PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 15, 2006--Alcoa (NYSE:AA) and Alcoa Foundation, the second largest corporate foundation in the United States, today released 2005 year-end highlights from combined community giving programs that include a 38 percent increase in giving to $39.9 million in 2005, up from $28.8 million in 2004.

Highlights include:

-- An investment of $8.6 million to launch a global conservation
and sustainability research program through fellowships to
outstanding academics and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs).

-- Sponsorship of two world-class art exhibitions in celebration
of Alcoa's most recent investments in Russia - two fabricating
facilities in Samara and Belaya Kalitva.

-- Employee engagment programs that earned NGOs more than
$3 million in grants through Alcoa employee volunteerism, with
employees volunteering more than 507,000 hours to NGOs and
non-profits in 2005 - the equivalent of more than 55 years of
work.

"The results of our programs demonstrate that Corporate Social Responsibility is not just a catch-phrase at Alcoa. Alcoa employees live our Values and work hand-in-hand with Alcoa Foundation and our community partners to enhance the quality of life of Alcoa communities worldwide," said Alain Belda, Alcoa chairman and CEO. "Our strategy is to bring value to our partnerships beyond money, so that our NGO partners around the world can become more sustainable in the long-run."

The combined giving of Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation totaled $39.9 million in 2005, with Alcoa Foundation investing nearly $23 million in grants in more than 30 countries where Alcoa operates, and Alcoa contributing more than $16 million to NGO partners around the world. The Foundation's grantmaking efforts reached more than 30 countries in 2005 as part of an overall strategy to globalize giving, which is reflective of Alcoa's expanding global presence.

New Alcoa Foundation Leadership

As Alcoa Foundation reviews its accomplishments in 2005, it begins 2006 with new leadership. Meg McDonald has been named president, Alcoa Foundation. McDonald joined Alcoa in 2002 as general manager of corporate affairs in Australia following a distinguished career in the Australian diplomatic service. She will be based in New York City. She succeeds Kathleen W. Buechel, former president and treasurer of Alcoa Foundation, who will be retiring after a 25-year career with Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation. She will assist in the transition and will serve as a senior consultant to Alcoa. Velma Monteiro-Tribble has been named Alcoa Foundation's chief operating officer and assistant treasurer. She is based in Pittsburgh.

"Meg has extensive international experience engaging stakeholders on global issues, and she has proven to be an effective leader who produces results. Her expertise in negotiating key global issues in the United Nations and other international organizations will be a valuable asset in her new role as Alcoa Foundation continues to add communities to its grantmaking portfolio as Alcoa expands its presence around the world," Belda said. "Kathy Buechel's leadership of Alcoa Foundation shaped and expanded what philanthropy means at Alcoa. She helped the Foundation become a global leader in the corporate philanthropy field, representing much more than money to our communities. Her energy, vision and impact can be seen in every facet of the Foundation's work."

Major Community Investments

Alcoa Foundation donated $8.6 million to create the Alcoa Conservation and Sustainability Fellowship (CSF) program, a six-year research program in the field of global conservation and sustainability by 30 Academic and 60 NGO fellows from around the world. Results will be given away free to companies and NGOs worldwide to spur world-class sustainable development practices.

In celebration of Alcoa's most recent investments in Russia, Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation jointly sponsored RUSSIA!, the most comprehensive exhibition of Russian art ever assembled in the U.S., at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. At the same time, Alcoa, Alcoa Foundation and the Andy Warhol Museum partnered to bring Andy Warhol: Artist of Modern Life, the largest and most important Warhol exhibition ever to travel to Russia, to two cultural centers in Russia as well as to communities surrounding Alcoa's newest facilities in the country.

In addition, Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation contributed nearly $1 million in disaster relief grants to help local non-profits and agencies offering relief in Alcoa communities worldwide affected by natural disasters.

Employee Engagment

Nearly 7,700 Alcoa employees representing 27 countries and 200 communities volunteered their time as part of the third annual Alcoa Worldwide Week of Service held last October. The event serves as a unified timeframe for Alcoans to help non-profits and NGOs within their communities.

Employee engagement activities continued on an upward trend in 2005. In 2005, nearly 7,500 Alcoa employees volunteered more than 35,000 hours of community service through the ACTION (Alcoans Coming Together In Our Neighborhoods) program, earning the non-profits and NGOs they served more than $1.5 million in grants. While the ACTION program recognizes groups of employees, the Bravo! program acknowledges individuals for their community efforts. Alcoa employees volunteered more than 470,000 hours through this program in 2005 and earned non-profit organizations and NGOs more than $1.5 million in grants. As a result of the ACTION and Bravo! programs, Alcoa employees volunteered the equivalent of more than 55 years of work in 2005 to non-profit organizations!

Background on Meg McDonald

Before being named president of Alcoa Foundation, Meg McDonald served as general manager of corporate affairs for Alcoa World Alumina Australia, a position she has held since 2002. Prior to joining Alcoa, she was a senior career diplomat in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Over the course of her diplomatic career, she served in Geneva as a negotiator for the Uruguay Round trade negotiations and was trade adviser to several Australian Government Trade Ministers on WTO, APEC and aid matters. She was deputy chief of mission, Embassy of Australia, Washington from 1998-2002, and prior to that was Australia's Ambassador for the Environment, where she was lead negotiator for the Kyoto Protocol.

In Washington, her responsibilities engaged the full breadth of the bilateral relationship including handling of trade disputes, building the relationship with two administrations and with Congress and Australia's involvement in the global war against terrorism. She played a central role in the strategy behind and advocacy campaign for the bilateral Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United States.

McDonald is a member of the Australian Government's Trade Policy Advisory Council; the Board of the Institute for International Business, Economics and Law at Adelaide University; the Advisory Council of Curtin University Business School; and the Australian Advisory Council of the Australian American Association (AAA). She serves on the board of the Australian Industry Greenhouse Network
(AIGN) and was a participant in the Pew Center's Climate Dialogue at Pocantico.

Background on Velma Monteiro-Tribble

Before being named chief operating officer and assistant treasurer for Alcoa Foundation, Velma Monteiro-Tribble served as the senior program officer at the Foundation and was responsible for its global signature initiatives and philanthropic giving programs. She will continue to serve as secretary of Alcoa Foundation's board of directors.

Prior to joining Alcoa Foundation in 2002, Monteiro-Tribble served as an executive with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), where her responsibilities included leadership development, management and fiscal accounting for WKKF programs. She also worked on grantmaking initiatives and partnerships in Latin America and South Africa and developed and managed international leadership seminars at the Salzburg Seminars in Salzburg, Austria.

She has more than 30 years of experience in grantmaking, leadership development and training, community development, community enterprise, evaluation, tests and measurements, with such organizations as the National Association for Community Leadership, the U.S. Department of Education, American College Testing, Rhode Island College and Brown University. She also served as an administrator in the U.S. Peace Corps in Asia.

She has received numerous awards for her work including Urban Bankers Leadership Award and the National Woman of Achievement Award from the National Business and Professional Women Association. She has written numerous articles and booklets on the topics of leadership and diversity. She chairs the Advisory Board for the Morehouse College International Leadership Center.

Background on Kathleen W. Buechel

Kathleen (Kathy) Buechel is a senior consultant, Alcoa, and was most recently president and treasurer of Alcoa Foundation. She joined Alcoa in the company's Pittsburgh office in 1981 as a staff writer in the public relations organization. She held assignments in the media relations, employee communications and community and issue management areas before being named in 1988 as marketing communications supervisor, environment. Two years later, she was elected vice president of Alcoa Foundation. She was elected a director of Alcoa Foundation in 1998 and named president and treasurer in 1999.

Buechel actively participates in several civic and nonprofit organizations, including the Board of the Independent Sector, World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and Marian Manor. In addition to serving on the Finance Committee of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, she recently chaired the Contributions Council of the Conference Board and served as president of Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Advisory Board and the Associates Group of the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. She has been chair of the Independent Sector's John Gardner Leadership Award Selection Committee for three years. She served on the board of the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh, Winchester Thurston School and Oakland Catholic High School. She was an Athena Award Finalist.

In 2005, she received the Girl Scouts' Women and Girls of Distinction Award for Math, Technology and the Sciences. Buechel has been honored with the Ted Craig Humanitarian Award by the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, and Chatham College's first Award for International Understanding.

Copyright Business Wire 2006

Alcoa Inc.

Alcoa Inc.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) is the world's leading producer and manager of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina facilities, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components, Alcoa also markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap® foils and plastic wraps, Alcoa® wheels, and Baco® household wraps. Among its other businesses are closures, fastening systems, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars and trucks. The company has 129,000 employees in 44 countries and has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com

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