Corporate Responsibility Updates 2011

American Express Partners in Preservation

Historic preservation has long been the hallmark of American Express's involvement in the community, reflecting its recognition of the contribution of historic sites and monuments to a sense of national and local identity and the role that their preservation can play in attracting visitors and revitalizing neighborhoods.

As early as 1983, American Express launched a cause-related marketing effort that raised $1.7 million for the preservation of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. In June 2006, the company announced the American Express Partners in Preservation initiative with the World Monuments Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Partners in Preservation aims to increase public awareness of the importance of historic and environmental conservation, preserve global historic and cultural landmarks, educate visitors on sustainable tourism and strengthen local communities through preservation efforts.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation
American Express' partnership with the National Trust seeks to increase public awareness of the importance of historic and environmental conservation in the United States, preserve American historic and cultural landmarks and strengthen local communities through preservation efforts. The National Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring America's historic landmarks and communities. The partnership with the National Trust was born out of a desire to commit funds to help preserve historic sites in concentrated regions in the United States, and we committed $5.5 million over 5 years to this effort. In 2006, we donated $1 million toward preserving 13 historic sites in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2007, we expanded this community-focused initiative to the Chicago metropolitan area, donating $1 million toward preserving 15 historic sites. In 2008 we brought significant resources to saving community anchors in New Orleans damaged by Hurricane Katrina. In 2009 we focused our Partners in Preservation program in Greater Boston where we donated $1 million towards preserving 12 historic sites. 2010 brought Partners in Preservation to the Seattle/Puget Sound area, where we donated $1 million toward preserving 11 sites.

American Express renewed our partnership with the National Trust committing 10 million dollars over the next five years in support of restoring historic sites around the country. In 2011, we help preserve 14 historic sites in the Twin Cities. Please visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/PartnersinPreservation for more details.Our 2012 location has not been announced. Please check back this spring to learn more.

The World Monuments Fund
As founding sponsor of the World Monuments Watch program in 1995, American Express has been an unwavering supporter of the World Monuments Fund and its mission to safeguard the most treasured landmarks around the globe. Over the last 15 years, American Express has helped preserve 138 sites in 62 countries including sites from the World Monuments Fund Watch List as well as sites who received sustainable tourism grants. These sites integrate historic preservation, sustainable tourism management and visitor education. Projects that have received funds include: St Paul's Cathedral, London, England; Mexico City's Historic Center, Mexico; Delhi Heritage City, India; Route 66, the historic corridor that runs between Chicago and Los Angeles in the United States and Easter Island, Chile.

In 2011, American Express renewed its commitment of 5 million dollars over the next five years in support of the Watch List. Visit http://www.wmf.org/watch/project-map for a list of current sites.