Loyola University New Orleans was among 21 Louisiana colleges and universities to receive a collective $1.7 million from ExxonMobil through the ExxonMobil Foundation’s 2004 Educational Matching Gift Program. ExxonMobil employees, retirees, surviving spouses and directors contributed $446,000 to Louisiana institutions of higher education in 2004, which was matched by the ExxonMobil Foundation with $1.3 million in unrestricted educational grants.

Initiated in 1962, the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Educational Matching Gift Program matches gifts to higher education on a 3-to-1 basis and has provided more than $301 million to higher education in the United States. This year, the program’s combined contributions provided 932 colleges and universities across the country with more than $26 million. Individual donations totaled $7.7 million, and the ExxonMobil Foundation matched that number with an additional $18.6 million.

Under the ExxonMobil Foundation’s 2004 Educational Matching Gift Program a donor could give up to $5,000 a year to colleges and universities with which he or she is affiliated, and the Foundation matched those gifts on a 3-to-1 basis up to $15,000. The affiliation requirement is waived for gifts to the United Negro College Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and the American Indian College Fund. In response to the program's tremendous support and success, ExxonMobil has increased the amount per donor to $7,500 starting with 2005 donations.

ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation in the United States. The Foundation engages in a broad range of philanthropic activities focusing on the communities where Exxon Mobil Corporation has significant operations. In addition, the Foundation supports research and dissemination on selected topics of interest to the energy industry. Focus areas include education, health and environment. In 2004, ExxonMobil Foundation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, and its divisions and affiliates provided $106.5 million in contributions worldwide, with more than $40 million dedicated to education.

Additional information on ExxonMobil’s community partnerships and contributions programs is available at http://www.exxonmobil.com/community.