The Prudential Foundation Board Approves $2.9 Million in Grants to Nonprofits

NEWARK, N.J., March 23, 2009 — The Board of Trustees for The Prudential Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 organization, recently approved $2.9 million in grants to five organizations that are working to address needs in communities around the country.

“The Prudential Foundation is pleased to continue its strategic support of innovative programs that focus on supporting education leadership, youth development initiatives and the arts as an economic engine and quality of life issue,” said Gabriella Morris, vice president and head of Prudential Financial’s Community Resources Division and president of The Prudential Foundation. “Our most recently approved grants will help guide some of the best and the brightest into careers as principals in inner city schools, help build a new Boys and Girls Club in Newark, support the construction of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, expand the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, and enhance the leadership abilities for leaders of non-profit organizations.”

The approved grants are:

* $350,000 to New Leaders for New Schools, a national organization that trains and supports educators to become principals in low-income communities nationwide. The NLNS currently operates in Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland and Washington, D.C. The grant is to help fund a pilot program in Newark, NJ. Including this grant, The Prudential Foundation has provided over $1.6 million to NLNS since 2004.
* $1 million over three years to the Boys and Girls Club of Newark, the largest youth service organization in New Jersey. The grant is a challenge grant to help the Club launch a capital campaign for the West Side Park Club House project and leverage $500,000 in additional support from other donors. The new club facility will provide a safer, cleaner more functional facility for youth and solidify the role of the Boys and Girls Club of Newark as an integral part of the community. This grant brings the total funding from The Prudential Foundation to the Boys and Girls Club of Newark to over $5.7 million since 1988.
* $1 million grant over three years to The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. The grant will help design and construct a Smithsonian Institution museum and the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history and culture. The museum, scheduled for completion in 2015, will be a state-of-the-art “green” building based on the Leadership and Environment Design Green Building Rating System. It will be located on a five-acre site on Constitution Avenue, adjacent to the Washington Monument and across the street from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
* $200,000 to Liberty Science Center, the largest education resource in the New Jersey-New York City region. Liberty Science Center provides transformative experiences that connect schools and society with science and technology. The grant will be used for general operating needs. The Prudential Foundation has now provided more than $1.5 million to Liberty Science Center since 1988.
* $350,000 over two years to The Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leadership, a training and development center at Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, that connects research and education to the practical requirements of nonprofit leaders in the field. The grant will be used for leadership development programs for nonprofit executives and board members. The Prudential Foundation helped establish The Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leadership in 2003 and has provided grants totaling more than $1.4 million since then.

In addition to these major grants, The Prudential Foundation also recently approved 189 other grants, totaling $5.7 million for the months of September through December 2008.

About The Prudential Foundation
Founded in 1977, The Prudential Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU). In order to promote sustainable communities and improve social outcomes for community residents, The Prudential Foundation focuses its grant making strategy in the areas of education, economic development and arts and civic infrastructure. In 2008, The Prudential Foundation made a total of 302 grants totaling $15 million in support of this strategy. In addition, the Foundation also supports the community engagement efforts of Prudential employees through Matching Gifts and other special programs that recognize their volunteer efforts. In 2008, the Foundation supported these employee efforts with $7 million.

The Prudential Foundation is part of Prudential Financial’s Community Resources Department, which includes: the Social Investment Program, which originates and manages socially beneficial investments; Local Initiatives, which coordinates employee volunteerism and fosters community outreach; and Business Diversity Outreach, which facilitates diverse market development and outreach efforts for Prudential businesses.

About Prudential Financial, Inc.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $558 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2008, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company’s well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/.