8.09.2004 ET

(CSRwire) BEAVERTON, OR - Nike, Inc. reported today that in its fiscal year ended May 31, 2004, it contributed $37.3 million in cash, product and in-kind services to non-profit organizations and community partners around the world, exceeding its annual target of investing 3% of the company's pre-tax earnings for the fourth consecutive year. The total contribution represents 3.3% of the company's fiscal year 2003 pre-tax profit and served more than 4,500 charitable organizations.

"Nike's community investment efforts are directed toward two principal platforms - getting kids physically active and helping address the challenges of globalization faced by women and girls," said Bob Speltz, Nike's Director of Global Community Affairs. "Almost half of our community efforts this year were focused against the goal of improving young people's lives around the world through sport, movement and increased physical activity."

Nike's $37.3 million in contributions consisted of $16.2 million in cash grants, or 43 percent of the donations, and $21.1 million in product and in-kind services, or 57 percent of the overall investment.

Youth Physical Activity

A significant component of Nike's effort to increase youth participation in physical activity is the NikeGO program, which has served approximately 150,000 kids since its launch in the U.S. in September 2002. NikeGO is Nike's signature U.S. community affairs initiative and the company's long-term commitment to getting kids more physically active. The program's mission is to increase physical activity in youth ages 8-15, offering them the support and motivation to become physically active, stay healthy and have fun. In March 2004, NikeGO expanded to Australia with the help of Olympic medallist Cathy Freeman, uniting both Nike's commitment to youth activity and its global reach. Additional details about the program will be available in the FY04 NikeGO annual report to be released early this fall on www.nikego.com.

Nike also continued its support of a program to ensure that kids in the United Kingdom - where in some inner-city schools children from as many as 25 countries and as many languages share the same playground - could make the most of their recess time. Zoneparcs, supported by the government and the Youth Sport Trust charity, refurbished playgrounds relying on Nike designs and gave student leaders toolkits to direct play activities. With grants totaling more than $900,000 and involving more than 300 schools in 20 cities across the United Kingdom, the Zoneparc initiative is Nike's largest community affairs investment to date in Europe.

Addressing the Challenges of Globalization

Nike helps address the impact of globalization by supporting micro-enterprise programs, which help fight many aspects of poverty by providing loans to individuals who start or grow small businesses, and by making product donations to communities that have suffered from natural disasters and/or political and economic hardships. This fiscal year, 39 percent of Nike's cash, product and in-kind contributions were to organizations serving communities outside of the United States, including $3 million to Mercy Corps in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakstan, and $2 million to World Vision in the Asia-Pacific region.

In January 2004, Nike established a micro-enterprise initiative in the Fujian province of China and launched a new phase of the Nike Village in Thailand, which provides community development opportunities for individuals living in half a dozen rural villages adjacent to a small footwear stitching center. Since 1997, Nike has funded micro loans and provided technical assistance to nearly 15,000 largely female borrowers in China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Live Strong Campaign

Additionally, through the Wear Yellow Live Strong campaign, in honor of Lance Armstrong and coordinated with the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), Nike donated $1 million to the Foundation and is leading efforts to raise an additional $5 million through the sale of yellow wristbands engraved with Lance's mantra: Live Strong. All proceeds benefit LAF programs to enhance the quality of life for young cancer survivors and their families.

Employee Involvement

Nike U.S. employees contributed more than 71,000 volunteer hours - an increase of 6 percent from last year - and more than $2.5 million to charitable organizations. Nike matched the volunteer hours at $10 per hour and cash contributions dollar for dollar resulting in an additional $3.1 million toward communities - a slight increase over fiscal year 2003.


Nike Giving History ($ millions)
FY'04 FY'03 FY'02 FY'01
Cash 16.2 14.4 10.2 10.6
Product/In-kind 21.1 16.3 19.4 18.5
Total 37.3 30.7 29.6 29.1
Giving as % of the prior year's pre-tax earnings 3.3% 3.0% 3.2% 3.2%

NIKE, Inc. based in Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan®, which designs, markets, and distributes fine dress and casual shoes and accessories; and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories.

www.nikeresponsibility.com

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