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RBC announces $500,000 for Blue Water Project in United
States
Five U.S.-based organizations among 12 successful applicants
for funding
RALEIGH, N.C., October 2, 2008 — RBC today announced
that five organizations from the United States were part of
a group of 12 applicants chosen to receive US$500,000 in Leadership
Grants as part of the RBC Blue Water Project, a 10-year, C$50
million global philanthropic commitment to projects that help
protect freshwater.
Grants totaling $500,000 will be awarded to:
- Alabama Coastal Foundation. Rapid urbanization
and construction in this region have caused a loss of wetlands
and serious degradation of water quality. A grant of $25,000
will support the development of best management practices
for homeowners and businesses about non-point water source
pollution and wetland protection.
- Donors Choose. It is increasingly common for teachers
to spend their own money on classroom materials, especially
in rural and disadvantaged inner city communities. A grant
of $100,000 will help public school teachers all across
the United States purchase classroom supplies for projects
dealing with water.
- Friends of the Mississippi River. Rapid growth
of the real estate and agricultural sectors are leading
to increased sources of water pollution. A grant of $75,000
will support community outreach and education with landowners
to restore and protect sensitive natural areas and rare
habitats.
- Water Resources Research Institute. A grant of
$200,000 will fund an outreach program to educate elected
officials and community leaders in North Carolina about
water management issues in this quickly growing region that
suffers from limited opportunities to develop new water
resources.
- World Wildlife Fund. There is a lack of credible
data on the ecological health of the Little Tennessee River
watershed, which supports a region undergoing tremendous
growth. A grant of $100,000 will fund a project to monitor
and map the watershed, and train community water monitors.
Gordon Nixon, CEO of RBC, announced the 2008 grants on behalf
of RBC's four U.S.-based businesses at building dedication
that marked the grand opening of RBC Plaza, the new headquarters
for RBC Bank in Raleigh, North Carolina.
"Our goal with the RBC Blue Water Project is to protect
fresh water, a cause that matters in the United States, and
all around the world," said Mr. Nixon. "We believe
that these five organizations are well-positioned to make
a substantive difference and we're looking forward to working
with them to raise awareness about water stewardship here
in the southeast and across America."
Competition for the 2008 grants was intense. RBC received
206 applications for funding from organizations across North
America during a two-month window earlier in 2008.
"It was a daunting challenge for RBC to evaluate and
choose from all the strong and deserving applications received
for this round of grants," said David Moreau, Professor,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and U.S. representative
on the RBC Blue Water Project Advisory Panel. "I am confident
that the finalists represent a very good cross-section of
projects that will result in better protection for our watersheds."
The five U.S.-based organizations are now added to a growing
list of RBC Blue Water Project grant recipients announced
recently, including commitments to the Institute for Public
Health and Water Research at Texas A&M University for
a project in Trinidad & Tobago; Lake Ontario Waterkeeper's
Swim Drink Fish Project and the Tides Canada campaign for
conservation management in the Great Bear Rainforest region
in British Columbia.
The RBC Blue Water Project, launched in late 2007, will help
foster a culture of water stewardship in Canada and abroad.
To date, RBC has committed almost
C$13 million in grants to 39 organizations globally.
Applications for the next round of Leadership Grants are
due on March 6, 2009. Applications for Community Action Grants,
ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, are accepted year-round.
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries
operate under the master brand name of RBC. It is Canada's
largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization
and one of North America's leading diversified financial services
companies. RBC employs approximately 75,000 full- and part-time
employees who serve more than 17 million personal, business,
public sector and institutional clients through offices in
Canada, the U.S. and 46 other countries.
RBC's U.S. operations include RBC Bank, providing banking,
investment, loan and mortgage services to individuals and
businesses in the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, Florida and
Alabama; RBC Wealth Management, serving high net worth clients
nationally and internationally; RBC Capital Markets, the corporate
and investment banking arm of RBC; and RBC Insurance, a national
provider of insurance protection and asset accumulation solutions.
RBC is recognized among the world's financial, social and
environmental leaders and 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. RBC is among 67 companies and one of
only 18 financial institutions worldwide named to the 2008
Global Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index. RBC contributed
more than C$82.8 million to community causes worldwide in
2007, through donations of more than C$47.7 million, and an
additional C$35.1 million in sponsorship of community events.
For more information on the RBC Blue Water Project, as well
as grant guidelines and applications for Leadership Grants,
visit www.rbc.com/bluewater.
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For more information contact:
Jamie Mitchell, RBC Bank, Public Relations, (919) 788-5613
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