Our report to the community

Our report to the community

At American General, our goal of helping people live the lives they ve imagined doesn t stop at the end of the workday, or at the workplace. For the thousands of caring and dedicated individuals who make up this organization, it s a way of life. This is our report to you, the people who live and work along side us. American General is dedicated to enriching the communities where we live and work. We mobilize our resources, time, and talents to improve the quality of life for our communities through a focused involvement in education advancement, health and human service, cultural enrichment, and character development. American General is a leading provider of retirement plans to employees in K-12 schools. Our close ties with school personnel helped shape our policy of adopting schools nationwide. In Houston, Woodrow Wilson Elementary was adopted in 1996. Since then, the school has benefitted from a new outdoor learning center and renovated auditorium. And our employees have served as mentors and tutors to hundreds of Woodrow Wilson students.

Volunteerism People make the difference. Adherence to this American General value is the driving factor behind the success of our community relations efforts. In 1999, this core value served as the foundation for StepUp, an employee volunteer program that encourages the people of American General to give back to our communities.through StepUp, we re not only opening the doors to new volunteer opportunities, we re also offering our employees paid time off from work to pursue those opportunities. And our employees are responding in record numbers. Nationwide, over 50,000 employee volunteer hours have been logged since the program was launched in 1999. American General employees have stepped up to help our communities by donating their time and talents to hundreds of organizations from Big Brothers Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, and March of Dimes, to countless local schools and community programs. The same business skills and talents that make our employees so successful in meeting our customers lifetime financial needs are being applied to meet the growing needs of our nation s youth. From tutoring elementary school children to mentoring troubled teens or adopting schools by providing donations of volunteer time, supplies, and equipment, our people make the difference. In 2000, American General introduced its Community Spirit Awards program, which recognized employees for outstanding volunteer service. Award recipients each designated a $2,500 grant to the organizations they served totaling more than $75,000 for the program s first year. Through StepUP, American General s volunteer program, our employees are serving our communities at adult daycare centers, homeless shelters, food banks, schools, and more. Through our partnership with Private Sector Initiatives, employees also donate time and resources to make needed repairs and renovations for senior homeowners in southeast Texas.

Corporate giving American General shares its success through grants and matching gifts to support key community programs. Our charitable donations are focused on four areas that represent an important investment in today s communities and tomorrow s work force: education, health and human services, arts and culture, and broad community endeavors. Over the past two years, American General gave over $7 million for programs that help provide vital services to our communities including: American General scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,500 to 150 high school seniors who demonstrated good citizenship; Over $1.5 million to support America s Promise and its related organizations to help our nation s youth; A $50,000 grant to the American Ballet Theater for a Family Day Benefit for New York-area residents; and $15,000 to build a new YMCA in Evansville, Indiana. Additionally, thousands of dollars were given to numerous grassroots organizations that serve the heart of our communities nationwide. American General also matches employees gifts to colleges and universities through a matching gift plan.this program triples the effectiveness of employee gifts to institutions of higher education, and to public television and radio stations under the auspices of a university or college. Our matching gift plan extends to American General s national support of the annual United Way campaign with a dollar-for-dollar match of employee pledges. A pacesetter organization in 1999, American General matched $1.25 million in employee pledges to the United Way, doubling our contribution to an estimated $2.5 million. On National Family Matters Day, sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation, Houston employees and their families sorted 30,000 pounds of donated food, distributed groceries to needy families, and landscaped a foster home. We also mobilized our resources for disaster relief efforts, home repair projects, and other community drives, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation s Putting Challenge supported by our employees in Springfield, Illinois.

Every year, employees turn out to help the athletes of Special Olympics prepare and compete in the Summer Games. American General supports their efforts by sponsoring the Texas and Virginia games. By investing our resources in programs our employees support, we build lasting relationships with our community partners.