JPMorgan Chase to Increase Its Philanthropic Investments to $1.75 Billion Over Five Years
As corporate philanthropy evolves, JPMorgan Chase has emerged as one of its leading players. The bank’s philanthropy, which we explored in a recent deep dive, already tops $250 million a year, putting it up there with many large foundations. Now, JPMorgan Chase’s corporate responsibility arm is poised for further growth, albeit along similar lines as it’s already been pursuing.
In a recent announcement, the company said it intends to increase its philanthropic investments by 40 percent, to $1.75 billion over five years. That averages out to an additional $100 million per year. Why is JPMorgan Chase suddenly getting more generous? Because its earnings have been rising and are expected to rise even further, thanks to to Republican tax bill’s breaks to big business, which are expected to net the bank $4 billion this year. A number of corporations have moved to defuse criticism of the tax bill by pledging that the huge gains they'll be receiving—in contrast to most ordinary taxpayers—will be put to good use to create jobs and expand charitable giving.
JPMorgan Chase has also been encouraged by the first few years of its new push to reduce poverty and spur opportunity in urban areas, an effort that it kicked off in 2014 with a $100 million commitment in Detroit. The bank's high command has been jazzed enough by its success there that it not only upped its commitment in Detroit, it rolled out similar efforts elsewhere, including in Chicago. It's hard to think of a corporate funder that's had quite such a run with its philanthropy in recent years. Now, the bank is looking to take things up a notch...