Corporate Social Responsibility at American Express

Bringing good citizenship to life around the world

At American Express, we believe that serving our communities is not only integral to running a business successfully, it is part of our individual responsibilities as citizens of the world. The mission of our program is to bring to life the American Express value of good corporate citizenship by supporting communities in ways that enhance the company's reputation with employees, customers, business partners and other stakeholders. We do this by supporting visionary nonprofit organizations that are: 

  • Preserving and sustaining historic places for the future; 
  • Developing new leaders for tomorrow; and 
  • Encouraging community service where our employees and customers live and work. 

Learn more by visiting about.americanexpress.com/csr.  

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Content from this campaign

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Today’s Leaders Need to Be Great Storytellers
Ken Chenault, the former CEO of American Express, often paraphrased Napoleon in saying that leaders need to define reality and give hope. Essentially, it is up to leaders to tell their people what is happening now and inspire them by outlining the opportunities that the future holds for them both individually and institutionally.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Leaders Should Engage In Principled Conflict
As widely reported, before John Dingell, the longest serving member of Congress, passed away recently, he shared some thoughts in his final statement to America.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

5 Books That Every Leader Should Be Reading Now
The beginning of a new year is always a good time to be reconsidering one's reading list. With apologies to friends who have written terrific books on leadership and corporate social responsibility, the following are the five books (in alphabetical order) that I think leaders should be reading (or in some cases, re-reading) this year.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Nonprofit Board Service Builds More Effective Business Leaders
Alice Korngold, President and CEO of Korngold Consulting LLC, has recently released the results of her study 2018 Nonprofit Board Leadership Study in partnership with IMPACT2030, a private sector collaboration with the United Nations, corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Events, Media & Communications

American Express Backs the Community of Puerto Rico
The company is proud to back global brand ambassador, Lin-Manuel Miranda, as he reprises his role of Alexander Hamilton in a special, limited-run of the award-winning musical Hamilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, all in support of the arts. Lin-Manuel has committed to donating proceeds from the production and its partnerships to the Flamboyan Arts Fund, in partnership with the Flamboyan Foundation.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

5 Corporate Social Responsibility Trends to Watch in 2019
2018 proved to be an active year in Corporate Social Responsibility with issues related to sustainability, globalization, advocacy on social issues and multiple natural disasters in the forefront.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Helping Corporations Give Every Day for 75 Years
Last week included Giving Tuesday, a day when individuals, foundations and corporations are encouraged to support their favorite causes during the holiday season. Designating the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as a day of giving has been a hugely successful way of focusing attention on the wide variety of charitable institutions in the country, and it’s also been a great way of promoting the idea of giving on-line.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Passion vs. Purpose in Leadership: Which Do You Need Most?
“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” Oprah Winfrey

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

U.S. Foundations Are Giving More Abroad
Recently, the Council on Foundations and the Foundation Center released its five-year study, The State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations: 2011-2015, which showed that grant-making by U.S. foundations to charitable organizations outside the United States reached an all-time high in 2015 with $9.3 billion in grants compared with $2.1 billion in 2002 (an increase of over 300%). International giving represented over 27% of all grants made by U.S. foundations, and the average grant size during this period tripled from just over $200,000 to over $604,000.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Celebrate With Your Community This Small Business Saturday®
Are you ready to shop, eat and celebrate with the small businesses in your neighborhood this holiday season? Today, American Express (NYSE:AXP) revealed its lineup of community programs for the ninth annual Small Business Saturday, taking place nationwide on November 24. Small Business Saturday, founded by American Express in 2010, is held each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to encourage people to shop at independently-owned businesses online and at storefronts across the country.

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