The Boston Foundation, City of Boston & JPMorgan Chase, announce $1.2 million investment in SkillWorks: Partners for a Productive Workforce

Boston – Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Boston Foundation President & CEO Paul S. Grogan, and Peter Scher, Head of Corporate Responsibility for JPMorgan Chase & Co, will announce Wednesday, November 18, at an event at City Hall more than $1.2 million in new investments for training and workforce development focused in the City of Boston, including $350,000 from the city, $400,000 from the Boston Foundation and $500,000 from JPMorgan Chase.

“The Boston Foundation salutes our workforce development partners, including JPMorgan Chase for their demonstration of community in our region,” Grogan said. “These investments, along with efforts by the city, and a greater commitment to SkillWorks from the foundation will ensure that more workers and employers will be matched in a way that fulfills both employers’ needs and those of Greater Boston’s families.”

The 11 a.m. event will illustrate JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s growing presence and commitment to workforce solutions in the Greater Boston region and introduce the firm as a new workforce partner to the City of Boston, the Boston Foundation, and SkillWorks – the goal being an aligned workforce strategy in the City between public, philanthropic and corporate resources.

“Boston’s continued economic growth is tied to the quality of its workforce and the creation of greater and more inclusive economic opportunity,” said Scher. “JPMorgan Chase is proud to partner with the great city of Boston and The Boston Foundation to help workers get the training they need to fill good-paying jobs in high-demand sectors."

Wednesday’s event will also mark a doubling of the Boston Foundation’s financial commitment to SkillWorks from $200,000 to $400,000, an initiative founded in 2003 by the foundation and a partnership of city, state, and public and private investors, who had, since 2000, been studying ways to help low-skilled, low-income people move into family-sustaining jobs while at the same time helping employers find and retain the trained workers they so desperately needed.

In 2003, the partnership launched SkillWorks: Partners for a Productive Workforce with the city, state, foundation and private funding. Through its workforce partners, SkillWorks has put more than 5,000 job seekers and underemployed workers on the path to self-sufficiency and served more than 100 employers high demand industries such as healthcare, construction, financial services, biotech, life sciences, hospitality, and green jobs. The Boston Foundation and the City of Boston have each invested $5 million since inception, which has helped leverage over $20 million in commitments from private foundations and corporate partners.

 “I am excited to announce this innovative enhancement of workforce programming in partnership with The Boston Foundation and JPMorgan Chase,” Walsh said. “For over a decade, SkillWorks has been a public/private partnership that has assisted Boston’s most economically vulnerable residents with job training and development. Today, we enhance SkillWorks with the inclusion of a new partner, JPMorgan Chase, and a generous recommitment from The Boston Foundation. The City of Boston is proud to join these crucial partners in continuing to invest in the economic success of all of our residents.”

Eleven Boston-area organizations have also received Fall 2015 SkillWorks one-year grants. They are:

• BEST Corp Hospitality Training Center, $65,000,
• Boston Children’s Hospital, $85,000,
• Jewish Vocational Services, $100,000,
• Boston Private Industry Council, $90,000,
• Cambridge Housing Authority, $85,000,
• Center for Community Health Education, Research and Service, $65,000,
• Career Collaborative, $50,000,
• Somerville Community Corporation, $60,000,
• Roxbury Community College, $50,000,
• Youth Hub, $45,000,
• Workforce Solutions Group, $135,000.

As for the $1.2 million investment to be announced on Wednesday, a portion of the JPMorgan Chase grant, which comes from its foundation, is a two year, $200,000 commitment to SkillWorks to support the launch of a new IT/Tech Industry Partnership in 2016, led by local employers from multiple sectors in need of filling jobs requiring IT/Technology skills. This support is part of JPMorgan Chase’s $250 million, five-year New Skills at Work initiative to close the skills gap through data-driven analysis, targeted investments and cross-sector convenings.

The JPMorgan Chase investment in SkillWorks is also helping to support new grants pooled with other funders such as the City of Boston’s Neighborhood Jobs Trust, The Boston Foundation, State Street, Bank of America and several family foundations making it possible for SkillWorks to serve almost 1,000 under/ unemployed youth and adults this year seeking new skills and opportunities for jobs leading to family-sustaining wages. Eleven new grantees will partner with employers in the healthcare, life science/biotech, hospitality, construction and IT/technology companies in the region.

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About the Boston Foundation
The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, is one of the largest community foundations in the nation, with net assets of some $1 billion. In 2014, the Foundation and its donors made more than $112 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of nearly $112 million. In celebration of its centennial in 2015, the Boston Foundation has launched the Campaign for Boston to strengthen the Permanent Fund for Boston, Greater Boston’s only endowment fund supporting organizations focused on the most pressing needs of Greater Boston. The Foundation is proud to be a partner in philanthropy, with nearly 1,000 separate charitable funds established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes.

The Boston Foundation also serves as a major civic leader, provider of information, convener and sponsor of special initiatives that address the region’s most serious challenges. The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), an operating unit of the Foundation, designs and implements customized philanthropic strategies for families, foundations and corporations around the globe. For more information about the Boston Foundation and TPI, visit www.tbf.org or call 617-338-1700.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.4 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. The firm uses its global resources, expertise, insights and scale to address some of the most urgent challenges facing communities around the world including the need for increased economic opportunity. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.