The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. The company invests in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill their mission and drive thought leadership and innovation.

In 2013, the Citi Foundation invested $78 million in 87 countries and enabled 1.3 million people to work toward specific financial inclusion and economic empowerment goals. In addition, more than half of the Foundation’s grant investments included a thought leadership and innovation component, critical to testing new ideas, shaping industry dialogue and influencing public policy.

Philanthropic Focus Areas

Youth Economic Opportunities: The Citi Foundation supports efforts that help boost the employability of low-income, vulnerable young people around the world. In particular, they seek to increase the number of youth, primarily aged 16-24, who become employed or start an income-generating business through leadership and skills training, experiential learning, and access to professional networks. Further, they believe that consistent and meaningful engagement of young people in the design and execution of programs that are intended to benefit them can help ensure that those programs are addressing their priorities and aspirations and improving their economic prospects.

Financial Inclusion: The Citi Foundation supports efforts to develop a more inclusive financial system that provides greater access to financial products, services and capital to low-income communities and individuals. Access to capital and financial products empowers adults and young people to build financial assets, enables entrepreneurs to grow or launch businesses that create jobs, and helps community-based organizations strengthen and transform communities. Accordingly, the Citi Foundation supports community-based lenders, including Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that provide access to capital, financial products and wrap-around services to small businesses. However, they believe access to capital and products alone is not enough. Financial capability—the ability to establish financial plans and develop strategies for preserving a strong financial position during times of both economic prosperity and instability—is critical to the financial well-being and upward economic mobility of individuals and communities.

Community Solutions: The Citi Foundation supports efforts that break down silos and bring stakeholders together to develop and scale solutions to the most pressing challenges confronting disfranchised communities around the world. By investing in nonprofit organizations’ capacity to be change agents, and supporting partnerships and networks, they seek to transform communities into sustainable and thriving epicenters of equitable economic opportunity for all. They support collaborations among stakeholders such as local government, community-based organizations and residents, the private sector, and research institutions and invest in efforts that spur innovation in key areas, including affordable housing, environmental sustainability and resilience, adult workforce training and small business development. Further, the Citi Foundation seeks to partner with community organizations that are working to advance racial equity within these key areas.