WASHINGTON, D.C., - June 4, 2008 - In response to the devastation following the natural disasters in China and Myanmar, Business Roundtable’s member companies pledged more $65 million in financial, in-kind and employee matching program donations to help speed relief efforts in the disaster-stricken areas. The Myanmar government's recent acceptance of foreign humanitarian workers into the country sparked a rise in corporate donations to $7.1 million. Company donations to the China earthquake have also risen to more than $58 million. Business Roundtable's Partnership for Disaster Response continues to work closely with its relief agency partners on the ground to assess the situations and evaluate critical needs. The Partnership for Disaster Response aims to bring together the many resources and capabilities of the private sector to enhance and accelerate relief and recovery following major natural disasters in the United States and abroad.

To date, contributions from 68 Roundtable members include:

China Relief Effort:

• Cash Contributions: Abbott, ACE Limited, AIG, Chevron, General Electric, General Mills, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG LLP, MasterCard Worldwide, Merck & Co. Inc., New York Life Insurance, Texas Instruments, United Technologies Corp, W.W. Grainger, Xerox
  
• Employee Matching Gifts: Avery Dennison, Bechtel Group, Boeing Company, Dow Chemical Company, EMC Corporation, Verizon Wireless
  
• In-Kind Donations: Abbott "“ antibiotics; IBM "“ servers and high end technology; Caterpillar Foundation "“ machines, work tools and power generators; Coca-Cola Company "“ water; FedEx "“ a chartered flight with relief supplies; Tyco Electronics Ltd "“ products and services to help rebuild critical telecommunications and energy networks

• Cash Contributions: American Express, Chevron, Motorola Inc, Pfizer Inc, Procter & Gamble, Schering-Plough Corporation
  
• Employee Matching Gifts: Merrill Lynch
  
• In-Kind Donations: Abbott "“ antibiotics; Caterpillar Foundation "“ machines and power generators

"Once again, we have seen how corporate donations are vital to helping speed the relief effort," said Tom Lehner, director of public policy at Business Roundtable. "Given the complicated political situations in both areas, having partnerships in place in advance has allowed our companies to be more strategic, thoughtful and effective when determining how to contribute."

These donations mirror the outpouring of contributions to support relief efforts following the 2005 disasters. Roundtable member companies contributed more than $362 million in cash and in-kind donations to the immediate relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina, $106 million following the Asian tsunami, and $47 million to the South East Asia earthquake.

Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and represent over 40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid. Collectively, they returned $112 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005.

Partnership for Disaster Response(www.respondtodisaster.org) aims to bring together the many resources and capabilities of the private sector to enhance and accelerate on-the-ground relief and recovery following major natural disasters in the United States and abroad. It works to foster public-private collaborations to prepare for the health, social and economic burdens that disasters can create and to ensure that the business community's response efforts address the most critical needs and mobilize the unique technologies and resources of its member companies.

Business Roundtable

Business Roundtable

Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with more than $5 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and pay nearly half of all corporate income taxes paid to the federal government. Annually, they return $133 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy. Business Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology innovation leaders, with more than $70 billion in annual research and development spending é¢â‚¬â€œ more than a third of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.

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