American Express Company, also known as Amex, is an American multinationalfinancial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best known for its credit card, charge card, and traveler’s cheque businesses. Amex cards account for approximately 24% of the total dollar volume of credit card transactions in the US.
BusinessWeek and Interbrand ranked American Express as the 22nd most valuable brand in the world, estimating the brand to be worth US$14.97 billion. Fortune listed Amex as one of the top 20 Most Admired Companies in the World. The company’s logo, adopted in 1958, is a Centurion whose image appears on the company’s travelers’ cheques, charge cards and credit cards.
Encouraging Community Service Where Our Employees and Customers Live and Work
Service is the rent we pay for living. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time.” — Marian Wright Edelman At American Express, service has been a hallmark of our company throughout its 160-year history. This service ethos comes to life every time we help a customer – whether with a simple, everyday request or in an emergency situation. We show the same care and commitment to service in our communities.
We encourage good citizenship by supporting organizations that cultivate meaningful opportunities for civic engagement by our employees and members of the community, whether as volunteers, donors, voters or patrons. American Express Company Donates Under 501c3.
We also serve our communities by supporting immediate and long-term relief and recovery efforts to help victims of natural disasters. Funding also goes to support preparedness programs that allow relief agencies to be better equipped in responding to emergencies as they occur.
Criteria:
Supported programs encourage community service and civic participation, and deliver measurable outcomes that have a lasting impact on communities through one or more of the following:
Building the capacity of nonprofits by assisting them in developing, engaging and retaining community members as volunteers.
- Encouraging citizens to play an active role in civic processes (e.g., voting).
- Engaging community members and American Express employees in ongoing service. This may involve a variety of activities from promoting individual philanthropy, volunteerism or participation in local civic organizations.
Recent Grants
American Red Cross of Greater New York, New York, NY
Support funds the expansion of the Ready When the Time Comes (RWTC) program that is designed to engage local community and business groups and mobilizes them as a community-based volunteer force that is called upon when disaster strikes.
Ashoka, Washington, DC
Support funds the Serve2Gether Consulting Social Innovators program which matches up to twenty high-performing social enterprises in Argentina, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S. with teams of American Express employees who provide marketing and strategy consulting to strengthen these organizations.
Give2Asia, San Francisco, CA
Support funds the expansion of Second Harvest Japan’s emergency food programs which provide a food safety net for over 8,000 people in Tohoku who were affected by the tsunami in 2010 and where the poverty rate is much higher than the national average.
Points of Light Foundation, Atlanta, GA
Support funds volunteer activities organized by Points of Light’s global network of volunteer centers. This program is designed to drive American Express employee volunteering in key company locations in Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Project Sunshine, Multiple Locations, U.S.
Support for the organization’s efforts to engage volunteers to provide its free educational, recreational, and social programs to children facing medical challenges and their families. In key U.S. employee centers – Florida, Central Arizona, New York City and Utah – American Express volunteers assemble activity kits which are distributed to the pediatric patients at local hospitals.
Terrence Higgins Trust, London, UK
Support funds the organization’s efforts to recruit and engage diverse communities of volunteers who help deliver its wide range of health care and HIV services programming to over 100,000 community members each year.
United Way of New York City, New York, NY
Support funds BoardServeNYC, a program that provides comprehensive board service training and placement services to committed New Yorkers seeking to contribute their skills, expertise, and access to resources to strengthen nonprofit organizations in New York City.
Bringing Good Citizenship to Life Around the World
At American Express, we believe that serving our communities is not only integral to running a business successfully, it is part of our individual responsibilities as citizens of the world. The mission of our program is to bring to life the American Express value of good corporate citizenship by supporting communities in ways that enhance the company’s reputation with employees, customers, business partners and other stakeholders. We do this by supporting visionary nonprofit organizations that are:
- • Preserving and sustaining unique historic places for the future
- • Developing new leaders for tomorrow
- • Encouraging community service where our employees and customers live and work
Preserving and Sustaining Unique Historic Places for the Future
“It has been said that, at its best, preservation engages the past in a conversation with the present over a mutual concern for the future.”
— William J. Murtagh Historic Preservation is about saving and sustaining historic places – preserving them for future use and protecting them for all to enjoy. It helps us to understand who we are and shapes relationships with our neighbors and other communities around the world. At American Express, we believe that respect for – and celebration of – these historic places is vital to ensuring that their history lives on and that the public understands the significance they have in sustaining communities today and for future generations.
We support organizations and projects that preserve or rediscover major historic sites and monuments in order to provide ongoing sustainable access and enjoyment for current and future audiences. The programs we support include historic landmarks and public spaces. We emphasize preserving sites that represent diverse cultures.
