AMERICAN EXPRESS PARTNERS IN PRESERVATION

Historic preservation has long been the hallmark of American Express' involvement in the community, reflecting its recognition of the contribution of 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 have 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. This year, we awarded $400,000 in grants to five community anchors in the New Orleans area that were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Our 2009 location will be announced shortly.

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. During the first ten years of the Watch program, American Express contributed more than $10 million to help preserve 126 historic sites in 62 countries from the World Monuments Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. To explore these sites visit: http://wmf.org/partners/americanexpress.

In 2007, American Express and the World Monuments Fund announced a new initiative that rewards and encourages the responsible stewardship of historic sites by supporting projects that address the issue of sustainable tourism. As part of the initiative, $4 million will be granted over four years to support a variety of projects that integrate historic preservation, sustainable tourism management and visitor education. The initial four projects to receive funding are: St Paul's Cathedral, London, England; Mexico City's Historic Center, Mexico; Delhi Heritage City, India; and Route 66, the historic corridor that runs between Chicago and Los Angeles in the United States. For more information about this program http://wmf.org/sustainabletourism.html.