JPMorgan Chase Announces Multimillion-Dollar National Commitment to Atlanta's Black Neighborhoods

JPMorgan Chase’s Heather Higginbottom, head of consumer mortgages, said the strength of their business is inextricably linked to the vitality of the communities they serve. Photo by Isaiah Singleton/The Atlanta Voice

JPMorgan Chase announced a multimillion-dollar national commitment to Atlanta’s Black neighborhoods during a June 18 press conference.

JPMorgan Chase focuses on resolving heir property issues for homeowners across the country, including Georgia, through legal assistance, valuation reform and estate planning services.

Heirship occurs when an owner dies without a will and multiple people acquire rights to the land, whether they live on the property or have paid taxes.

Left unaddressed, heirs’ assets create unstable access to property, making it difficult for residents to pass property to the next generation and access disaster assistance programs that help pay for repairs of the house or to reduce property taxes.

Following the press conference, two panels were held during which speakers discussed strategies to combat appraisal bias and heirloom ownership, which disproportionately affect low-to-moderate income communities and hinder the accumulation of generational wealth.

Panelists highlighted the need for cross-sector collaboration, philanthropic investment and political commitment to combat these issues. Speakers also highlighted historical and systemic factors leading to confusing title and land loss in Black communities, and discussed progress in enacting the Uniform Heirs’ Property Division Act.

Overall, the conversation highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach involving all stakeholders to resolve these complex issues.

JPMorgan Chase’s Heather Higginbottom, head of consumer mortgages, said the strength of their business is inextricably linked to the vitality of the communities they serve.

“Business growth depends on healthy, strong communities with good-paying jobs, excellent schools and, of course, safe, affordable housing,” she said. “Homeownership is not limited to where we physically live, but provides essential financial benefits, including the ability to obtain equity, and is a key mechanism for creating generational wealth as Interest rates and mortgage costs are increasing. »

Additionally, she said the path to sustainable homeownership has become increasingly difficult and for many existing homeowners, including many in Atlanta, high rates of heirloom ownership and bias assessment have made it difficult to maintain homeownership and benefit from their home equity.

“Appraisal bias has serious economic consequences for families and communities, discriminatory appraisal practices prevent homeowners from accessing their home equity to pay for college, medical bills, home repairs and the house, and we view heir ownership as an equally complex structural barrier that restricts the transfer of wealth across generations,” she said.

Additionally, Higginbottom said JPMorgan Chase is committed to removing these barriers, which includes the nine and a half million dollars it is committing to limit the loss of wealth in underserved communities.

Additionally, the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative (AWBI) and the Center for Community Progress received $1.7 million from JPMorgan Chase to support equitable development in Atlanta’s historically Black neighborhoods.

AWBI was awarded $700,000 over two years to develop a first-of-its-kind, data-driven development and retention strategy for business owners in Atlanta’s historically Black neighborhoods, like Cascade and the West End, using neighborhood level data and trends.

AWBI’s goal is to focus on the need to fill knowledge gaps regarding the availability of affordable commercial space amid rising rents and business closure trends. The research will empower policymakers to create meaningful and equitable change for Black business owners and the communities they serve.

This new research and place-based data will enable AWBI to co-create and promote policy and practice solutions alongside business-serving partners and their small business clients. AWBI plans to publish and promote an anti-displacement toolkit and technical assistance for use by public and private sector leaders.

As the national expert on systemic vacancy and community revitalization, the Center for Community Progress is deploying its two-year, $1 million commitment from JPMorgan Chase to catalyze new development partnerships for affordable housing.

The Center for Community Progress plans to host meetings of developers and local land banks to help facilitate the redevelopment of vacant, abandoned and blighted properties into affordable housing and to develop recommendations for the areas of philanthropy, policy and financing to advance housing affordability and energy efficiency. and climate resilience.

The initiative will support various for-profit and nonprofit real estate development companies in Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.

JPMorgan Chase has made more than $14 million in philanthropic contributions to metro Atlanta nonprofits over the past four years. Additionally, this year alone, the company has supported more than 1,800 small businesses in Georgia by providing them with the capital they need to grow and thrive and provided more than 77,800 hours of advice and support.

For more information, visit https://communityprogress.org or https://www.atlantawealthbuilding.org.

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