New UMass Donahue Institute Report Outlines Wealth-building Opportunities for Boston’s Diverse Small Businesses

The UMass Donahue Institute today is releasing "Supporting Diverse Small Business Owners in Boston," a new research paper examining the significant barriers that Black and Brown entrepreneurs in Boston face in accessing the critical support needed to launch, grow and sustain their ventures. The research provides forward-looking recommendations that build on the success of existing citywide and statewide public and private programs and offers more data and insights on how to unlock more wealth-building opportunities for small business owners in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan and East Boston.

Boston and the nation are at a unique point in time with the COVID crisis disproportionately impacting diverse-led small businesses and while the economy is recovering, new challenges are emerging for Boston's small business community. Using a year of quantitative research, UMass Donahue's Economic & Public Policy Research team conducted interviews with City of Boston leaders, local Main Street organizations, chambers of commerce, community development finance institutions and small business owners in the four neighborhoods. JPMorgan Chase invested $225,000 for the partnership with UMass Donahue Institute to measure and understand the opportunities and challenges of Boston's small business ecosystem and develop place-based, recommendations to support business owners in Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan and Roxbury. <_o3a_p>

"Our research highlights that the businesses in these neighborhoods are committed to providing essential services to the community and are overwhelmingly looking to expand or grow in the near future," said UMass Donahue Institute Senior Research Manager Kerry Spitzer. "The majority of these businesses are owned by people of color and women. We hope that these recommendations will encourage stakeholders and policymakers to collaborate and find ways to ensure that business owners have an opportunity to realize their potential." <_o3a_p>

The research report organizes around four key themes: access to capital; neighborhood gentrification and displacement; technical assistance; and neighborhood conditions. The themes emerged through the research and interviews, with all stakeholders citing the continued critical need for diverse small business owners to have access to capital given the systemic exclusion they have and continue to face to traditional pathways of wealth generation, such as homeownership. Business owners, especially those with brick-and-mortar stores, were interested in ensuring neighborhoods' commercial corridors were welcoming to residents and customers.<_o3a_p>

"A recent JPMorgan Chase Institute report found that few small businesses reach $1 million in revenues in the first five years. Further, Black-, Hispanic-, and/or female-owned firms were least likely to earn $1 million in revenue within five years of starting business," said Rafia Zahir-Uddin, vice president of Global Philanthropy for Massachusetts, JPMorgan Chase. "The findings from the UMass Donahue Institute report provide greater understanding for the Massachusetts region around small business growth and in particular, equitable access to growth opportunities and resources for these diverse entrepreneurs." <_o3a_p>

Key recommendations from the report include:<_o3a_p>

• Access to Capital - Expand access to microloans and support the development of loans that do not require traditional forms of collateral. <_o3a_p>
• Gentrification and Displacement - Explore the potential of community land trusts and community investment trusts to meet the needs of small business owners.<_o3a_p>
• Technical Assistance - Support efforts to increase procurement opportunities for neighborhood-based businesses with anchor institutions to help sustain and grow businesses that have moved beyond the initial start-up phase.<_o3a_p>
• Neighborhood Conditions - Support the preservation, maintenance, and renovation of neighborhood sites and main streets.<_o3a_p>

The full report is available on the Donahue Institute website.

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About UMass Donahue Institute <_o3a_p>

The institute's Economic & Public Policy Research (EPPR) group provides clients in Massachusetts, New England, and beyond with impartial analyses on economic and other policy matters. EPPR is at the front lines of action-oriented public policy research examining the social determinants of health and work, as well as broad issues of inequality, equity, community vitality, economic opportunity, and upward mobility. Featuring mixed methods research approaches including economic modeling, population projections, geospatial analysis, surveys, interviews, focus groups, and secondary data analysis, EPPR helps clients make informed decisions about strategic policy, planning, and investment priorities. Since 2003, EPPR has been the officially designated State Data Center for Massachusetts and serves as the state's liaison to the Population Division of the U.S. Census Bureau. Additionally, EPPR produces MassBenchmarks, an economic journal that presents timely information on the performance and strategic direction of the Massachusetts economy. <_o3a_p>

Established in 1971, the UMass Donahue Institute is a public service, research, and economic development arm of the University of Massachusetts. Our mission is to advance equity and social justice, foster healthy communities, and support inclusive economies that alleviate poverty and promote opportunity. In collaboration with partner organizations and clients, we carry out our mission through research, education and training, capacity building, and direct services to strengthen our collective impact. For more information, www.donahue.umass.edu.

About JPMorgan Chase<_o3a_p>

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America ("U.S."), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.9 trillion in assets and $328 billion in stockholders' equity as of December 31, 2023. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.<_o3a_p>

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