Norfolk Southern Foundation awards $5.7 million in 2009
NORFOLK, VA. – Norfolk Southern Foundation, the charitable giving affiliate of Norfolk Southern Corporation, awarded grants worth more than $5.7 million to nonprofit charitable organizations in 2009.
The grants included $1.47 million in employee matching gifts in support of 535 organizations. Grants other than matching gifts went to 329 organizations in Norfolk Southern’s operating territory.
The Foundation contributed to 75 United Way campaigns plus other health and human services nonprofits ($1,600,300), educational institutions ($1,100,587), cultural and arts groups ($1,145,478), and civic, community, and environmental organizations ($402,750). Among the largest recipients were the United Ways in Norfolk and Roanoke, Va., and Atlanta; National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Chrysler Museum of Art, Virginia Arts Festival, Penn State Altoona, ACCESS Scholarship Foundation, Taubman Museum of Art, The Nature Conservancy of Virginia, Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Virginia Opera, Woodruff Arts Center, Virginia Symphony, Elizabeth River Project, and Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.
Of the $5.7 million granted in 2009, $2.05 million (excluding matching gifts) went to charitable organizations in Norfolk Southern’s three primary locations: Norfolk and Roanoke, Va., and Atlanta.
As part of its educational funding, the Foundation awarded a total of $258,500 in grants to 13 universities under the Norfolk Southern College Partnership Program. This program, established in 2006, builds relationships to enhance the railroad’s recruiting opportunities, particularly for business and engineering graduates.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.