FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Media Contact: Cynthia Carrillo
January 23, 2014 P: 602.417.1433
RAZA DEVELOPMENT FUND (RDF) RECEIVES $6 MILLION FROM JP MORGAN CHASE FOUNDATION TO INVEST IN VALLEY-WIDE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE ADELANTE EN FAMILIA – THE GOAL: INVEST CAPITAL IN ORGANIZATIONS TO STRENGTHEN FAMILIES IN LATINO AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES OF SOUTH PHOENIX, TEMPE, AND MESA.
Phoenix, AZ- The JPMorgan Chase Foundation has awarded RDF a $6M dollar grant as part of its CDFI Collaboratives program, to fund the initiative Adelante en Familia. The foundation’s CDFI Collaboratives program is a new $33 million commitment to helping CDFIs across the US build capacity, foster collaboration and growth among CDFIs and enable them to serve more people and small businesses in low and moderate-income communities.
“At JPMorgan Chase, we are pleased to continue our commitment to helping CDFIs and building strong communities, through our new CDFI Collaboratives program,” said Seth Mones, Global Philanthropy Vice President and Relationship Manager in Arizona, JPMorgan Chase Foundation. “We look forward to working with this Collaborative of four nonprofit lenders, led by Raza Development Fund, to advance their transformative efforts to assist underserved communities in South Phoenix.”
MariSol Federal Credit Union, Arizona MultiBank Corporation, and Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation will work with RDF to represent the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa and deploy capital as loans for small businesses, mortgages, and consumer products.
“Bringing Latinos into the practice of engaging financial institutions to create savings, make purchases and manage their personal finances will be of huge benefit not just to their long-term success, but to the nation’s short- and long-term economic growth and stability,” stated Janet Murguía, President and CEO of National Council of La Raza, for whom RDF is a support corporation and an important lending partner for NCLR’s affiliate organizations.
The overall mission of Adelante En Familia is to plan, promote, and facilitate development of sustainable communities connected to rail and transit that comply with Transit Oriented Development (TOD) success standards for all income levels through work with public and private partners. Areas of focus will be entrepreneurship and small business development, housing, healthcare, and education in the Phoenix Metro Area along the Light Rail, with a special focus on South Phoenix.
In addition to implementation of lending programs, an educational and mixed-use community development will be built in the heart of South Phoenix and is projected to bring life to numerous city, public, and private initiatives; while catalyzing progress for existing urban plans. Valley Metro’s Light Rail Expansion Plans, SoPho – Between the 7s, and developments funded by the Sustainable Communities Collaborative, are a few of the initiatives Adelante En Familia will capitalize on through its work.
“The JPMorgan Chase Foundation’s shared vision with RDF to strengthen families through community development is timely”, stated Tommy Espinoza, President and CEO, Raza Development Fund. “South Phoenix, rich in its families and various cultures, is a community on the cusp of becoming the new face of America. Together we can build hope for the future of our communities and our city.”
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