<B>First Union’s Investment Closes Out SJF at $17 Million</B>

The Sustainable Jobs Fund completed its third and final closing this week, adding First Union Corp. to its list of limited partners and bringing the total funds under management to $17 million. SJF is a community development fund that invests in growing recycling, manufacturing, environmental and other businesses in the eastern United States that create quality jobs for former low-income individuals.

Other limited partners of the Sustainable Jobs Fund include Bank of America, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the U.S. Treasury Department, Deutsche Bank, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, MBNA America Bank, Citibank, a member of Citigroup, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Dakota Foundation. "This $2.5 million investment in the Sustainable Jobs Fund is part of First Union’s commitment to neighborhood revitalization," said Robbin Moore, First Union’s Community Development Investment Manager. "Since 1996, First Union has committed almost $54 million in community development loans and investments to Community Development Financial Institutions in our operating region."

SJF invests in companies in the eastern U.S., including all of First Union’s 12-state market area. Today’s investment builds on the First Union Regional Foundation’s existing relationship with SJF: in early 1999, the foundation awarded a three-year, $450,000 grant to SJF’s nonprofit ally, the National Recycling Coalition.

"The First Union Regional Foundation’s early support has been key," said Sandra Walker, SJF Managing Director. "It enables SJF and NRC to provide technical assistance and business development contracts to companies in the Delaware Valley Region that create quality jobs for former low-income citizens."

This closing completes the capitalization of the Sustainable Jobs Fund, exceeding the original goal of $15 million, noted David Kirkpatrick, SJF Co-founder and Managing Director. "The additional funds will enable us to make more investments to further our mission," he said. To date, SJF has invested in an electric vehicle company, an engineered steel container producer, a recycled plastic products manufacturer, and a wood remanufacturer. For more information, see SJF’s website at www.sjfund.com.