Chase gift to help startups

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

JPMorgan Chase Foundation has awarded $20,000 to the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber to help fund the chamber’s Regional Entrepreneurial Assistance Channel program.

REACH, which assists local entrepreneurs with starting or expanding their business, recently had its federal funding expire.

Tom Humphries, chamber president and CEO, said in a release that the Chase gift “assists us in continuing the REACH program, which is serving a very important purpose in increasing the number of business startups in the Mahoning Valley.”

The chamber said the REACH program assisted 117 clients last year. Five projects that launched created 25 jobs. The chamber estimated the investment impact of those gains at nearly $700,000.

“Through philanthropy, Chase works to promote economic and commercial revitalization of communities it serves,” said John Batcho, Chase market president. “We like the REACH program because it encourages small-business development and entrepreneurship, which can lead to new jobs for our region.”