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Ameriprise Financial Awards $1.1 Million in Grants to Nonprofits

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) recently completed the first of three funding cycles for 2011, awarding more than $1.1 million to nonprofit organizations. Seventy-seven grants were made under the company’s three funding platforms: meeting basic needs, supporting community vitality and volunteer-driven causes.

“Nonprofits continue to face an unprecedented demand for their services, especially programs that assist low-income families and displaced workers,” said Brian Pietsch, head of community relations at Ameriprise Financial. “No single company or organization can meet these challenges alone, but our combined efforts can make a significant difference for people who are struggling to meet their basic needs and provide stability for their families.”

Highlights from the recent grant cycle include:

  • Supporting the Northern Illinois Food Bank’s food acquisition and distribution programs, which provide nutritious meals to more than 60,000 people per week. Funding from Ameriprise will help the organization recover and distribute perishable foods, including meat and fresh produce, from more than 100 local retail stores. Ameriprise financial advisors from the St. Charles, Lake County and Rockford areas frequently volunteer at the food bank.
  • Teaching more than 50,000 at-risk youth about diversity and the local culture through funding for Shreveport Opera. The grant from Ameriprise will help bring this interactive programming into children’s hospitals, community centers and schools across Louisiana, Mississippi, eastern Texas and southern Arkansas. Mark McCrocklin, an Ameriprise private wealth advisor in Shreveport, serves on the organization’s board of directors.
  • Partnering with People Serving People to help homeless families take important steps toward self sufficiency. Funding from Ameriprise will enable the Minneapolis-based organization to provide emergency housing, career counseling, educational services and access to other community agencies to families in crisis. Ameriprise Financial employees and retirees volunteer more than 2,000 hours annually in the organization’s cafeteria.

Ameriprise Financial continues to support domestic hunger relief through its philanthropic partnership with Feeding America. The company recently held food drives in employee centers across the U.S. and collected an equivalent of 200,000 meals for local food banks. In Boston and Phoenix, more than 100 volunteers from Ameriprise Financial and Columbia Management spent a day at the Greater Boston Food Bank and the Desert Mission Food Bank, preparing food for distribution to local families. The company also supported Second Harvest Heartland’s annual fundraising event by matching a total of $25,000 in individual contributions to the Twin Cities-based hunger relief organization.

Ameriprise Financial is currently accepting grant applications for third cycle 2011 funding. The application deadline is September 1, 2011. Second cycle grant decisions will be communicated in August.

About Ameriprise Financial Community Relations
Ameriprise Financial is dedicated to using the firm’s resources, talents and volunteer time to improve the lives of individuals and build strong communities. Through grant-making, volunteerism and employee and advisor gift matching programs, the company supports a diverse group of more than 5,000 nonprofits across the country.

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: First Cycle 2011

Meeting Basic Needs – 29 grants: AccessAbility, Inc.; Admission Possible; American Indian OIC, Inc.; Anne-Marie House; Association House of Chicago; Augsburg College; Birmingham AIDS Outreach, Inc.; Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; Central PA Community Foundation; Centro Cultural Chicano, Inc.; Family Scholar House, Inc.; Housing Opportunities for Women; Jeremiah Program; Junior League of Salt Lake City, Inc.; La Oportunidad; Lutheran Community Services Northwest; Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center; Northern Illinois Food Bank; Operation ABLE of Michigan; People Serving People Inc; Rebuilding Together - Twin Cities; RESOURCE, Inc.; Sabathani Community Center, Inc.; Second Harvest Heartland; Sterling House Community Center; Store To Door; The Arc of Central Chesapeake Region; The Greater Boston Food Bank, Inc.; Twin Cities RISE

Supporting Community Vitality – 21 grants: Ballet Works, Inc.; Coastal Enterprises, Inc.; Local Initiatives Support Corporation; Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Inc.; Metropolitan Economic Development Association; Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Minnesota Opera Company; Minnesota Orchestral Association; Rebuilding Together Oakland County; Rebuilding Together of Richmond; Riverview Economic Development Association; Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society; Shakespeare Theatre Company; Shreveport Opera; South Queens Boys & Girls Club, Inc.; Stages Theatre Company, Inc.; The Children's Theatre Company and School; The Colorado Museum of Natural History; The Harmony Project; University of Minnesota - Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum; Walker Art Center, Inc.

Volunteer-Driven Causes – 16 grants: Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Assn.; American Heart Association, Inc.; Bestprep; Community Hospice Foundation, Inc.; Foundation Fighting Blindness, Inc.; Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity, Inc.; Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery; Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council; Habitat for Humanity of Wake County; Junior Achievement of Oregon & SW Washington; Junior Achievement of West Central Florida; Minnesota AIDS Project; Spina Bifida Resource Network; The Empty Stocking Fund, Inc.; We Can, Pediatric Brain Tumor Network; Williamson County Child Advocacy Center

Ameriprise Bank Funded Grants – 11 grants: Aeon Homes; Children’s Home Society; CommonBond; CommonGround; East Side Neighborhood Development; Emerge Community Development; Habitat for Humanity; Junior Achievement; LISC New York City; LISC Twin Cities; Neighborhood Housing Services

Contacts:

Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Stacy Housman, Media Relations
612-678-7215
stacy.m.housman@ampf.com

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