Goldman Sachs Establishes Goldman Sachs Gives Charitable Fund

Firm Also to Double Firmwide Matching Gift Program to $20,000 per Employee

 

New York, November 21, 2007 – The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) today announced the establishment of Goldman Sachs Gives, a donor advised fund. Through Goldman Sachs Gives , the firm's partners have agreed to commit a part of their overall compensation to charitable organizations.

Individual accounts will be established within Goldman Sachs Gives for participating partners, who will recommend charitable organizations around the world as recipients, thereby diversifying the firm's overall philanthropy. In addition, the firm will be making a separate contribution to Goldman Sachs Gives ; this will not be in lieu of its existing charitable giving, and is not intended to be a substitute for other giving by our partners.

Over time, the firm plans to invite other members of the Goldman Sachs community, including alumni, to contribute to Goldman Sachs Gives. We expect that Goldman Sachs Gives will grow to more than $1 billion over the next few years and will become a significant source of dedicated charitable funds. The firm will pay the costs associated with running Goldman Sachs Gives .

This initiative builds on the firm's long tradition of philanthropy and will harness the collective generosity of our people, providing an important way for them to increase their support of non-profit organizations around the world.

"Goldman Sachs Gives marks an innovative step forward in Goldman Sachs' long tradition of charitable giving," said Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. "Goldman Sachs has been fortunate to produce strong financial results in recent years and we want to support non-profit and other charitable organizations in a meaningful way."

We are also pleased to announce that, effective January 1, 2008, we plan to increase our annual Matching Gift Program from $10,000 to $20,000, for each eligible employee other than partners. This increase will allow our people to double the impact of their charitable giving.

Goldman Sachs Gives and the increased Matching Gift Program will be subject to final approval by the firm's Board of Directors at the end of our fiscal year.

Goldman Sachs' philanthropic initiatives include Public Service and Board Placement Programs, The Goldman Sachs Foundation, and the Center for Environmental Markets. In addition, more than 19,000 employees participated this year in the firm's Community TeamWorks program, which provides employees a day off to volunteer in team-based projects coordinated with local non-profit organizations around the world.

Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, it is one of the oldest and largest investment banking firms. The firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.

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