News release

HP Pioneers New Approach to Social Venture Philanthropy

Two Communities Join East Palo Alto in Becoming Digitally Connected with $5 Million Each in HP Resources

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 14, 2001

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HWP) today announced the selection of the Southern California Tribal Community and East Baltimore's Empowerment Zone as HP Digital Villages. Chosen from more than 200 underserved U.S. communities that submitted proposals, each Digital Village will receive approximately $5 million worth of HP products, services, consulting and social venture capital to implement their technology partnership plans over the next three years.

Last year, East Palo Alto, Calif., a low-income area in the heart of Silicon Valley, was named the kick-off site for the $15 million Digital Village program that combines technology, brainpower and collaborative energy to reinvent how communities address their most pressing issues.

The pioneering program builds on the experience and insights HP has gained through 60 years of community service and sets a new standard for how HP and other companies contribute to their communities.

"Despite the current economic downturn, HP remains committed to good corporate citizenship," said Bess Stephens, director, HP Philanthropy and Education. "The Digital Village program is part of HP's broader efforts to bridge the digital divide through e-Inclusion, a vision of the future where all people have access to the social and economic opportunities of the digital age. The Digital Village program is about listening to communities, working with them to define priorities, and then applying HP technology, consulting and volunteers to address those issues in the most substantive and sustainable ways we can."

HP has been widely recognized for its corporate citizenship role. Most recently, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy ranked HP No. 1 among computer companies in terms of giving to organizations that serve ethnic minorities.(1)

Native American Communities Connects with Wireless Access

The Southern California Tribal Community is a wide-ranging, rural community of 17 Native American reservations stretching from the Mexican border to northern San Diego County. With a focus on wireless access, the community's proposed plan will build upon work already begun under the High-Performance Wireless Research and Education Network project to link all 17 reservations. These digital connections will provide opportunities for expanded education, training, business development and sharing of cultural knowledge and resources.

e-Living in East Baltimore's Empowerment Zone

Focusing on community and economic development, the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone will work with HP to achieve its vision of e-living, which leverages technology to build a community network of participants and providers. The network will support learning for youths and adults, strengthen and connect community organizations and businesses, and enhance the delivery of community services.

East Palo Alto Launches Community Technology Partnership Plan

Since the East Palo Alto Digital Village was launched in November 2000, HP employees from across the company have been working with community leaders to develop a community technology partnership plan to address their needs. The plan includes programs to assist K-12 students at school, including one-to-one e-learning and scholarships through HP's Diversity in Education program; assistance to small businesses to use the Internet to manage and market their businesses; and a community portal to allow collaboration and e-commerce transactions among residents, city government, small businesses, non-profits, churches and other community organizations.

More than 840 communities from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico registered their intent to submit a Digital Village proposal. Later, more than 200 communities based in 46 states submitted full proposals. Each proposal was evaluated based upon the community's vision for development, the strength and stability of their partnership and the community's capacity to execute and sustain the project plan.

The communities selected as finalists included Chicago's East Humboldt Park, the District of Columbia's Anacostia neighborhood, San Diego's Neighborhood Technology Partnership and South Central El Paso, Texas. Finalists will receive $12,000 in HP technology products to encourage their continued technology improvement efforts.

The Boston Consulting Group is serving as HP's key consulting advisor for the Digital Village program.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services -- is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to individuals and businesses through simple appliances, useful e-services and an Internet infrastructure that's always on.

HP has 88,500 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing operations of $48.8 billion in its 2000 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.

(1) Based on study by NCRP, titled "Grants: Corporate Grantmaking To Racial/Ethnic Communities," dated February 2000. The study analyzed corporate grantmaking from 124 leading companies in 15 major U.S. industries.