Corporate Citizenship
- Overview
- Volunteerism
- Citi Foundation
Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation supports programs that foster economic empowerment for those in need in the communities we serve. We do this through a powerful combination of financial support and employee engagement, tapping into Citi's global network of employee expertise in more than 140 countries. This "more-than-philanthropy" approach, which includes skills-based volunteering, board membership, financial education and training, enables us to significantly enhance the value of the support we provide to our nonprofit partners and increase the long-term impact of our investments.
The Citi Foundation provides grant support for programs aligned with our strategic funding areas:
Microfinance & Microenterprise
to help individuals and families improve their lives through economic self-sufficiency and reduce financial vulnerability
Small & Growing Businesses
to create employment opportunities and support broad economic growth
Financial Capability & Asset Building
to help individuals and families gain the knowledge and ongoing support they need to achieve financial stability
College & Careers
to increase the number of low-income students who enroll in postsecondary education and earn a degree, and to provide secondary students outside the U.S. with the career skills they need to enter the workforce
Neighborhood Revitalization
In the United States, with a focus on creating economically vibrant communities.
World Resources Institute New Ventures
The Citi Foundation has been supporting the World Resources Institute's New Ventures program for more than a decade. This program provides financing and business-development services to entrepreneurs who incorporate social and environmental benefits into their small and growing enterprises. Citi supports New Ventures in five markets: Brazil, China, Colombia, India and Indonesia. Through this program, local Citi managers get involved in mentoring entrepreneurs and provide strategic guidance on how to grow their businesses.
To date, the New Ventures program has invested $181 million in 229 small and growing businesses, creating nearly 9,000 jobs as a direct result. Indirectly, these small businesses have supported the creation of 930,000 more supplier and customer-facing jobs.
In 2009, we funded work to identify 40 promising entrepreneurs operating in sectors such as renewable energy, organic agriculture and clean technology, which yield social and environmental benefits as well as financial returns. These businesses typically employ low-skilled workers and source products from rural and low-income populations, promoting increased production and employment in these underserved communities.
Going Green in South Dakota
With a $250,000 grant from the Citi Foundation, the Rural Learning Center (RLC) in Miner County, South Dakota, started the Growing Green – Rural Partners Program to create a green training facility in this small rural community. The project will provide training in technical skills for the renewable-energy generation and help people to find green jobs. The training is designed to help low-income individuals get better-paying jobs or start their own businesses. The program reaches 1,500–2,500 individuals each year.
