New York, New York - AOL Inc. announced the launch of the AOL Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit private foundation focused on creating opportunities for women, girls and underserved youth, particularly in the technology sector.

The Foundation will develop partnerships, support and make grants to organizations that are providing creative solutions to large challenges currently facing women, girls and underserved youth today through fostering leadership and empowerment, improving economic opportunity, increasing access through education and technology, and cultivating creativity.

The launch of the Foundation represents another facet of AOL's corporate citizenship and builds on AOL's longstanding commitment to strengthening communities and promoting diversity and inclusion. The Foundation will provide its first grants to support the work of four nonprofit organizations focused on fostering young women's leadership, empowerment and access through education and technology across the U.S. These organizations include:

• The New York City Foundation for Computer Science Education - to support a professional development program for teachers through the New York City Department of Education
• The New York Academy of Sciences - to support the 1,000 Girls - 1,000 Futures Program which provides a pipeline of women professionals in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
• Girls Who Code - to support the 2015 Summer Immersion Program that pairs intensive instruction in Computer Science exploring topics including robotics, web design, and mobile development with engaging, career-focused mentorship and exposure for young girls
• Step Up - to support the organization's College & Career Connections Conferences and National Mentorship Days in NYC, Chicago, and LA, in an effort to propel girls from under-resourced communities to fulfill their potential by empowering them to become confident, college-bound, career-focused, and ready to join the next generation of professional women.

"Today's launch of the Foundation and our support of these important organizations speaks to AOL's commitment to creating opportunities for women, girls and underserved youth -- in our hometown and beyond -- through better access to technology, education and leadership development," said Sara Link, President, AOL Charitable Foundation.

"AOL's mission is to simplify the internet for consumers and creators and we are now going to simplify the ability for underserved women and youth to innovate and succeed in a digitally enabled economy and society," said Tim Armstrong, AOL Chairman and CEO. "The launch of the AOL Charitable Foundation is the culmination of more than 50,000 hours of community service work and endless time supporting service groups in the world across AOL's 4000+ global team. We love making a difference and will make a difference here."

AOL's corporate citizenship centers on investing in women and youth, strengthening our local communities and empowering our audience for good through:

• Cultural initiatives like Monster Help Day, AOL's day of global community service, where over the past five years, AOL employees have volunteered over 50,000 hours in local communities globally;
• Groundbreaking content brands including MAKERS.com, the largest video collection of women's stories, BBG Ventures, a venture fund focused on early stage investments in women-led consumer internet start-ups and cambio.com, a site for girls #builtbygirls in partnership with Girls Who Code;
• Pro Bono Media through the Make a Difference Module on AOL.com and across AOL and partner sites, which has donated nearly 70 billion impressions to over 500 nonprofits and causes that our consumers, advertisers and employees care about;
• AOL's strong roster of female leadership including Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, Karen Dykstra; President, BBG Ventures, Susan Lyne; Chief Marketing Officer, Allie Kline; and Executive Vice President and General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Julie Jacobs.

About AOL Charitable Foundation: AOL Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private foundation committed to creating opportunities for women, girls and investing in the next generation of young leaders through grant making to exceptional nonprofit organizations focused on these communities. The Foundation allocates its resources in four strategic areas, including fostering leadership and empowerment, improving economic opportunity, increasing access through education and technology, and cultivating creativity. For additional information on the AOL Charitable Foundation please visit http://corp.aol.com/our-values/corporate-citizenship.