JPMorgan Chase announced on Apr. 18 that Miami is one of five winning cities in its inaugural AdvancingCities Challenge, part of the $500 million, five-year initiative to drive inclusive growth and create greater economic opportunity in cities.
The AdvancingCities Challenge awarded $3 million to five U.S. cities, totaling $15 million, which presented cross-cutting approaches to solving entrenched challenges in their communities. The four other winning cities are Chicago, IL, Louisville, KY, San Diego, CA. and Syracuse, NY.
The AdvancingCities Challenge launched in September 2018 attracted more than 250 proposals from 143 communities across 45 states and territories. Proposals were required to incorporate at least two of four strategic drivers of inclusive growth within JPMorgan Chase’s Model for Impact: jobs and skills, small business, neighborhood revitalization and financial health.
Winners were announced in conjunction with JPMorgan Chase’s 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report, which showcases the firm’s impact in communities around the world and highlights the Seven Traits of Advancing Cities. The winning cities and programs each demonstrated these key conditions for success that position a city to meaningfully expand opportunity.
The Miami Foundation’s proposal for the AdvancingCities Challenge emerged from the region’s comprehensive and soon-to-be released Resilient305 strategy being co-led by Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami and the City of Miami Beach with support of the Foundation. The Resilient305 strategy will enable Greater Miami and the Beaches (GM&B) to more effectively tackle emerging global challenges and trends such as urbanization, globalization and climate change.
AdvancingCities will fund work focused specifically on training local GM&B residents and businesses to be more resilient to chronic financial stresses, such as lack of access to well-paying jobs and insufficient business opportunities. To achieve this goal, The Miami Foundation will partner with the City of Miami, Health Foundation of South Florida, Florida International University and other government, university, and nonprofit partners to integrate efforts of service providers to increase access to quality jobs and work with anchor institutions to connect small businesses to procurement opportunities.
“Beating out 250 cities for the JPMorgan Chase AdvancingCities Challenge is a testament to how we are positioning Miami to create a true pathway to prosperity for all,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
“With this commitment, we can unlock crucial resources for small businesses, the backbone of our economy, driving economic growth and fostering a more inclusive business environment that reflects Miami’s values as a city of diversity and opportunity,” the mayor added.
“Building a resilient community requires everyone—across the public sector, private sector and non-profit community—to come to the table and work toward a shared purpose of greater economic opportunity,” said Janis Bowdler, president of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. “Resilient 305 is notable in the breadth of its partners and the strong collaborations across numerous governments, anchor institutions, non-profits and more to ensure that all Miamians have a chance to share in economic growth.”
According to the group, fragmented small business and workforce ecosystems are creating a lag in job growth at small businesses, high poverty levels and a workforce pipeline that is disconnected from the businesses that need skilled employees. Currently, Miami is ranked fourth in the nation when it comes to factors that contribute to income inequality.
“This regional effort under AdvancingCities marks a significant milestone for Greater Miami,” said Javier Alberto Soto, president and CEO of The Miami Foundation. “It’s an opportunity to unite and create solutions that will connect more people with jobs and small businesses with critical resources to prosper.”
To learn more about Advancing Cities and the other AdvancingCities Challenge Winners, visit www.jpmorganchase.com/advancingcities.
