For our company, being a good corporate citizen means serving the communities where we live and work. Together with nonprofit partners, local agencies, and our corporate neighbors, BNY Mellon is building better communities through collaboration and financial support.

Our charitable activities in 2009 were especially focused on two main areas of impact:

• Powering Potential, which meets basic needs and promotes workforce development
• Community Partnership, which empowers employees to volunteer and give to the organizations they care about most

Powering Potential – Strategic Philanthropic Focus

In 2009, BNY Mellon adopted a new global philanthropic focus that aligns all of our philanthropic assets, including corporate and foundation giving, sponsorship and our powerful, employee-driven Community Partnership Program.

To create meaningful impact and measurable results, we're concentrating our philanthropic support on Powering Potential — in the areas of basic needs, such as food, clothing, energy and housing assistance, and workforce development, which helps disadvantaged members of our communities take a step forward in their career options. The focus on workforce development is longer-term, with the company supporting job training, education, mentoring and skills development programs that can lead to better jobs and self-sufficiency.

Community Partnership

In early 2008, BNY Mellon created the Community Partnership Program, which features two days of paid volunteer time per employee each year, and a company match for individual giving, team fundraising and team volunteer time. In 2009, more than 16,000 employees used the program to make donations and join other employees in volunteering and fundraising, resulting, with company matching, in $12.8 million in donations and 26,000 hours of team volunteering.

A Powerful Combination

When a devastating earthquake struck the country of Haiti in early 2010, we were able to leverage the powerful combination of Powering Potential and Community Partnership to quickly lend our support. Thousands of BNY Mellon employees raised funds and gave individually; when combined with a company matching grant, we raised $1.0 million in disaster relief aid for Haiti. Having a strong focus for our community programs helps us provide stronger support to the people that need it most.