WASHINGTON, DC "“ May 5, 2008 - The America's Promise Alliance (the Alliance), today announced it has received a $1 million grant from the ING Foundation to help support its Dropout Prevention Campaign, which aims to reduce the nation's high school dropout rates by hosting Dropout Prevention summits in all 50 states and 50 select communities over the next two years.

The grant will help fund the planning and execution for the 100 state- and city-wide summits with the majority being used to support the critical follow-up work that will occur after the summits. This includes providing the state and city summit planners with online tools and resources and connections to Alliance partners within their communities to prepare and deploy the post-summit action plans. More specifically, all summit coordinators will be asked to report progress against those action plans six and 12 months after their summits take place.

"Each day, our nation loses thousands of teenagers and countless human potential as they leave high school without a diploma or the skills necessary to succeed in this increasingly globalized and competitive economy," said Marguerite W. Kondracke, president and CEO, America's Promise Alliance. "To change the course of this crisis, we are going to need the commitment of every American. The business community is an incredibly important piece of the solution to preparing our young people for college, work and life. That's why we're thrilled to have the support of an industry leader like ING for this campaign."

"We are pleased to lend our support to the Alliance for their Dropout Prevention Summits initiative," said Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation. "ING and the Alliance share a common goal of strengthening children’s education, and focusing attention on improving graduation completion rates is critical to ensuring our youth are better prepared for the future."

Nationwide, nearly one in three U.S. high school students drops out before graduating. In total, approximately 1.2 million students drop out each year "“ about 7,000 every school day, or one every 26 seconds. Nearly half of all African-American and Native-American students will not graduate with their class, while less than six in 10 Hispanic students will graduate. Dropouts are more likely to be incarcerated, rely on public programs and social services, and go without health insurance than those who graduate from high school. A new report released by the Alliance earlier this month found that about half of all students served by the main school systems in the nation's 50 largest cities graduate from high school. The report, Cities in Crisis, further revealed that in the metropolitan areas surrounding 35 of the nation's largest cities, graduation rates in urban schools were lower than those in nearby suburban communities.

In addition to financial literacy programs, the ING Foundation provides grants to organizations with an educational focus or component. They have supported Junior Achievement’s job shadowing program and are the sponsor of the National Teacher of the Year award, a project by the Council of Chief State School Officers. ING has also joined with the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help 115,000 children from Brazil, India, and Ethiopia get the educational resources they need.

About the America's Promise Alliance
America's Promise Alliance is the nation's largest partnership alliance comprised of corporations, nonprofit organizations, foundations, policymakers, advocacy and faith groups committed to ensuring that children receive the fundamental resources - the Five Promises - they need to lead successful, healthy and productive lives and build a stronger society. Building on the legacy of our founder General Colin Powell, the Alliance believes a child's success is grounded in experiencing the Five Promises - caring adults; safe places; a healthy start; an effective education; and opportunities to help others "“ at home, in school and in the community. For more information visit: www.americaspromise.org.

About ING
ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 75 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of over 120,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING) family of companies offer a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves over 14 million customers across the nation.

About the ING Foundation
The ING Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in the communities where ING operates and its employees and customers live. Through charitable giving and employee volunteerism, the foundation focuses on sustainable programs in the areas of financial literacy, children's education and diversity.

For more information, visit www.ing.com.

ING

ING

ING U.S. constitutes the U.S.-based retirement, investment management and life insurance operations of Netherlands-based ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING). In the U.S., the ING family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, including retirement plans, IRA rollovers and transfers, stable value, institutional investment management, mutual funds, alternative investments, life insurance, employee benefits, fixed and indexed annuities and financial planning. ING U.S. holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves approximately 13 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit http://ing.us.

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