H&R Block Donates Portion of TaxCut Proceeds to Charities; TaxCut Customers Earmark More Than $130,000 for Four Organizations.

Business Editors

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2000

H&R Block Inc. today announced it is donating more than $130,000 to four national nonprofit organizations on behalf of its TaxCut customers. The organizations include the American Red Cross, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and the Youth Volunteer Corps.

Customers of TaxCut, Block's number-one rated software, had the opportunity to designate a portion of their purchase proceeds to one of the four organizations, which were selected to benefit from a direct mail campaign that began last July. While $131,825 has been contributed to date, the donation could increase as more TaxCut customers decide to participate in the philanthropic program.

"H&R Block helps millions of people every tax season, but we wanted to extend that spirit of help throughout the rest of the year," said Gene Goldenberg, senior vice president for software and e-commerce at H&R Block. "These donations demonstrate the generosity of our customers and our shared commitment to giving back to our communities by supporting the outstanding work of these organizations. This is the first year of what we expect to be a long-term program of giving."

Total contributions donated to each organization are: American Red Cross, $89,415; Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International, $21,058; Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, $17,034; and Youth Volunteer Corps, $10,000. The donations will provide much-needed funds to continue the services and programs provided by each of the organizations.

"We are thrilled to receive the H&R Block contribution, which will benefit the disaster relief fund," said Marti Jones, manager of marketing relationships at the American Red Cross. "We thank H&R Block and its customers for helping us to provide essential emergency needs to families in the wake of disasters."

Peter Van Etten, president and chief executive officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International, describes the H&R Block program as "an example of corporate citizenship at its best."

TaxCut can be purchased wherever software is sold. For more information on TaxCut, or the TaxCut charity program, call 800/457-9525 or visit www.taxcut.com. The TaxCut charity program is separate from The H & R Block Foundation, which has its own guidelines and concentrates its giving in the metropolitan Kansas City area.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross is dedicated to helping make families and communities safer at home and around the world. A volunteer-led humanitarian service organization operating on a budget of $2.3 billion, the American Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to the victims of more than 60,000 disasters nationwide and has been the primary supplier of lifesaving blood and blood products in the United States for more than 50 years. The Red Cross also trains more than 11.7 million people in vital lifesaving skills, provides direct health services to 2.5 million people, assists international disaster and conflict victims in more than 20 countries, and transmits more than 1.4 million emergency messages to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. Dr. Bernadine Healy is president and CEO of the American Red Cross. For more information, visit our Web site at www.redcross.org.

About the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International

JDF is the world's leading nonprofit, nongovernmental funder of diabetes research. It was founded in 1970 by parents of children with diabetes. JDF's mission is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research, and since its inception has provided more than $326 million to diabetes research worldwide. For more information, visit our Web site: www.jdf.org or call 800-JDF-CURE.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been the nationally recognized leader in youth mentoring for almost 100 years. Big Brothers Big Sisters provides professionally supported one to one mentoring relationships to millions of children through its more than 500 affiliated agencies reaching 5,000 communities. National research studies prove that children with a Big Brother or Big Sister have more positive attitudes towards school, achieve higher grades and have better school attendance. In addition, these children are less likely to use drugs and alcohol and exhibit violent behavior. For more information about the Philadelphia-based organization, visit the BBBSA Web site at www.bbbsa.org.

About the Youth Volunteer Corps

YVC promotes civic responsibility through volunteerism among youth, ages 11-18, in communities across the United States. The program draws more than 40,000 young people annually from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds and actively involves them in community problem solving through structured team-based volunteer service.

About H&R Block

Founded in 1955, H&R Block Inc. is a diversified company with subsidiaries providing a wide range of financial products and services. H&R Block Tax Services Inc. served 18.9 million taxpayers in more than 10,000 offices located primarily in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom in 1999. H&R Block Financial Advisors and Olde Discount Corp. provide consumers with financial planning and investment products. Option One Mortgage Corp. and H&R Block Mortgage Corp. offer a full range of home mortgage products. Through RSM McGladrey Inc. and HRB Business Services Inc., the company has built a national accounting, tax and consulting firm. Block Financial Corp., develops and publishes consumer financial and personal productivity software. Quarterly results and other information regarding H&R Block are available on the company's Web site at www.hrblock.com.

TaxCut is a registered trademark of Block Financial Corp. Copyright(c) 2000 Block Financial Corp. All Rights Reserved.