RBC announces $10 million commitment to ONE DROP Foundation
First donation kicks off new RBC Blue Water Project
MONTREAL, October 29, 2007 — Gordon Nixon, president
and CEO of RBC, today announced a $10 million, 10-year donation
to support the ONE DROP Foundation. With this donation, the
largest ever given to a single organization in the history
of the company, RBC becomes a founding corporate partner of
ONE DROP.
Established by Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque
du Soleil, ONE DROP is dedicated to fighting poverty in the
world by giving everyone access to water. RBC's funding will
help kick-start a ONE DROP program in Honduras, with future
funds to be directed towards projects in Canada and around
the world.
"We want to mobilize people everywhere in the world
to find sustainable solutions to the problem of access to
water and to adopt better practices for the use of this precious
resource," said Laliberté. "I am personally
thrilled to have RBC involved as our founding corporate partner,
to help us spread the important message at home and abroad.
No one can remain indifferent when we know that at least every
eight seconds, a child dies from a disease caused by drinking
contaminated water."
"We're proud that ONE DROP is the first grant recipient
from our RBC Blue Water Project," said Nixon. "It
is a privilege to be at the starting gate with such an exciting,
innovative organization. We fully intend to mobilize our resources-our
people, our brand, and our branches around the world - to
support this cause as well."
The RBC commitment to ONE DROP is the inaugural grant, officially
kicking off the new RBC Blue Water Project. Announced last
week, the RBC Blue Water Project is a $50 million, ten-year
commitment to support charitable organizations dedicated to
finding global solutions to the water crisis. RBC will provide
grants to charitable organizations working in the areas of
water access, conservation, protection and education in Canada
and around the world.
In order to ensure that the company's grants are meaningful
and significant, RBC will convene an international advisory
panel in January 2008 comprising water experts, academics,
and community and aboriginal leaders to provide due diligence
in finalizing RBC's funding priorities and guidelines. The
guidelines and priorities recommended by the panel, and the
process for applications will be made public in April 2008.
Applications are not being solicited until April 2008.
"This represents a new focus area for RBC, and it reflects
our concern for both the humanitarian and economic implications
of global water shortages," said Stephen Voisin, executive
director, RBC Foundation. "Access to water is one of
the planet's most pressing issues. Over a billion people do
not have access to water in sufficient quantity or adequate
quality. Almost half of the world's population drinks untreated
water."
RBC contributed more than $83 million to community causes
worldwide in 2006, through donations of more than $42 million,
and an additional $41 million in sponsorship of community
events and organizations.
RBC is recognized among the world's financial, social and
environmental leaders. In 2007, RBC was ranked first among
large corporations worldwide for its ability to manage environmental
risks and opportunities by Newsweek magazine, and was named
to the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index. RBC is included
on the Dow Jones World and North American Sustainability Indices,
the Jantzi Social Index, the FTSE4Good Index, and the Global
100 Most Sustainable Corporations ranking. In 2007, RBC was
named Canada's Best Corporate Citizen.
The company produces an annual Corporate Responsibility Report
outlining its sustainability performance.
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Media contact:
Jackie Braden, (416) 974-2124
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