RBC donates more than $1.8 million to Calgary-based community organizations in 2013

CALGARY, Dec. 30, 2013 /CNW/ - RBC delivered on its commitment to support Calgary and area community organizations by donating more than $1.8 million in 2013. Funds donated provide assistance to organizations in areas such as education, financial literacy, environment, athletics and the arts.

"RBC is focused on improving the lives of Albertans, where it matters," says Tonya Currie, regional vice president, Calgary South. "This was truly an extraordinary year for Calgary, and surrounding communities, due to the impact of the June floods."

RBC made an initial contribution of $125,000 in support of the Canadian Red Cross' Disaster Relief Fund immediately following the flood.

"After we made our initial donation, we quickly saw that our employees were driven to volunteer to help out with disaster recovery," says Currie. "That's when we created our disaster relief employee volunteer grant program, and made another donation to the Red Cross in recognition of more than 5,600 employee volunteer hours.

In addition to this, throughout the year, we continued to focus on areas that made a real difference to the people, places and communities we serve," Currie continues. "That included two key social issues in 2013 - improving the lives of children and youth, and our ongoing water conservation efforts."

In October, RBC announced a five-year, $100 million dollar commitment to improve the well-being of at least one million kids and youth in Canada. The Believe in Kids pledge is about addressing the needs of the whole child - mind, body and spirit alike - and includes support for a wide range of arts, education, sports, wellness and employment programs.

RBC also continued its commitment to the RBC Blue Water Project, a 10-year global pledge of $50 million to help conserve, and provide access to, clean water.

"Water conservation continues to be one of the most significant environmental and economic issues in the world today," adds Currie.

Organizations in Calgary and surrounding areas that received funding in 2013 include:

• Calgary Counselling Centre
• Calgary Public Library
• Bow Valley College, Calgary
• Centre For Newcomers, Calgary
• Centre For Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), Calgary
• Calgary Reads

RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2013, we contributed more than $100-million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments. Organizations interested in applying for funding in 2014 can visit http://www.rbc.com/community-sustainability/ for more information.

About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) is Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and is among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. We employ approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 44 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.

SOURCE: RBC Calgary

Larissa Mark
Advisor, Corporate Communications
403-292-3970