2007 Community Leadership Report

As evidence of our commitment, Piper Jaffray contributes 5 percent of its pre-tax earnings to the community as part of the Minnesota Keystone Program, a voluntary initiative promoting corporate support for communities, founded more than 25 years ago. That translates into nearly $10 million in community contributions and more than $2 million in employee volunteer hours at Piper Jaffray in the past five years alone.

In 2007, updated grant-making guidelines were announced and implemented to better reflect our company’s transition to a focused capital markets business and middle market investment bank.

Piper Jaffray Foundation, corporate giving and sponsorship dollars are primarily focused on the following:

• Community investment in neighborhood-based, small business programs in low-income areas that promote sustainable employment.
• Economic education which deepens knowledge of the economy, with emphasis on economics and emerging industries.
• Major arts and cultural organizations that enhance the quality of life in the community, supported through sponsorships.
• Other Priorities:
  • Innovative health programs that develop and track new techniques and advances addressing children’s chronic health concerns.
  • Initiatives that encourage civic engagement of young people.
  • Youth leadership development, with an emphasis on access to higher education and development of diverse leaders who are considering careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Piper Jaffray 2007 Total Giving

Piper Jaffray 2007 Foundation and Corporate Giving by Focus Area

Community Investment, Small Business

Community Reinvestment Fund, Minneapolis, MN
CRF is the national leader in bringing capital to community-development lenders through the secondary market for loans. Beginning in 1988, CRF has injected hundreds of millions of dollars into low-income and economically disadvantaged communities across the country to help stimulate job creation and economic development, provide affordable housing and construct community facilities. The $300,000 Piper Jaffray grant provided support to attract at least $9 million in additional capital including program-related investments, equity-equivalent investments and market rate capital for its USA Community Reinvestment Program, targeting underserved communities in the area of small business.

Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Piper Jaffray is proud of its multi-year relationship with NDC to help revitalize a commercial section of the Lake Street area of Minneapolis. Following years of employee mentoring and consulting in small business minority start-ups, as well as multi-year grant funding, the 2007 grant continues to focus on entrepreneurship and community development. The grant is to be used specifically at Plaza Verde and Midtown Global Market, both on Lake Street in the Phillips neighborhood of South Minneapolis.

California Redevelopment Association Foundation,
Sacramento, CA
Piper Jaffray provided support for an innovative public TV series created to inform California citizens of the benefits of community redevelopment activities. The California Redevelopment Association Foundation supports and promotes redevelopment in California through strategic planning, education and legislative advocacy.

Economic Education

BestPrep, Brooklyn Park, MN
Piper Jaffray worked in tandem with BestPrep’s eMentors and Minnesota Business Venture program to provide grant funds supporting students in grades 4-12 as they prepare Minnesota students with business, career and financial literacy skills through experiences that inspire success in work and life. Through eMentors, business volunteers tutored students weekly via a structured e-mail program, providing students with economic skills. Minnesota Business Venture allows students to interact with business volunteers while developing a career and business plan.

Arizona Council on Economic Education, Scottsdale, AZ
ACEE helps K-12 students develop economic ways of thinking and problem-solving that they can use in their lives as consumers, savers, investors, workers, citizens and participants in a global economy. The Council reaches over 300,000 students annually, including 80 percent of schools with low income students. Students learn about the economy in which they will function and they develop economic, financial, math and decision-making skills they will use every day on the job, in their careers, in their personal lives and as citizens. A Piper Jaffray grant supported development and delivery of workshops, curriculum and classroom lessons.

Arts and Culture

Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN
As a premier partner of the Walker Art Center, Piper Jaffray demonstrates its commitment to arts and culture through an ongoing relationship with one of the most prominent art institutions in the nation.

The Frick Collection, New York, NY
Piper Jaffray provided support to The Frick Collection, which includes some of the best-known paintings by European artists, major works of sculpture, eighteenth-century French furniture and porcelains, Limoges enamels, Oriental rugs, and other works of remarkable quality.

The Children’s Museum, Seattle, WA
Piper Jaffray provided sponsorship support to the Children’s Museum for the “Passport to Play” membership program. Through collaboration with social service organizations, the museum offers free family memberships to low income, homeless and distressed families.

MOSAIC, A Festival of Arts Celebrating Cultural Diversity, Minneapolis, MN
Piper Jaffray has been a sponsor of Minneapolis MOSAIC since its inception in 2004. This celebration of cultural diversity through the arts provides an opportunity for the community to experience a wide spectrum of cultural and artistic activities in Minneapolis. The festival fosters opportunities between organizations and promotes community visibility of the richness and diversity of arts and cultures in the city.

Georgia O’Keeffe, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Piper Jaffray was the proud sponsor of “Georgia O’Keeffe, Circling Around Abstraction”, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. This exhibition sponsorship provided a platform to highlight our firms arts and cultural commitment to the community and our clients during the 2007 holiday season.

Other

Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Minneapolis, MN
A grant from Piper Jaffray supported new clinical research internships for three students (high school, undergraduate or medical students) interested in cardiovascular medicine. Through direct hands-on research and exposure to sub-specialties, the program seeks to build interest in cardiology careers in a community that faces a shortage of cardiologists, especially those in clinical research. This program coincides with the Piper Jaffray Youth Leadership Development program in the areas of science, technology, economics and math (STEM) education.

Admission Possible, Saint Paul, MN
This non-profit makes college admission possible for promising low-income young people by providing them with free ACT/SAT test preparation, admissions and financial aid consulting, and guidance in the transition to college. Ninety-eight percent of Admission Possible students earn admission to college. The organization served 1,200 high school juniors and seniors at 15 high schools in 2007-08. A Piper Jaffray grant made this program a reality for ten low-income students this year.

Denver Public Schools Foundation, Denver, CO
This two-year partnership with the Denver Public Schools Foundation will fund the implementation of a new elementary-school level, hands-on science curriculum called TRACKS. The curriculum engages students in science while they are young, helping them build a strong foundation in key science concepts so they are more proficient and prepared when they reach high school. The new science curriculum was a top priority in the strategic plan for education reform that Denver Public Schools launched in 2005.

Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE), University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
Piper Jaffray provided sponsorship support of E3 2007: The Midwest’s Premier Energy, Economic and Environmental Conference, which focused on the intersection between innovative technologies, visionary policies, environmental benefits and emerging market opportunities as they relate to developments in the renewable energy sector. In addition, Piper Jaffray provided funding for the University of Minnesota’s first endowed scholarship supporting students interested in pursuing careers in renewable energy and the environment.

Hurricane Katrina Volunteer Blitz
On Friday, February 2, 2007, more than 100 Piper Jaffray Public Finance employees and their guests partnered with the Hands On Network in a revitalization project in New Orleans, a city still suffering from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. Volunteers worked on three houses and a park area in a neighborhood severely distressed by the storm. The Public Finance group installed dry wall, primed, painted and more to ensure that three families could once again live in their homes and the community could begin to reclaim the neighborhood.

“Most of us had seen the reports and images of the devastation that Hurricane Katrina caused, but until we all got in the midst of the destruction, I don’t think we truly understood the impact this tragedy still has. This project had a tremendous impact on our group, and we are grateful to be able to give back to the three families and the Gentilly community.”

Frank Fairman, Head of Public Finance Services

Public Finance Volunteers Dig Into Community Landscaping Project
Nearly 50 Piper Jaffray Public Finance employees and their family members dug in and completed a landscaping project for Cityview Performing Arts Magnet School in Northeast Minneapolis. This public school enrolls more than 600 students, most of which live at or close to poverty income levels. Piper Jaffray employees completed the project as part of the “Corporate Month of Service,” a national initiative designed to increase community impact through volunteer leadership and community involvement.

2007 Employee Giving Campaign Marks Highest Participation Rate Ever
United Way support is a strong tradition at Piper Jaffray, a way to meet human services needs in Piper Jaffray communities nationwide. In 2007, a full 66 percent of employees participated in the employee giving campaign to United Way and employee gifts increased 25 percent over 2006.

“As we began another year of employee giving with the United Way campaign, we were reminded of the unique opportunity we have to join together and improve the lives of people within our communities. Piper Jaffray employees surpassed our 2007 challenge grant goal–achieving 119 percent of the goal and establishing a new standard of excellence in employee giving. I am so proud of our commitment to supporting the larger community as a firm and making a difference in the lives of those in need.”

Andrew Duff, Chairman and CEO

2007 Piper Jaffray grant recipients

In its annual grant round completed in June of 2007, Piper Jaffray Companies and the Piper Jaffray Foundation awarded gifts and grants to more than 50 non-profit organizations across the country, including the following:

A Better Chance
Admission Possible
American Heart Association
American Red Cross
Arizona Council On Economic
Best Prep
Bond Market Foundation
Cal-ICMA Program of Southern CA
California Redevelopment Association
Center for Neighborhoods
Common Bond Communities
Community Reinvestment Fund
Denver Public Schools
Franklin Library
Goodwill Easter Seals
Pen Pals/Library Foundation of Hennepin County
Local Initiatives Support Corp (LISC)
Lutheran Alliance to Create Housing (LATCH)
Metropolitan Economic Development Association
Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers
Minneapolis Heart Institute
Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth
Minnesota Landmark Center
Minnesota Zoo Foundation
Neighborhood Development Center
Phillips Community Television
Technology Access Foundation
United Way, Various Regional Chapters
University Of MN, Carlson School
Weisman Art Museum
Wilder Foundation
WomenVenture
Women’s Initiative for Self Employment

2007 Piper Jaffray sponsorship partners

Every year, Piper Jaffray sponsors select charitable causes and events, including arts and cultural institutions. These win-win relationships enhance the quality of life in our communities and include:

Arts and Science Council
Chicago Children’s Theater
The Children’s Museum
Children’s Theater Company
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minnesota Opera
Minneapolis MOSAIC
Oregon Zoo
Pen Pals, Hennepin County Library Foundation
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
Twin Cities Marathon
Vocal Essence
Walker Art Center