How JPMorgan is Helping Put Women of Color at the Center of Economic Development in Central Ohio

JPMorgan Chase Invests $1.5 Million to Create an Equity Design Institute for Women of

Color.

Women of color are the fastest-growing population in Franklin County. Yet, Black and Latina women closest to our city’s economic inequities—and with immense lived experience navigating obstacles to economic wellbeing—are often excluded from the processes, powerbrokers, and resources to solve economic challenges.

That is why JPMorgan Chase announced a $1.5 million systems-change investment to fund an equity design institute for women of color, an initiative to embed designing for equity into the core of the Columbus community’s economic development efforts.

The investment is a collaborative effort led by Zora’s House, The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, and Columbus College of Art & Design, in partnership with four additional organizations led by and serving women of color in the region: Affordable Housing Trust, Columbus Urban League, Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity, and YWCA Columbus.

“Women of color are the backbone of our economy – as consumers, homeowners, entrepreneurs, business owners, heads of households, and so much more,” said Corrine Burger, Columbus location leader for JPMorgan Chase. “With this investment, we are eager to create an initiative that empowers more women of color to lead and design Columbus’ economic development efforts in order to help strengthen Ohio communities and create a more inclusive economy for all.”

The organization will be headquartered at Zora’s House, a local coworking space and leadership incubator for women of color, and will leverage design thinking to shift power dynamics so that the expertise, perspective, and lived experiences of women of color lead the development and implementation of innovative solutions to some of the community’s most challenging disparities.

According to the JPMorgan Chase Institute, supporting the wealth creation and economic success of low-and moderate-income Black and Latina women is foundational to building more equitable and inclusive communities for all. The Federal Reserve estimates if gender and racial gaps were closed, the 2005–2019 Ohio Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would have increased by $67 billion.

“Without women of color engaged in creating solutions, ineffective programs and policies are funded and implemented,” said LC Johnson, founder of Zora’s House. “This is a true systems-change investment that will start at the root cause of how decisions are made and is a critical step toward designing a city that hears, responds to, and implements a vision of economic prosperity designed by those most impacted by obstacles.”

Within the institute’s first 24 months, two cohorts of women will come together to learn equity-centered design thinking techniques, which they will use to generate solutions to pressing community issues such as childcare as a wealth decelerator for women of color. These cohorts will be taught by Lara Alsoudani Weeks, an adjunct instructor at the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) and partner & art director of Fringe 22. Alongside this work, a stand-alone certificate in equity-centered design thinking will be created and offered through CCAD to both organiza- tional participants and the general public.

“Iterative thinking and equitable design education are critical for removing barriers to economic success and ensuring women of color are at the table to shape solutions for the future,” said Jennifer Schlueter, CCAD Associate Provost & Dean of Academics. “Our equity-centered design thinking certificate will provide much-needed formal resources to the community at large to solve problems in a creative and inclusive way, serving as a lever for social change at organizations across central Ohio.”

An equity catalyst fund will support promising collaborative ventures that come out of the equity design institute in phases of ideation, feasibility, planning, due diligence, and implementation. The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, longtime leader of social change and disruptive innovation in Columbus, will act as a fiduciary agent to manage and disperse granted funds for both short-term institute design and implementation and long-term financial sustainability.

“Social change is already happening in our community—this monumental grant demonstrates confidence in the people who are best equipped to accelerate the critical work of building an equitable city,” said Kelley Griesmer, President & CEO of The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio. “Allowing women of color to address the wealth barriers they face by designing economic solutions that imbed their lived experiences will help eliminate stark disparities that have existed for centuries.”