provides affordable financial services; leverages private, public and philanthropic resources; and engages in policy analysis to fulfill its mission of strengthening communities, building assets, and improving lives in economically distressed parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Since 1994, HOPE has generated billions of dollars in financing that has benefitted more than one million individuals living in one of the nation’s most impoverished regions.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.7 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of customers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.