Chase, the retail banking unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co., today announced a $1 million grant to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and its community development subsidiary, the Raza Development Fund (RDF), to finance land acquisition for community development projects around the country. The grant will also fund financial education programs delivered by NCLR's affiliate network.

"Our $1 million grant will address one of the most difficult challenges facing low- and moderate-income communities: gaining access to the capital necessary to build vibrant neighborhoods," said Mark Willis, head of community development for JPMorgan Chase. "This is just the start of what we hope will be a significant and sustainable relationship with NCLR."

A land acquisition fund managed by Arizona-based RDF will receive $750,000 of the total grant. RDF is the nation's largest and most successful Latino Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in the country. RDF will leverage use the grant money, along with access to $10 million for loans at favorable rates, to assist NCLR-affiliated community based organizations around the country in purchasing and developing land for affordable housing, charter schools, community child and health care centers, and other service-providing facilities.

The balance of the Chase grant will support NCLR affiliates offering a variety of financial education services, such as homeownership counseling, affordable banking services and credit counseling.

"Thanks to Chase, this unique investment will bear real fruit in the construction of community facilities that impact the lives of hundreds of low and moderate-income Latinos throughout the country," said Tommy Espinoza, RDF president and a longtime community leader in Phoenix. "It's especially timely to receive this grant in the final month of Raul Yzaguirre's presidency at NCLR, marking another milestone of his legacy."

Yzaguirre, who is retiring from NCLR this month after 30 years directing the organization, helped launch RDF in 1999 with the goal of providing flexible, high-quality loans and technical assistance to Latino-serving entities. The announcement was made at RDF's annual board meeting in Phoenix, with officials from Chase and Bank One presenting the check to Yzaguirre, Espinoza and Janet Murguia, currently executive director and chief operating officer of NCLR. She will succeed Yzaguirre in January.

"This grant will significantly increase NCLR's impact as a community development organization," added Yzaguirre, who also serves as Chairman of the RDF Board of Directors. "I look forward to seeing this partnership with Chase continue to grow in the years to come."

Chase is part of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.1 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and businesses, financial transaction processing, asset and wealth management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JP Morgan Chase & Co. has its corporate headquarters in New York and its U.S. retail financial services and commercial banking headquarters in Chicago. Under the JPMorgan, Chase and Bank One brands, the firm serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients. Information about the firm is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1968 to reduce poverty and discrimination and improve life opportunities for Hispanic Americans. NCLR works towards this goal by providing capacity-building assistance to support and strengthen Hispanic community-based organizations, and by conducting research, policy analysis, and advocacy that offers an Hispanic perspective on issues critical to the community. The Raza Development Fund (RDF), a subsidiary of NCLR, is a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) established in 1999 to provide flexible, high-quality loans and technical assistance to Latino-serving entities. To date, RDF has approved more than 131 loans valued at more than $56 million. For more information about NCLR and RDF, please visit www.nclr.org.