JPMorgan Chase Commit to $5 Million Grant for Open Air Economy Collaborative

JPMorgan Chase announced a three-year, $5 million commitment to support the Open Air Economy Collaborative, a partnership of LA community organizations including Inclusive Action for the City (IAC), California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC), Public Counsel, and East LA Community Corporation (ELACC). The commitment will help local Black and Latina street vendors strengthen their businesses.

It will provide economic opportunities for low-income and immigrant workers, and play an important role to promote food access across Los Angeles County. This three-year philanthropic investment in Los Angeles is part of JPMorgan Chase’s $30 billion, five-year commitment to advance racial equity.

The Open Air Economy Collaborative will provide 500 street vendors and other micro-entrepreneurs with one-on-one coaching and over 200 vendors with low-interest loans. The community organizations will also help the small business owners address barriers frequently encountered when navigating the permit approval process, overcoming financial obstacles, and accessing support services.

Small business owners across the county scrambled to apply for federal coronavirus stimulus funds but many street vendors didn’t qualify for relief. A study found that there are an estimated 10,000 sidewalk food vendors working in the City of Los Angeles yet only 165 have received permits in 2021. Thousands more vendors sell merchandise and other goods in the open air economy and face a variety of challenges throughout the process of seeking a permit, hindering the majority from formalizing their businesses and accessing critical business development opportunities and services.

Rudy Espinoza, executive director of Inclusive Action for the City, a part of the collaboration, says street vendors are essential to the local economy, but they have difficulty accessing capital. He said the grant will ultimately help out Black and Latina women, who he says are the majority of street vendors in L.A. Espinoza said “We’re emerging from a global pandemic that has disproportionately impacted Black and Latina street vendors and micro-entrepreneurs. For far too long, these entrepreneurs and community leaders have worked on the margins of our economy simply due to the nature of how they earn their livelihood in the open air economy.