BlackCollegian.com

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ExxonMobil:

“These generous donations from ExxonMobil employees and retirees validate their belief in higher education as an investment for the future”

• Nineteen higher educational institutions across Louisiana benefited from 2009 contributions
• Louisiana institutions encouraged to direct portion to science and math programs
• National donation level totaled $36 million to more than 900 educational institutions

ExxonMobil and its employees donated more than $2.6 million to a total of 19 educational institutions across Louisiana through the ExxonMobil Foundation’s 2009 Educational Matching Gift Program.

ExxonMobil employees, retirees, surviving spouses and directors made 472 individual contributions totaling $856,570 to institutions of higher education across Louisiana. ExxonMobil Foundation matched those donations with more than $1.7 million in unrestricted educational grants.

The ExxonMobil Educational Matching Gift Program is one of the most generous of its kind in the United States. The program matches donations made to affiliated higher education institutions by employees and retirees on a 3-to-1 basis, providing more than $423 million since the program’s inception in 1962. Individual donors may pledge up to $7,500 per year to colleges or universities with which they are affiliated or to the American Indian College Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the United Negro College Fund.

In total, ExxonMobil and its employees donated more than $36 million to 911 educational institutions across the United States through the 2009 program.

“These generous donations from ExxonMobil employees and retirees validate their belief in higher education as an investment for the future,” said Kenneth P. Cohen, ExxonMobil vice president for public and government affairs and chairman of the ExxonMobil Foundation. “This focus on education is paving the way for leaders of tomorrow who will be crucial for the continued success of our country.”

ExxonMobil and the ExxonMobil Foundation fund math and science programs to respond to the nation’s growing need to produce more engineers and scientists and to develop more highly qualified math and science teachers. To aid this effort, the Foundation encourages college and university presidents to direct a portion of the matching funds to programs that provide math and science teachers with professional development, attract more young people to teach math and science and support science and engineering programs aimed at women and minorities.

In addition to the Educational Matching Gift Program, ExxonMobil develops and supports other math and science programs aimed at students and teachers including the National Math and Science Initiative, ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camps, Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, among others. Significant emphasis is also placed on increasing student involvement in the welfare of their communities through the Community Summer Jobs Program and Green Team.

About ExxonMobil Foundation

ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation in the United States. The Foundation and the Corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities that advance education, health and science in the communities where ExxonMobil has significant operations. In the United States, ExxonMobil supports initiatives to improve math and science education at the K-12 and higher education levels.

Globally, ExxonMobil provides funding to improve basic education, promote women as catalysts for development, and combat malaria and other infectious diseases in developing countries. In 2009, together with its employees and retirees, Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates, and ExxonMobil Foundation provided $235 million in contributions worldwide, of which more than $98 million was dedicated to education. Additional information on ExxonMobil’s community partnerships and contributions programs is available at www.exxonmobil.com/community.

Recipient colleges and universities in Louisiana