Corporate Social Responsibility at American Express

Bringing good citizenship to life around the world

At American Express, we believe that serving our communities is not only integral to running a business successfully, it is part of our individual responsibilities as citizens of the world. The mission of our program is to bring to life the American Express value of good corporate citizenship by supporting communities in ways that enhance the company's reputation with employees, customers, business partners and other stakeholders. We do this by supporting visionary nonprofit organizations that are: 

  • Preserving and sustaining historic places for the future; 
  • Developing new leaders for tomorrow; and 
  • Encouraging community service where our employees and customers live and work. 

Learn more by visiting about.americanexpress.com/csr.  

Videos from this campaign

Content from this campaign

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

5 1/2 Things Americans Are Saying About The Arts
One of the nonprofit organizations I support and volunteer with is Americans for the Arts, a national advocacy and membership organization. AFTA has recently published its latest public opinion survey on the arts entitled Americans Speak Out about the Arts. The report is based on a nationally representative sample of over 3,000 adults, and it updates a similar study that was conducted two years ago.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Four Ps of Leadership
In today’s highly competitive and polarized environment, any movement or cause needs energetic and effective leaders. This is especially true in the social sector, which is chronically understaffed and undercapitalized. Therefore, truly successful and sustainable leaders need to combine the skills and attributes of both leadership and management. They require a vision as well as the ability to execute it.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Save Our Oceans From Drowning in Plastic
According to a recent United Nations report, 80 percent of all pollution in the oceans comes from people on land, and over eight million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean each year. This waste annually costs the lives of one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and causes $8 billion in damage to marine ecosystems.

Education

American Express and Pharrell Williams Partner to Back Arts and Music Education in Schools
Today, American Express and Pharrell Williams announced an expanded partnership and joint commitment to raise awareness and support to bring more arts education to schools nationwide. As part of the collaboration, American Express Platinum and Pharrell will host a fundraising event, called the Yellow Ball, with an all-star lineup of collaborators on September 10, at the Brooklyn Museum to benefit Young Audiences Arts for Learning. American Express will also gift $1 Million to Young Audiences, the nation's largest arts-in-education network whose work strives to inspire young people and expand their learning through the arts.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Changing the Mindset from Old Power to New Power in the Arts
It would be difficult to think of a field that is more old-power than the arts.

Closely connected with this old-power/new-power dynamic is the way that technology has been embraced in these organizations (or not). Traditional performing arts institutions are lagging behind other kinds of groups when it comes to embracing interactive technology in their performances, particularly methods that empower their audiences.

We tried a new-power approach to philanthropy at American Express with our Partners in Preservation program, which we sponsor with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

After 11 years, this partnership has awarded nearly $20 million in preservation funding to 250 diverse historic sites in 20 National Parks, fourteen different cities, and 12 Main Street communities.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

American Express Awards $1 Million to Threatened Cultural Heritage Sites Included on 2018 World Monuments Watch
American Express and World Monuments Fund (WMF) today announced $1 million in funding to support preservation efforts at eight endangered cultural heritage sites included on the 2018 World Monuments Watch.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Let’s Keep It Blue Together
Last Friday was International Ocean Day -- a day that we celebrate the 71 percent of our planet that is covered with water. But, increasingly that water is filled with plastic, and it’s slowly killing us.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

American Express Announces $500,000 Commitment to Strive for College and UStrive Inc.
American Express announced today that the company will join forces with Strive for College and UStrive Inc. to increase college access for students across the United States. Strive for College is a national nonprofit that provides students with mentoring through the college admissions and financial aid application process through the UStrive virtual mentoring platform. American Express has committed $500,000 to the initiative, and plans to engage hundreds of American Express professionals as mentors to the underserved youth Strive for College serves.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Iconic Houses: Celebrating Modern Architectural Marvels
As the World’s largest travel network, American Express has a deep understanding of the influence buildings and landmarks can have on society. And, as regular readers of my blog know, we have a long history of helping communities thrive through the power of preservation.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

More Than $1 Million Awarded for Mexico's Earthquake-struck Monte Albán
World Monuments Fund (WMF) announced today more than $1 million in funding to support disaster response and restoration efforts at Monte Albán Archaeological Site in Oaxaca, Mexico. The new project is the latest in WMF’s long history of supporting cultural heritage sites damaged or destroyed at the hands of natural disaster – beginning with the floods of Venice in 1966.

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