Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Foundation awarded nearly $152,000 in educational grants during the 2010-2011 school year through its STEM Innovation Grants and Mini-Grants for Education programs.  The 117 grants funded projects ranging from surveying classes, robotics clubs and science camps to teacher requests for digital microscopes and classroom computers.

While the overall goal to support quality education is the same for the STEM Grants and the Mini-Grants programs, each is designed to support education in a specific way:

• STEM Innovation Grants Program awards grants up to $5,000 to programs or projects that develop, improve or expand innovative instructional curriculum in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.  A school is eligible to receive up to two STEM grants each application period
• Mini-Grants for Education Program awards grants up to $500 to school-based programs or projects that enrich learning for students in a variety of academic areas.  A school is eligible to receive up to four mini-grants each application period

Both programs accept applications from teachers, school administrators or parent volunteers/PTA officials at public and private schools located in or near communities where the Company has a presence.

Through the Clinton Global Initiative, the Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Foundation became part of an initiative called 100Kin10 – a multi-sector effort to prepare, deploy and support 100,000 excellent science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers in the United States over the next 10 years.  As part of this initiative, we have pledged at least $1.5 million over the next three years to support teacher development programs near our operations in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.