American Express, TakePart announce final round of Members Project winners

American Express (NYSE: AXP) and TakePart announced today the final round of Members Project winners, chosen by the public through online voting. These five organizations will collectively receive $1 million in funding from American Express to advance their missions of serving communities around the country.

“The charities that were selected are doing so much to improve the world around us, and we are pleased to congratulate and recognize their efforts”

"The charities that were selected are doing so much to improve the world around us, and we are pleased to congratulate and recognize their efforts," said Pepper Evans Roukas, Vice President, Digital Brand & Social Media Development, American Express. "Over the past year, we have been overwhelmed by the dedication that our Members Project community has shown to doing good and getting involved. We are proud to have created a program that has done so much good for so many people and organizations."

Since March 2010, Members Project has enabled its online community to give $4.2 million to 21 non-profit organizations, both domestically and internationally. The five charitable organizations to receive $200,000 each in funding from American Express for the fourth round of voting are:

• Arts & Culture: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater - Recognized as a vital American "Cultural Ambassador to the World," Alvin Ailey uses the African-American cultural experience and the American modern dance tradition to inspire, enlighten and unite people of all backgrounds. With the help of funding from American Express, more than 300 scholarships will be awarded to talented young dancers, and AileyCamps in 10 cities and other programs will impact over 100,000 students nationally and Ailey's performances will reach 400,000 people around the world.
• Community Development: Kiva - As the world's first personal lending marketplace, Kiva enables socially conscious Internet users to connect with and make personal loans to entrepreneurs and students around the world. Kiva has raised $190 million in loans that have supported nearly 500,000 borrowers in 58 countries. The funds from American Express will allow Kiva to expand its reach in 2011 with a goal to raise an additional $87 million in loans to 241,000 entrepreneurs.
• Education: A Better Chance - Since 1963, A Better Chance has been opening the door to educational opportunities for thousands of young people of color in this nation. The funding from American Express will support The College Preparatory Schools Program that will place another class of approximately 450 new Scholars and support nearly 2,000 Scholars enrolled in some of the nation's most prestigious independent schools during this academic year.
• Environment & Wildlife: Defenders of Wildlife - For more than 65 years, Defenders of Wildlife has led the fight to save threatened and endangered species with innovative approaches that help imperiled wildlife survive in an ever-changing world. The $200,000 from American Express will help Defenders continue to conserve native plants and animals and to develop innovative, science-based solutions to the many challenges facing wildlife and wild lands today.
• Health & Wellness: AIDS Healthcare Foundation - The funding awarded by American Express will support AIDS Healthcare Foundation in its mission to provide cutting-edge medicine and advocacy, regardless of a person's ability to pay, and help the agency to continue delivering lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment, care and prevention services to the neediest and most underserved populations in the U.S. and globally.

SOURCE American Express