Inspired by the downtown community, he plans to help more African American and Latino consumers open and grow their businesses
Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase
To boost economic opportunities for minorities, Chase Bank opened a branch that will function as a community center in the City of Oakland, and it is the first of its kind in Northern California, and just one of 12 out of 4,800 branches. they have all over the country.
“Oakland represents a proud and passionate community where there are many talented consumers and entrepreneurs, but they don’t always have access,” said Jonathan Morales, head of business and community development for Chase in California.
That is why – he explained – they are launching branches like the Oakland Community Center where they provide access to experts, resources and solutions. “These are all free educational resources for people to grow, change their trajectory and have an impact on the economy.”
He added that “the two staples of this branch are our branch manager, Latanya Millican, who is from this area, and also our community manager, Myesha Brown.”
He said these two incredible resources will lead this effort at the local level. “We also offer the local community access to subject matter experts from across the bank, small business support and financial wealth education.”
Morales stated that although this is a new commitment and a new style of branch, they have always been committed to providing solutions to the communities they serve.
“We are really finding ways to attract people and you don’t have to have a bank account to use the center, and this is just the beginning.”
Located at 3005 Broadway Avenue, the Oakland Community Center offers a variety of innovative tools and resources to help grow local entrepreneurs to open or expand their small businesses.
It offers them a community room where they can host events, community groups, and local non-profit organizations.
It also has a free Wi-Fi and technology desk for community groups and residents. He will provide workshops on establishing financial health, sessions on saving, budgeting, and building good credit; and services to help open bank accounts.
“We continue our mission to go beyond banking to contribute to community development and help them grow,” said Lawrence Bailey, Head of Business and Community Development for Chase Consumer Banking nationwide.
“The doors are now open at the Oakland Community Center to welcome local residents. We will host financial health seminars for the community to learn and get advice on how to achieve their financial goals and ultimately build generational wealth.”
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said the new Community Center in Oakland is a testament to JPMorgan Chase’s ongoing commitment to investing in local communities.
“We are putting our communities first and this new center will serve as a place for our residents to have information and to grow.”
For his part, Jamie Dimon, president of Chase said that Covid and the murder of George Floyd taught them something they already knew, that when bad things happen, poor communities are the most affected.
“A bank needs to be part of the community. We are dedicated to trying to lift people up.”
Small business expansion
The new Oakland Community Center branch is part of the company’s $ 30 billion investment commitment to promote racial equity and advance economic opportunity in African American and Latino communities.
With this commitment, Chase recently launched a new program to accelerate the growth of minority small businesses in 13 cities across the United States, including the San Francisco Bay area.
Through this initiative, available to both Chase clients and non-clients, small business owners are assigned a senior business consultant who provides advisory services for three to six months, including mentoring, development guidance business and financial planning.
“After collaborating with my senior Chase business consultant Nykole Prevost, our chief operating officer and I were able to identify the areas where business can really impact our local communities on a schedule faster than we originally envisioned.” said Derrick Hill, founder and president of Hill & Quality Associates, LLC.
Over the next five years, Chase plans to provide an additional 15,000 loans of up to $2 billion to small businesses in predominantly African-American and Latino populations.
Increase in home ownership
“The housing crisis continues to affect the Oakland community, especially in the Fruitvale and East Oakland areas, and that is why partnerships with companies like JPMorgan Chase are vital to creating more opportunities to provide affordable housing,” he said. Chris Iglesias, director of The Unity Council organization.
“Being anchored in Fruitvale for more than 50 years helps us identify the needs of the community in real time so that we can act quickly.”
Chase offers a variety of solutions in terms of housing; and in the last 5 years it has invested more than $ 300 million in Oakland in low-cost, long-term loans for low-income housing to protect local residents from displacement.
Specifically in the San Antonio and Fruitvale neighborhoods of Oakland, they have collaborated with organizations such as the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation and The Unity Council to preserve their homes with a $ 35 million loan through the Housing for Health Fund; and they have also made an $85 million collaboration with Enterprise Community Partners, Kaiser Permanente and JPMorgan Chase.
They will also offer a $5,000 grant to cover closing costs and down payment to home buyers in diverse and underserved communities across the country.
Customers who complete a certified education course can also save an additional $500 on a Chase DreamMaker mortgage.
Local hiring to serve the neighborhood
The new community center in Oakland has a full-time community manager who will help connect residents with interactive programs on topics such as credit, budgeting, and saving for their future.
New Community Manager Millican along with staff will provide financial workshops to local groups in the Oakland community.
“Serving the local community is our top priority and it is important that we continue to be there for our residents to help them meet their financial needs,” said Millican.
“We are excited to find ways to continue helping the Oakland community reach its financial goals.”
She added that this center will impact lives and make a difference.
The Oakland Community Center branch will also employ a community home loan expert who will be dedicated to helping more people in the neighborhood become homeowners.
The first prototype of this new branch model opened in 2019 in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, followed by Minneapolis, Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston and Boston.
JPMorgan Chase has a long history of more than 130 years serving the Bay Area, and has about 3 million customers and a local network of more than 135 branches.
