The Citi Foundation Update highlights our current investments and leadership role in our five focus areas: Microfinance; Small and Growing Businesses; Education; Financial Education and Asset Building; and Neighborhood Revitalization (U.S.). In addition, the Citi Foundation works with its partners in its priority focus areas of Microfinance, Small and Growing Businesses and Neighborhood Revitalization to support environmental innovations and embed a "green" component within key areas of their work. For more information about the innovative ways Citi is collaborating with its partners towards the economic empowerment of individuals and families in the communities where we work, visit www.citifoundation.com or click on the focus areas listed above.

ADVANCING INNOVATION

In order to maximize our resources, the Citi Foundation invests in testing innovative programs designed to help our grantees attain greater scale and strong economic outcomes for the communities and individuals they serve. We seek opportunities where we can contribute to fostering new solutions within each of our focus areas in order to advance their field of work.

Closing the Gap: Linking Education, Saving, Counseling & Scholarship Assistance

In our Education portfolio, the Citi Foundation invests in programs and partnerships aimed to reduce financial barriers to college attainment. One of the most innovative examples of these investments is our recent partnership with the KIPP Foundation, the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to develop and implement the joint policy and practice initiative "Closing the Gap: Linking Savings and Scholarships to Increase College Attainment." This five-year initiative will develop the power of combined savings, academic and financial counseling, and scholarship assistance in order to increase the graduation rates of low-income and minority students. Upon completion of the planning phase, CFED will pilot a college savings program with KIPP middle school students, who will be incentivized to save for UNCF merit-based scholarships and will participate in pre-college counseling programs designed to educate students and their parents about the value and costs of going to college and how to maximize the benefits of this program. The pilot program is expected to commence in the fall 2010 and will include approximately 500 students at selected KIPP academies in six Citi markets throughout the U.S. When scaled, the "Closing the Gap" initiative will offer this program to all KIPP students across the country and has the potential to become one of the nation's top producers of minority and low-income college graduates. By undertaking this initiative, the Citi Foundation will take a leadership role in bridging our expertise and experience in the worlds of college access, financial education and asset building.

MEASURING IMPACT

The Citi Foundation's approach to grantmaking includes a focus on metrics that demonstrate a "social" return on investment. As a result, we incorporate impact measures into all of our major grant programs in order to help our grantees measure the impact of their work beyond the number of individuals served or dollars granted.

U.S. Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative

The Citi Foundation has partnered with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) for the past 11 years to support the development of affordable homes for low-income families throughout the U.S. In 2009, Citi engaged in a series of planning discussions with HFHI to develop a new, higher impact program, that goes beyond the "one house, one family" model, to a model that will yield broader and more sustainable benefits for underserved communities nationwide. In early 2010, the Citi Foundation committed more than $1.3 million to establish the new Citi-HFHI "Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative" which will invite HFHI affiliates in Citi markets throughout the U.S. (such as Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York or San Francisco) to submit comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plans that include the construction and rehabilitation of energy efficient and sustainable affordable homes; home energy efficiency audits and the deployment of volunteers to make weatherization improvements that lower household utility costs; the launch of a new "Brush with Kindness" volunteer effort to restore and repair low-income owner-occupied homes; plans for acquisition of REO properties which are rehabilitated to a minimum of Energy Star 'Plus' standards; and development of neighborhood revitalization impact evaluation plans.

COLLABORATION

The Citi Foundation collaborates with external partners to attract co-investment, support knowledge building and promote the replication of successful strategies in our priority focus areas. In addition, we work with our internal business partners to ensure local leadership and the ability to deliver "more than philanthropy" worldwide by leveraging Citi's business expertise and the involvement of Citi volunteers.

Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards Program

The Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards, launched in 2005 as Citi's response to the United Nation's "Year of Microcredit," are designed to raise awareness of the important role that microfinance and microenterprise play in helping the poor become economically self-sufficient worldwide. Due to the success and the consistent level of positive feedback the Citi Foundation has received since the launch of this program, the awards will be implemented in 28 countries across Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America in 2010. Each year, Citi's Public Affairs Officers in the participating countries select local NGOs to partner with them on this signature global initiative. Hundreds of Citi employees participate in the awards process annually, screening and reviewing nominations that come in and supporting the implementation of the awards ceremony in their countries. In 2010, the Citi Foundation and Citi Volunteers formed a new partnership with the recently launched "Women4Citi" network to enhance the awards by engaging members of the network in this annual program. Where appropriate, we are encouraging the country teams to select a member of the Women4Citi network to participate on the judging committee for the awards; for country teams to select a "Women4Citi" winner whose microenterprise has a significant social impact on her local community; and to encourage the Women4Citi network member to share her expertise with either the "Women4Citi" winner through a mentoring relationship, or for her to provide training to staff of microfinance institutions in her country, as appropriate.

KNOWLEDGE BUILDING

The Citi Foundation seeks to develop a deeper understanding of community needs and successful philanthropic investments in each of our priority focus areas. We do this by supporting activities designed to engage key partners and inform future investments, so that successful programs can be replicated in other Citi markets around the world.

Citi-FT Financial Education Summit

The Citi Foundation has successfully partnered with the Pearson Charitable Foundation and the Financial Times to develop and support the "Citi-FT Financial Education Summit", which has established itself over the years as a leading annual international forum on financial literacy. The sixth annual Citi-FT Financial Education Summit, "Securing the Future: Creating a Financially Resilient Society," was held in Singapore in December 2009. The two-day Summit was attended by more than 250 delegates from 30 countries, as well as more than 50 distinguished and experienced practitioners and policymakers from 14 countries. Participants focused on discussions surrounding the global financial crisis and strategies to reduce risk, build assets and regain financial security. The Citi Foundation will once again partner with the Pearson Foundation and the Financial Times in 2010 for the 7th "Citi-FT Financial Education Summit" in Australia, which is entitled "Mind Over Money: Influencing Positive Financial Behavior", and will focus on how behavioral economics can be applied to financial education interventions to promote positive behavioral changes among youth and low-income people.