American Express Foundation is supporting nonprofit organizations focusing their activities on Historic Preservation, Leadership and Community Service. Each year hundreds of nonprofit charitable organizations receive grants which reflects company’s values and business priorities. American Express Foundation concentrates its charitable giving on nonprofit organizations, providing the following activities:

• Disaster Relief – so far American Express has provided assistance for over 50 disasters in 35 countries;
• Employee-Driven Philanthropy – this is the gift matching program. Through this program the American Express Charitable Fund provided over $5.8 million in funds to match over $5.9 million in employee donations in 2011. In addition, the fund awarded $220,500 to 236 nonprofits on behalf of its employee’s volunteer service in 2011;
• American Express Leadership Academy – Academy focuses on building the personal, business and leadership skills needed to run a successful nonprofit organization;
• Historic Preservation Initiatives – the Program aims to increase public awareness of the importance of historic and environmental conservation, preserve global historic and cultural landmarks, educate visitors on sustainable tourism and strengthen local communities through preservation efforts;
• Serve2Gether Consulting – employing teams of Amex employees to provide pro-bono consulting to key nonprofit organizations.

When providing grants, American Express Foundation gives priority to projects of nonprofit organizations, serving one of these areas in US: South Florida, Greater Phoenix, New York City, Salt Lake City and Washington DC. Some of the countries abroad include: Argentina, Germany, Mexico, United Kingdom, Greater China and others.

The applications for grants are accepted online. Each applying organization must pass the eligibility test, consisting of questions regarding area of operation; whether the organization has its 501c3 tax-exempt status approved by the IRS, area of operation and other questions.

More information about deadlines for applying and specifics is available at: http://about.americanexpress.com/csr/howto.aspx