Company also announces recipients of recent corporate grants
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ameriprise
Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP), along with its employees and financial
advisors, recently pledged a record-breaking $5.5 million to nonprofit
organizations through the company’s annual giving campaign. The pledge
includes employee and advisor contributions, a dollar-for-dollar match
by Ameriprise Financial and money donated during special campaign
events. Contributions will be distributed to nonprofits throughout 2011.
Ameriprise Financial conducts an “open” campaign, allowing its employees
and financial advisors to designate their contributions to any eligible
nonprofit organization or one of the company’s featured partners:
Community Health Charities, Earth Share, Global Impact, United Way and
Feeding America. To further its domestic hunger relief efforts, the
company also matched pledges made by its franchise advisors with a
donation of approximately 1.5 million meals to Feeding America.
“The recession has had a serious and lasting impact on nonprofits and
the communities they serve, whether in the U.S. or abroad,” said Brian
Pietsch, head of community
relations at Ameriprise Financial. “I’m touched by the generosity of
our employees and financial advisors who have come together to support
nearly 5,000 organizations, including many that help people meet their
most basic needs, such as food and shelter.”
Ameriprise Financial also awarded 67 grants to nonprofit organizations
during its third funding cycle of 2010. Approximately $700,000 was
awarded under the company’s three funding platforms: Meeting Basic
Needs, Supporting Community Vitality and Volunteer Driven Causes.
Highlights from the recent grant cycle include:
> Supporting CAMBA Gardens, a sustainable housing project in
Brooklyn, N.Y.Funding from Ameriprise Financial will help provide
safe, permanent and affordable housing to more than 400 people,
including formerly homeless individuals and families with special needs.
Case management and support services will be available onsite and at the
Brooklyn Hospital Center, which is adjacent to the property. Christopher
Zarra, an Ameriprise financial advisor in Rockville Centre, N.Y., serves
on the organization’s Board of Directors.
> Funding the Oregon Food Bank’s Community Basket program and
helping make it more accessible to non-English speakers. A grant
from Ameriprise Financial will help the nonprofit organization ensure
that language barriers do not prevent those in need from receiving food
assistance and accessing educational opportunities. Brent Abney, an
Ameriprise financial advisor in Gresham, Ore., volunteers at the food
bank on a regular basis.
> Helping homeless Minnesota teens find shelter and a more secure
future through a grant to Minneapolis-based The Bridge for Youth.
Funding from Ameriprise Financial will help The Bridge provide for
teens’ basic needs, while also equipping them with the skills they’ll
need to live independently. Bill Williams, an executive vice president
at Ameriprise Financial, serves on the organization’s Board of Directors.
2010 Community Giving Summary
Together with its employees, advisors and retirees, Ameriprise Financial
contributed more than $12 million to nonprofit organizations during
2010. Specific highlights of the company’s community relations
activities include:
> Funding more than 227 programs nationwide through corporate
grantmaking.
> Matching $1.45 million in contributions made by employees and advisors
outside the annual giving campaign.
> Providing a double match on public donations made to Feeding America
during Hunger Action Month. Enough money was raised to provide more than
4.5 million meals to hungry individuals and families across the U.S.
> Partnering with the Ameriprise Franchise Women’s Interest Network to
fight hunger in local communities. Ameriprise financial advisors in more
than 60 cities across 26 states volunteered 4,500 hours during the
firm’s inaugural Day of Service.
> Matching $20,000 in cash and food donations collected for the
Emergency Foodshelf Network during the Target Holidazzle Parade in
downtown Minneapolis.
> Partnering with employees and retirees who contributed more than
50,000 volunteer hours to nonprofit organizations.
Ameriprise Financial is currently accepting grant applications for 2011
funding. Application deadlines are February 1, May 1 and September 1,
2011.
About Ameriprise Financial Community Relations
Ameriprise Financial is dedicated to utilizing the firm’s resources,
talents and volunteer time to improve the lives of individuals and build
strong communities. Through grantmaking, volunteerism and employee and
advisor gift matching programs, the company supports a diverse group of
over 5,000 nonprofits across the country. Additional information on the
company and its Community
Relations initiatives can be found at ameriprise.com.
About Ameriprise Financial
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. is a diversified financial services company
serving the comprehensive financial planning needs of the mass affluent
and affluent. For more information, visit ameriprise.com.
© 2011 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.
Grants Awarded: 3rd
Cycle 2010
Meeting Basic Needs – 40 grants: Accountability Minnesota; AIDS
Resource Center Ohio, Inc.; Boys & Girls Clubs Of Sarasota County, Inc.;
Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Charles County; CAMBA, Inc.; Cardinal Services
Inc of Indiana; Child Crisis Center - East Valley, Inc.; Chrysalis; City
Help, Inc.; Courage Center; Crossroads Programs, Inc.; Desert Mission,
Inc.; Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services of Saratoga County;
Dunwoody College of Technology; First Nations Development Institute;
Freeport West, Inc.; Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River
Valleys; Girls Incorporated; Golden Harvest Food Bank, Inc.; Greater Des
Moines Habitat for Humanity; Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona;
Habitat for Humanity International, Inc.; Hired; Lifetrack Resources,
Inc.; Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota; Metropolitan Family Service;
Mustard Seed Furniture Bank of Fort Wayne, Inc.; Open Arms Of Minnesota,
Inc.; Operation Homefront Hampton Roads, Inc.; Oregon Food Bank, Inc.;
Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity, Inc.; Sarasota Family Young Men's
Christian Association, Inc.; Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee;
Summit Academy OIC; Tabor Community Services, Inc; The Bridge for Youth;
The Women's Resource of Greater Houston; Tri-State Food Bank, Inc.;
Women at Work; Women’s Center Of San Joaquin County
Supporting Community Vitality – 14 grants:Austin Classical
Guitar Society; Beaches Fine Arts Series, Inc.; Carnegie Hall Society,
Inc.; Community Reinvestment Fund, USA; Junior Achievement of South
Florida; Junior Achievement of Wisconsin - Brown County District; Lux
Center for the Arts; MacPhail Center for Music; National Philharmonic
Orchestra & Chorale of Montgomery County, Inc.; Neighborhood Involvement
Program, Inc.; North Dakota Museum of Art; Pacific Northwest Ballet;
Twin Cities Community Development Corporation; Volunteer Resource
Center, Inc.
Volunteer Driven Causes – 13 grants: Apple Ridge Farm, Inc.; Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County; Boys & Girls Club of Camden
County, Inc.; Boys and Girls Club of the Foothills; Center for Child
Protection; Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches; Management
Assistance Program for Nonprofits, Inc.; Minnesota Special Olympics,
Inc.; National Multiple Sclerosis Society; Ombudsman Services of Contra
Costa; Rebuilding Together Peninsula; Rick's Place, Inc.; Women’s Action
to Gain Economic Security
Source: Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Contact:
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Stacy Housman, 612-678-7215
stacy.m.housman@ampf.com