At Prudential, we build our community collaboratives as carefully as we craft our business partnerships. We do it with the same goal: A successful collaboration should benefit all the participants involved. And we're usually pretty successful.

First and foremost, we focus on meeting the needs of our neighbors. Whether we're attempting to help children enter school ready to learn, or helping to improve a neighborhood, we want our actions to make a tangible difference in the lives of those who share our communities.

Collaboration should also enable our partner organizations to best realize their mission. Prudential does its part by providing a grant or a loan, mobilizing employee volunteers, or giving advice and other business resources. But the most significant goals are realized when collaborators strengthen their individual resources by working together as a team-with a shared conviction about the importance of the desired outcomes.

What is it that Prudential gets out of these collaborations? The answer is: “A lot.” Long term, we believe our shareholders and employees will live and work in better, healthier communities because we've played a small role. Short term, we see our colleagues learning new skills and strengthening their cultural competencies by participating in our volunteer projects. Our community partners teach us how to do business more effectively and how to strengthen our relationships with our employees and clients.

The 2005 Community Resources Annual Report highlights the power of collaboration. We've focused on just a few of the efforts we've been privileged to be part of. We especially salute our community partners who show us every day that we can make things better by working together.

Art Ryan
Chairman and CEO