Fifth Third Bank to invest $180 million in neighborhood revitalization
Fifth Third Bank and Enterprise Community Partners have announced a three-year, $180 million neighborhood revitalization program in majority-Black communities within Fifth Third's footprint that have experienced disinvestment.
The Fifth Third Neighborhood Investment Program will support organizations that create cross-sector partnerships to serve nine neighborhoods in seven states. The recipient neighborhoods and lead organizations are Jewell Human Services Corp. in Arlington Woods, Indianapolis; Avondale Development Corp. in Avondale, Cincinnati; Cleveland Neighborhood Progress in Buckeye, Cleveland; Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc. in East Tampa; the Grove Park Foundation in Grove Park, Atlanta; LISC in Historic West End, Charlotte; Partners Achieving Community Transformation in Near East Side, Columbus; A Place of Promise in Russell, Louisville; and Claretian Associates in South Chicago.
Enterprise Community Partners will provide each neighborhood with technical assistance in developing and implementing a plan to address the unique challenges it faces, then help assess the plan's effectiveness at improving the economic well-being of residents and locally owned small businesses. Among other solutions, the program will invest in small businesses, homeownership, and workforce development to help boost employment, economic stability, and growth.
The program is a component of Fifth Third's $2.8 billion commitment — which includes $2.2 billion in lending, $500 million in investments, $60 million in financial accessibility, and $40 million in philanthropy — through the Fifth Third Foundation as part of the bank's Accelerating Racial Equality, Equity and Inclusion initiative.
"The residents of East Tampa have been waiting and hoping for economic inclusion for a long time," said Ernest Coney, Jr., president and CEO of Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc., which will use the funds to work with two dozen partners in six areas: affordable housing, commercial development, small business growth, homebuyer development, workforce development, and asset growth. "The partnership with Fifth Third will allow us to significantly increase the economic mobility and redevelopment process in East Tampa, helping to bring unfilled dreams and aspirations to reality."
(Photo credit: Fifth Third Neighborhood Revitalization Program)
