Authors
Annie Leiter, Swati Gayen, and Nam Ha
How can communities foster partnerships to create sustainable economic growth for all? As part of the JPMorgan Chase Challenge grant program, grantees from Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia offer valuable insights on how they have strengthened partnerships to support economic development at the local level.
The JPMorgan Chase Challenge
The JPMorgan Chase Challenge grant program seeks to promote economic growth by supporting initiatives that test and scale innovative, sustainable solutions to advance economic opportunity for all.
The Challenge Grantees
Between 2019 and 2022, JPMorgan Chase awarded Challenge grants to 23 single or collaborative entities partnering with local nonprofit, business, or government organizations to deliver programs and services. Grantees’ work focuses on job and skill development, small business expansion, financial health, and neighborhood revitalization.
In parallel with their programs and services, grantees seek to create system changes that will generate sustainable practices and policies within their focus areas. Local evaluators partner with each grantee to explore the impact of the grantee’s work and support using data to improve grantee efforts.
About The Video
One way Challenge grantees advance systemic change is by forming public and non-profit sector partnerships to share information and collaborate on wealth building initiatives. This video from Abt Global highlights strategies from two Challenge grantees – the Boston Opportunity System Collaborative and the New Orleans AdvancingCities Collaborative – that received grants in 2020 and have formed partnerships to generate economic change in their communities. The video draws on annual data reports, collaborative interviews, and local evaluation reports the collaboratives submitted through Spring 2024.
About The Brief
As the Challenge national evaluator, Abt Global explores common themes arising from Challenge grantees’ work. This brief explores the varied approaches three Challenge grantees use to engage with people and organizations to achieve their goals. The brief delves into the creative and strategic approaches they used to tap the perspectives and expertise available in their communities by:
- Partnering with caregivers to promote change through participatory action research
- Partnering with a project management and systems change consultant to facilitate grant planning and strategy development
- Engaging service delivery organizations as subcontractors and vendors to expand capabilities and improve outcomes.
Key Findings
- Grantees participating in the Challenge draw on the expertise of both member organizations and external parties to implement their Challenge grants. This expertise comes in many forms—lived experience, practitioner experience, substantive expertise, and varied types of community- and industry-related experience.
- Challenge grantees engaged relevant stakeholders and partnered with community organizations, consultants, facilitators, and evaluators.
- These external parties help collaboratives refine their strategies, tailor their services, and align their systems for working together by drawing on their knowledge of the needs of people collaboratives serve.
Closing Reflections
- Grantees use a variety of approaches to engage people with lived experience to strengthen their implementation strategies and promote positive outcomes
- Grantees engage in collective planning, implementation, and learning, often with the support of outside partners.
- Grantees have engaged external partner organizations for multiple goals, including expanding their service delivery capacity and seeking expert guidance.
Related resources:
Evaluating JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s AdvancingCities Challenge and PRO Neighborhoods Competition
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