Community Impact

At American Express, we believe in backing our customers, colleagues and communities. Our Community Impact programs focus on supporting small business owners and nonprofit leaders, helping communities impacted by natural disasters and engaging our colleagues in community giving and volunteering efforts. Throughout the year, American Express colleagues across the globe participate in volunteer events to back organizations that are making a positive impact.

By equipping small businesses and nonprofits with resources to grow and innovate today, prepare for tomorrow, and overcome challenges big and small, we back local champions who strengthen their communities and help economies thrive.

The commitment to serving our communities is a longstanding one. In the 1860s, we began providing funding for disaster relief in the United States, and in 1872, we announced our first philanthropic grant. Today, we continue that legacy through the American Express Foundation. Since 1954, we have provided over $1 billion to charitable causes around the world through the Foundation and our Corporate Giving Program.

As the founder of Small Business Saturday, American Express supports the ongoing success of small businesses around the world.

Since launching Small Business Saturday in 2010, American Express has brought communities together by connecting small business owners with local customers to kick off the holiday season when these businesses needed the foot traffic. Fifteen years later, total reported spend at small businesses during the annual Small Business Saturday in the U.S. has reached an estimated $223 billion¹ since tracking began.

American Express has recently launched programs that support small business recovery efforts and help communities come together after a natural disaster strikes. These include our Small Business Hurricane Recovery Grant Program to support small businesses impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and our Maui Small Business Recovery Grant Program to help those impacted by 2023 Maui wildfires, among others.

These build on our hallmark initiatives, including Backing Small Businesses, Backing Historic Small Restaurants, and Backing International Small Restaurants grant programs. Since 2020, our grants have supported nearly 5,000 small businesses across six countries, and 50 U.S. states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico.

Since its founding in 2007, the American Express Leadership Academy has invested over $100 million to enhance the leadership skills of more than 165,000 non-profit leaders around the world. The six-month program is funded by the American Express Foundation and delivered by Common Purpose. Together, we host three annual academies that bring together participants in the Americas, Asia-Pacific region, and the UK/EMEA region. For more information and application details, click here.

We provide various opportunities for our colleagues to give back to their communities and nonprofits that support a broad range of causes. Our Give2Gether platform is an easy and seamless way for our global colleagues to engage in volunteer opportunities, make donations and support their favorite nonprofits year-round.

In 2024, over 6,000 colleagues volunteered or committed their time to organizations they care about. Together, including the company’s match, we provided over $13 million to more than 7,500 non-profit organizations in 50 countries.