In 2005, BMO contributed $37.9 million in corporate donations, sponsorships and events, supporting communities, charities and not-for-profit organizations in Canada and the United States.

Each year, thousands of BMO and Harris employees give generously of their time and money to support their communities. In 2005, our employees raised a record $7.9 million through BMO Fountain of Hope, a national charitable foundation managed by BMO Financial Group employees and over US$1 million through the United Way in Chicagoland.

BMO is one of Canada’s most generous corporate benefactors. Through our donations and sponsorship programs, we contribute to causes that include education, health, arts and culture, community development and sports and athletics. Our efforts are augmented by our people, thousands of whom give substantial amounts of their time, energy and income to support their communities.

Physicians for the North

Providing excellent health care to every Canadian is a societal responsibility – and a challenge. With both these truths in mind, we announced our support for two innovative programs developed to train physicians for practice in northern and rural communities. In British Columbia, BMO committed $150,000 over five years to support the Northern Medical Programs Trust at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. It is expected by 2015 that 150 students will have graduated from this program. In Ontario, we have pledged $100,000 over four years to establish the BMO Financial Group Bursary Fund at Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). With main campuses located in Thunder Bay and Sudbury, NOSM is the first new medical school in Canada in more than 30 years.

Supporting the Arts

BMO Financial Group is the founding sponsor of the Elinore and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, which this year was awarded to playwright John Mighton at a gala celebration in Toronto. He was awarded a $100,000 prize, the largest in Canadian theatre.

In Times of Need

BMO Financial Group provided support to people and regions affected by the many environmental disasters during the past year. For example, BMO donated funds to help Red Cross Provincial Disaster Response Team relief efforts for flood victims in south and central Alberta. BMO and its U.S. subsidiary Harris provided donations to relief efforts along the U.S. Gulf Coast following the destruction from Hurricane Katrina. In addition, BMO and Harris™¹ employees volunteered their time and support. We also donated funds to Canadian Red Cross relief efforts in Southeast and South Asia in the aftermath of the Tsunami tragedy, and to aid victims of a devastating earthquake in South Asia.

Learning to Skate

Canadians love to skate and BMO is intent on supporting the tradition. We are major sponsors of the Canadian National Figure Skating Team as well as presenter of CanSkate^®2, Skate Canada’s national learn-to-skate program. Over the past year, we presented BMO Financial Group CanSkate Champions Medals to more than 4,000 young people from across the country.

For more examples of our commitment to our communities, please see our Corporate Social Responsibility Report including our Public Accountability Statement online at www.bmo.com/community.