RBC invests in sustainable economic development in the communities we serve. We are committed to contributing to the success of people and businesses in the places where we operate, through our support, partnership and leadership.

BASIC NEEDS FIRST
It’s nearly impossible for communities to thrive when their citizens are hungry, homeless or fear for their safety. RBC supports programs that meet basic needs and help people become more self-reliant.

Food
In 2005, RBC and our employees gave over $285,000 to help replenish food banks and soup kitchens across Canada. In the U.S., RBC Centura contributed US$35,000 to support food banks in North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. Employees are also involved, year-round, in various food drives across North America.

Shelter
Having a roof over your head is a basic human need, and RBC invests resources in a number of organizations such as Raising the Roof, aimed at finding long-term solutions to homelessness. For the seventh year, RBC supported their fundraising campaign, providing a corporate gift of $50,000, with employees getting involved raising funds through the sale of toques, a visible symbol of a roof over one’s head. Since 1998, RBC employees have raised close to $1,000,000 for the cause. In the U.S., our community reinvestment efforts help fund housing projects and shelters like a Durham, North Carolina, area shelter for homeless veterans, planned for 2006.

Safety
We support safe communities by contributing to organizations that protect victims and reduce crime.

•	The Massey Centre for Women works with babies, young children and pregnant teens in Toronto who are homeless, impoverished, uneducated and at risk of physical and sexual abuse.
•	RBC is a founding member of Pro-Action Cops and Kids, a program that finds ways for police and teens in high-crime urban areas to work together for community improvement.
•	The Immigrant Outreach project sponsored by The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence raises awareness of resources and services available to fight domestic violence in Spanish-speaking and other immigrant communities in North Carolina.
•	RBC Centura donated US$20,000 to the Youth Education Services program at Interact, an organization that provides safety and support services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Each year, the program provides tools to help 6,000 students in more than 50 schools in Wake County, North Carolina, to prevent violence, promote cooperative relationships and make healthy decisions.
•	RBC Centura’s US$10,000 donation will help the Albemarle Hopeline expand its safe shelter, which provides comprehensive domestic and sexual abuse services to people in rural northeastern North Carolina.

ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES
RBC is building wealth and capacity in Aboriginal communities by supporting the transfer of skills, knowledge and resources. We promote Aboriginal interests, forging partnerships with Aboriginal people, businesses, and governments based on understanding, trust and respect.

Championing the cause
RBC is actively involved with the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada (AHRDCC) to help engage employers in employment strategies that increase Aboriginal skills and employment. In partnership with the Aboriginal Workforce Partnership Initiative, AHRDCC created TeKnoWave, to help increase Aboriginal employment in technology fields.

We also participated in the Prime Minister’s Canada – Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable, an historic event that set the stage for the Government of Canada and Aboriginal peoples to work together to find solutions to the challenges facing Aboriginal people. The follow-up Sectoral Sessions brought together Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal experts to develop action plans and policy recommendations in six key areas: economic opportunities, health, life-long learning, housing, negotiations and accountability for results.

Opportunities fuel economic growth
RBC supports organizations that promote learning, innovation, entrepreneurship and technological savvy.

•	We have sponsored the Canadian Executive Service Organization’s (CESO) national MBA Experience Program since 1994, teaming graduate students with Aboriginal leaders to work on economic development projects. We also supported CESO’s work with the Labrador Métis to develop a five-year plan and strategy for tourism, a new cultural centre and value-added processing of forestry products. RBC was a Founding Sponsor of CESO’s Aboriginal Services Division back in 1969.
•	Budding Aboriginal entrepreneurs can deepen their business knowledge through the Keyano College Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Certificate Program. RBC is a founding supporter of this program.
•	On Vancouver Island, RBC is partnering with the Aboriginal Community and the Centre for Non-Timber Resources to launch an Innovation Centre that will facilitate local rural economic development. The Centre will provide training to the Aboriginal community on starting businesses using the rich variety of goods the forests have to offer.
•	Aboriginal-led businesses get a boost from initiatives like the RBC-sponsored Venturing Forth TV series, the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers, the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association and the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council, which promotes supplier diversity and increases procurement from Aboriginal- and minority-owned businesses. We supported the Council’s first Procurement Fair in 2005.
•	RBC donated over $265,000 to Aboriginal programs and research projects at universities and colleges across Canada in 2005, to increase quality of life, promote culturally sensitive programs and provide access to education for the Aboriginal population.

FOSTERING ECONOMIC GROWTH
Community development
We help stimulate economic growth through our regular business activities and by investing in programs that enable economic development with a social purpose.

•	RBC committed to helping the Greater Halifax Partnership implement its ambitious economic development strategy in 2006, including the creation of new investment and high-quality jobs, securing the region’s long-term fiscal health and enhancing business confidence.
•	RBC has been a sponsor of the Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) since 1980. To encourage community-driven economic development projects, the annual EDAC/RBC Financial Group Economic Development Achievement of the Year Award was created to recognize individuals and organizations. In 2005, the award was presented to the County of Renfrew, which worked with the business community to create 200 new jobs, and tackled a number of challenges related to renewable resource industries, such as forestry and agriculture, foreign markets and trade opportunities.
•	In the U.S., the Federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires that our bank address the credit, investment and service needs of our communities, paying particular attention to the low- and moderate-income sectors. We work with community and not-for-profit organizations, government agencies, and other funding sources to achieve common goals, such as affordable housing, area revitalization and infrastructure and economic development, and provide financial literacy and education services to underserved and low-income communities.
•	In 2004,* RBC Centura provided US$61 million in financing for community development projects that benefit the low- and moderate-income population. Projects include low-income housing rental and ownership developments, as well as affordable housing for the elderly and people with disabilities.
•	In the U.S., we help communities access public and private financing sources for economic development. The financing of an affordable housing renovation project in Arlington, Virginia, draws on the banking and financing expertise of several RBC business segments. We also provided financing to various Florida municipalities waiting to receive disaster relief funds in the wake of Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne.

* Data as at December 31, 2004. Final 2005 data not available at time of printing.

Bridge to trade and productivity
Through industry partnerships, RBC promotes economic growth, access to markets and cooperative development. We are a member of the Canadian American Business Council, raising awareness of the value of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship and the importance of keeping the border open for business.

Our employees are also active members of national and local Chambers of Commerce in many places, including the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and the Jeune chambre de commerce.

The currency of new ideas
RBC has taken a leadership role in supporting innovation and commercialization. We are involved in a number of leading-edge research initiatives including:

•	The Medical and Related Sciences (MaRS) project, facilitating Canadian research and development, and its commercialization;
•	The Toronto Region Research Alliance, coordinating efforts to attract international R&D firms to Greater Toronto;
•	The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, helping fuel Canada’s knowledge base by bringing together the most distinguished thinkers from across Canada and around the world, and providing them with research time and networking opportunities;
•	The National Angel Organization, an incorporated not-for- profit that provides Angel investors with a secure environment to network and share best practices; and
•	Agri-food education programs and networks, which are leaders in the strategic use of innovative technologies for agriculture.

RBC has made direct investments in a number of promising early-stage ventures across North America through RBC Technology Ventures and its partner funds. RBC’s Strategic Technology Fund has brought investment dollars and our vast knowledge and expertise to budding technology companies in the financial services sector. We made early investments in CertaPay, a company that created technology to facilitate e-mail money transfers.

Tracking progress
In 2005, RBC provided $100,000 to the Atkinson Foundation, to create a Canadian Index of Wellbeing, which will become Canada’s core measure of progress. The goal of this new index is to give an accurate account of changes in our human, social, economic and natural wealth to determine well-being in Canada. Unlike the GDP, the new Canadian Index of Wellbeing will help assess whether Canadians are better off or worse off than they used to be.

Higher learning for better living
Universities are the heart of the knowledge-based economy and, in 2005, RBC supported a number of university programs that will have a lasting economic impact, including:

•	A donation of $350,000 to UNB Fredericton’s Centre for Financial Studies to support the Student Investment Fund (SIF) program;
•	A multi-year pledge of $230,000 to the Centre for Leadership and Innovation at the University of Lethbridge to support the Integrated Management Experience (IME) program;
•	A three-year pledge of $75,000 to Brandon University’s Rural Development Program to support the Visiting Scholar in Rural Development program; and
•	$50,000 to help Canada’s first Pandemic Simulation Training Laboratory.