By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) recently announced that it will commit an additional $2.5 million to the Black Home Initiative (BHI), which will help expand its current efforts to identify and support new low-to-moderate income Black homebuyers and to develop affordable homeownership opportunities. This new round of philanthropic investments will bring JPMorgan Chase’s total BHI commitment to $4.5 million.
According to Vicki Foege, Manager of Philanthropy for JPMC, the Black Home Initiative in Seattle is a King and Pierce County-based initiative designed to increase Black homeownership in the Puget Sound region.
“We know the net worth of Black families is significantly lower than white families in this region. About 40 percent of Black families have zero net worth in King and Pierce County, which is completely unacceptable,” Foege said.
The BHI is part of the Connecting Capital and Community (3C) initiative, which was established by the Center for Community Investment at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in partnership with JPMorgan Chase. The initiative seeks to address systemic housing challenges using a fundamentally different approach in five major U.S. cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, and Washington, DC.
The multi-sector initiative aims to increase Black homeownership by undoing a system that has caused inequitable damage to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) households.
“We’re appreciative of the additional investment from our community partner, JPMorgan Chase, toward the implementation of this exciting work of Black Home Initiative. It’s confirmation that we’re on the right path,” said Michael Brown, Civic Architect of Civic Commons.
According to Foege, the BHI is leveraging and strengthening its relationships to create a sound and stronger pathway to homeownership for underserved communities.
“We know that homeownership is one of the best ways for families to build generational wealth. And given the history of the housing situation in the United States, redlining, and other systemic inequalities, it still lingers today,” she says. “We are funding this initiative as part of a national program, in several other cities as well, like LA and Chicago.”
The initiative pulled together a core team made up of members almost exclusively Black leaders in the King and Pierce County area, people who work in the community, who work in housing situations, non-profit housing developers, like Africatown, Homesight, realtor organizations, and organizations like the Washington Homeowners Resource Center. The goal of BHI is by 2027, there will be 1,500 more Black homeowners.
Entering its second year, BHI will utilize the additional support to activate the project teams made up of network partners to carry out the development of two new products, a Pre-development Fund and a Capacity Building Fund primed to launch in late Spring.
Foege says that the funds will address the critical need for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-led and for organizations and developers to have access to funds to support the analysis and design work of potential building sites and the completion of more affordable homes for mortgage-ready homebuyers.
The BHI network will build upon these efforts with the introduction of a comprehensive campaign focused on reaching potential Black homebuyers to help them complete the home buying process and obtain an appropriate mortgage.
“In our efforts to advance an inclusive economy, JPMorgan Chase remains committed to addressing barriers to housing affordability and homeownership, especially for households of color,” said Phyllis Campbell, JPMorgan Chase Chairman of the Pacific Northwest. “The Black Home Initiative is an important cross-sector collaboration to increase affordable homeownership for low, moderate-income Black households in Seattle metro and Puget Sound regions.”
To learn more on how to get involved with Black Home Initiative, visit blackhomeinitiative.org.
