Jamie Dimon
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
270 Park Avenue
New York, N.Y 10005
(212) 270-1111
jamie.dimon@jpmchase.com

Alternate email for Mr. Dimon: executive.office@chase.com

Nancy Stoneman
Senior Operations Manager
4 Chase Metrotech Ctr
Brooklyn, N.Y 11245-0003
Nancy.Stoneman@chase.com

Secondary Contact
Deborah Walden
Executive Vice President Customer Experience Chase Card Services
270 Park Avenue
New York, N.Y 10005
Deborah.Walden@chase.com

Gordon A. Smith
Consumer & Community Banking CEO
270 Park Avenue
New York, N.Y 10005
gordon.smith@chase.com

In 2015, JPMorgan Chase Foundation announced and funded a new lending program for African American-owned small businesses aiming exclusively to helping African American borrowers secure financing. However; despite their outward support of African American business owners, the global conglomerate neglected to enlist or invite African-American led organizations to help administer the financing. Instead, they selected a Hispanic lead CDFI. The lack of African American involvement contradicts the message to black business owners of support and investment into the community.

Fundamentally JP Morgan Chase Foundation has made the same mistakes that have been made in America time and time again that when it comes to African American’s others are better suited financial stewards. Although we are in full support of Hispanic financial empowerment, how does this help resolve issues in the African American small business community?

If a fund was set up to help African American businesses, African American-led organization should have been chosen to lead this effort.

Since 2015, African American small business owners have received only 13 percent of the $30million in grant commitment disbursed to VEDC.

In our last session, we were advised by executive leadership of JPMorgan Chase Foundation they are no longer working with VEDC and haven’t since early 2017. The funds were placed back in the Foundation fund. Yet there is still the fact of a 30-million-dollar commitment to African American small business owners within in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.

Let’s be clear the need has grown exponentially from that time; JP Morgan Chase Foundation committed, disbursed and then took the funds away.  Though VEDC did not do what they were supposed to do, does not negate the fact that there is still an ever-increasing need. Time does not change a misdeed into a positive. In the last 3 years how many businesses closed their operations resulting in employment opportunities being lost, a fund like this could have helped survive? This is not only about the capital infusion it’s the technical assistance and financial consulting that were also part of the commitment. You can’t change 300 years of inequities overnight.  

The National African American Small Business Loan Fund initiative based in Los Angeles was set to boost economic opportunity for African American owned small businesses to help serve low-income communities by providing greater access to capital. JP Morgan Chase Foundation is the one who made this commitment. We implore JP Morgan Chase Foundation to live in there edit, reallocate grant commitment of 30 million dollars, (The National African American Small Business Loan Fund 2.0) to an African American lead CDFI, based in Los Angeles.

By signing on to this petition. I agree and support Katherine Peoples McGill, The Peoples Peeps and The National Coalition for Equity, that JP Morgan Chase should reallocate 30 Million Dollars grant funds to the National African American Small Business Loan Fund 2.0 to a qualified CDFI located with in Southern California, to serve this initiative to help boost growth within African American Small Business low income community. I also implore JP MORGAN CHASE to allow The Peoples Peeps and The National Coalition for Equity to provide metric and impact reporting to the community quarterly to ensure the funds are providing the commitment of technical support and access to capital.