Detroit Regional Chamber > Racial Justice & Economic Equity > JPMorgan Chase Commits $5M to Black, Hispanic, and Latino-Owned Businesses Through Dollar-for-Dollar Diverse Supplier Grant Initiative

JPMorgan Chase Commits $5M to Black, Hispanic, and Latino-Owned Businesses Through Dollar-for-Dollar Diverse Supplier Grant Initiative

March 31, 2022
 width=JPMorgan Chase recently launched the Diverse Supplier Grant Initiative, a first-of-its-kind grant program aimed at providing Black-, Hispanic-, and Latino-owned businesses with the access to capital they need to secure corporate contracts.

Access to capital – or lack thereof – for small and diverse-owned businesses is one of the main barriers to scaling. Many organizations have created initiatives and resources to help overcome this, including the Detroit Regional Chamber, which launched the Black- and Diverse-Owned Business Series in 2021 to provide growth and development resources to small, diverse-owned businesses.

According to JPMorgan Chase, small and diverse businesses are often limited to which corporations they can bid for because of the requirements. This grant program, in partnership with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a community development financial institution (CDFI) and certified 501©(3), will assist small businesses in accessing more contracts.

“Far too many otherwise-qualified diverse businesses are prevented from securing contract opportunities due to the high cost of compliance,” said Ted Archer, global head of business partner diversity at JPMorgan Chase. “We’re proud to join LISC, our top suppliers, and other corporate partners to create an industry-wide solution that will remove common obstacles to doing business and contribute to building generational wealth in diverse communities across the country.”

Through the partnership, LISC will administer the initiative’s end-to-end support and report on the impact of this capital assistance on participating businesses. They will track new contracts with corporations, RFPs for which businesses qualify, the number of jobs created and retained, and revenue growth.

The Diverse Supplier Grant Initiative is a part of JP Morgan Chase’s global commitment to advance racial equity, where it pledged $30 billion by the end of 2025 to advance the economic growth and opportunity for Black, Hispanic, and Latino communities. This initiative amplifies that by creating an alternative financial resource, enabling business owners to meet the high minimum standards of most corporations. Corporations can donate to the grant program, helping it expand its scale and reach, and JPMorgan Chase will match dollar-for-dollar.

JP Morgan Chase’s initial investment is $5 million, set to match corporate contributions throughout 2022. So far, 28 businesses have committed over $1.2 million. Interested corporations can email LISC to learn how to donate.

Who Can Take Advantage of the Grant Program?

Although JPMorgan Chase and LISC are particularly interested in suppliers based in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York, the initiative is open to suppliers nationwide, including Detroit. The basic eligibility requirements that grantees should meet include:

  • Be a certified Black-, Hispanic-, or Latino-owned business (Learn more about Supplier Diversity certification and why you should get certified here.)
  • In business for about 10 years with annual revenues between $5 million and $10 million
  • Experiencing barriers to pending procurement opportunities
  • Have a tangible contract opportunity

To determine your eligibility, read this FAQ, then take a self-assessment on the LISC website. Upon completion, businesses will receive instructions on how to proceed.

How Much Can a Grantee Be Awarded?

Typical grants are between $25,000 and $200,000 and can be used for:

  • Tangible business and operational costs, including technology, cybersecurity, or networking remediation
  • Operational control enhancements such as disaster recovery
  • Increases in insurance and bonding coverage

What Happens After Being Awarded a Grant?

Businesses that are awarded grants and successfully secure new corporate contracts are required to return the funds to the original grant pool so they can be awarded to the next wave of eligible small and diverse-owned businesses. Those who do not receive new contracts can request loan forgiveness or repay the dollar amount at no interest.

“Lowering barriers to corporate-readiness by bridging a common financial gap enables JPMorgan Chase and other participating corporations to develop a larger pool of capable, diverse businesses to incorporate into their supply chains,” said Doug Roginson, program director and architect of the initiative for JPMorgan Chase. “Through this initial grant, we could potentially transform as many as 100 diverse businesses in the short-term, positioning them not only for contracts with JPMorgan Chase but for opportunities with the whole Fortune 500.”

Learn more about the Diverse Supplier Grant Initiative here.