U.S. Bank has a long and proud tradition of dedication to the communities we serve. We support nonprofit organizations in the arts, education, health and human services, economic development and others through financial grants and by countless volunteer efforts and hours of our 57,000 employees. In 2008, U.S. Bancorp Foundation distributed grants of $20,707,000 to nonprofit organizations and institutions in the communities we serve.

U.S. Bank's Five Star Volunteer Award program marked four years in 2008, recognizing more than 100 employees who provided exceptional volunteer service in their communities. As part of their recognition, U.S. Bancorp awards up to $1,000 to the nonprofit organization of each Five Star Volunteer Award winner employee.

 

U.S. Bancorp employees devote tens of thousands of hours of time and effort to their communities and a wide range of nonprofit organizations. U.S. Bank encourages volunteer efforts through recognition and paid time off.

In addition to the Five Star Volunteer Awards, U.S. Bancorp also encourages its employees to volunteer through its Five Star Volunteer Day program. Introduced in 2008, Five Star Volunteer Day gives all eligible U.S. Bancorp employees eight hours of paid time off each year to volunteer in their community at organizations such as nonprofit or civic agencies and schools.

Last June, one of our markets, Cedar Rapids, was among the hardest hit of Iowa communities during the disastrous Midwestern floods. We dispatched our fully self-suffi cient, generator-operated "mobile branch" to provide on-site banking and ATM services. The mobile branch served as a temporary office when our traditional offi ces were closed due to flooding and also served as a symbol of our commitment to our customers and our communities.

 

When flood waters rose in Iowa in the Summer of 2008, U.S. Bank was there to help with financial assistance and provide customers access to their accounts.

Volunteer hours and grants are not the only ways U.S. Bancorp helps its communities. Our financial services can be brought to bear on community needs. For example, Habitat for Humanity was able to build 294 new homes in communities affected by Hurricane Katrina through the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financial assistance of U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC). USBCDC worked with Habitat for Humanity and Smith NMTC Associates LLC to best utilize Habitat's $25 million NMTC allocation granted by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury for use in the Hurricane Katrina Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone.

 

U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation helped Habitat for Humanity help Katrina victims.