South Florida Collaborative Receives $1.5 Million Grant from JPMorgan Chase to Support South Floridians

  • Home
  • News releases
  • South Florida Collaborative Receives $1.5 Million Grant from JPMorgan Chase to Support South Floridians

South Florida Collaborative Receives $1.5 Million Grant from JPMorgan Chase to Support South Floridians

Grant to support individuals, families and small businesses facing financial hardship and improve long-term financial resiliency

United Way of Miami-Dade will serve as the fiscal agent of a $1.5 million grant awarded to the South Florida Collaborative by JPMorgan Chase. The collaborative, including United Way of Miami-Dade Center for Financial Stability, Branches, Catalyst Miami, City of Miami, Hispanic Unity of Florida and Urban League of Broward, aims to help low-to-moderate-income individuals and families improve their long-term financial stability.

Roughly, 54% in Miami-Dade County and 50% in Broward County of households are living in, or near poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already difficult situation for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) individuals and families.* Matching low-to-moderate income families with a full range of financial services will help restore Miami-Dade and Broward individuals, families and small businesses to financial health.

“The grant invests in the work of the organizations that together comprise the South Florida Collaborative, enabling us to pivot our services to a virtual environment, streamline and integrate services between partners and launch empowerment programs for small business and individuals, strengthening our community and economy,” Maria C. Alonso, president and CEO, United Way of Miami-Dade, said. “COVID-19 has tested our community’s resolve while underscoring the power of working together toward the greater good. We are grateful to JPMorgan Chase and our Collaborative partners in their efforts to build a more resilient and equitable community.”

The grant allows the Collaborative to increase its capacity to serve and respond to our community’s most economically vulnerable individuals, households and small businesses. Efforts include:

  • Transition services such as financial coaching and free tax preparation, to virtual and/or telephone
  • Launch new programs to assist with applications for unemployment, business loans and other emergency resources
  • Continue and/or deploy programs to help build liquidity and grow their assets, even in the face of difficult challenges
  • Align and integrate the services of the Collaborative partner organizations across both Miami-Dade and Broward Counties to maximizing utilization of the available services, preventing unnecessary duplication and increasing the impact for every client

“At JPMorgan Chase, we are committed to creating long-term economic mobility for some of the most at-risk and vulnerable citizens in our shared community,” stated Maria Escorcia, vice president of Corporate Responsibility for JPMorgan Chase. “We know that the Covid-19 pandemic has made this work only more urgent and needed. We are grateful to work with an organization like United Way that is helping to make a difference and create a safety net for those in Miami-Dade that need it most.”

By ensuring members of our community are able to take full advantage of existing resources, the Collaborative aims to significantly decrease negative outcomes such as unemployment, poverty, hunger, lack of access to adequate health care, loss of housing and homelessness, interactions with law enforcement, child welfare and more.

Established in 2016, the Collaborative has worked to: drive financial capabilities integration; establish standards of quality for financial coaching, tax preparation and other financial stability services; set common metrics and data sharing through regular cross-reporting; drive coordinated services to maximize access and utilization among Miami-Dade residents; and enhance staff trainings to provide high quality financial capability services.

Resources:

*United Way ALICE Report and United Way ALICE Report FL County Pages