NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

JPMorgan Chase announced five organizations will receive philanthropic commitments of $3 million each to scale innovative climate resilient affordable housing models. This work is part of the firm’s $400 million five-year commitment to improve housing affordability and stability for households of color, particularly in Black, Hispanic and Latino communities. The five organizations will work primarily in Inland Empire CA, Rio Grande Valley, TX, Buffalo, NY, Washington, D.C., and Miami-Dade County, FL with a goal to generate a broader impact on a national level.

As part of JPMorgan Chase’s strategy to combat the housing affordability crisis, the firm is supporting organizations advancing innovative housing models that can be successfully scaled throughout the country. Through testing new models and collecting lessons learned, these commitments aim to increase the supply of sustainable and affordable housing for households of color across the U.S., as well as influence key stakeholders in the housing industry, including the public and private sectors.  This commitment also reflects how the firm is building on previous experience and insights gained through its unique set of business, data, policy and philanthropic resources to help close the housing affordability gap.

The Challenge

Against the backdrop of historically high rents and persistent barriers to homeownership rates for communities of color, Americans are facing a housing supply crisis, with a shortage of nearly 3.8 million units nationwide.¹ In addition, the climate crisis has adversely affected housing supply, with extreme weather affecting about 1 in every 10 homes in the United States in 2021.² Low-income Black, Hispanic and Latino households are often concentrated in locations that are highly vulnerable to environmental disasters, subjecting them to effects of the climate crisis and economic uncertainty.

“In our efforts to advance an inclusive economy, we remain committed to addressing some of the barriers to affordable housing and homeownership to provide family stability and build generational wealth for households of color,” said Abigail Suarez, Head of Neighborhood Development, JPMorgan Chase. “More households deserve accessible options to homeownership and now more than ever we need equitable, sustainable solutions that better equip communities with affordable, climate resilient housing.”

Photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk.