JPMorganChase Foundation

For the past three years, we have the great opportunity to work with the team at JPMorganChase Foundation on their AdvancingCities initiative. Originally called PRO (Partnerships for Raising Opportunities in Neighborhoods), this $125 million 5-year initiative supported collaborative partnerships for creating opportunities in distressed cities across the United States. At SSP, we starting working with the winning collaborations a year or two after they received their awards to build a peer-learning ecosystem. We held multiple in-person convenings, pivoted to more virtual events when Covid hit, and helped connect the dots between effective partnerships happening in different locations. Participants particularly valued learning about specific sectors of lending such as small business and housing. Can models being used by collaboratives in Wisconsin be helpful to collaboratives in California or New York? Not surprisingly, the answer is a resounding YES! We are happy to have been a small part of the success of this valuable program.