MEDTRONIC FOUNDATION RECEIVES THREE WILMER SHIIELDS RICH AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNICATIONS

MINNEAPOLIS – March 21, 2008 –The Medtronic Foundation has been recognized with three awards for excellence in community communications by the 2008 Wilmer Shield Rich Awards Program. Sponsored by the National Council on Foundations, the awards program recognizes effective communications efforts to increase public awareness of foundation and corporate giving programs.

Entries to the awards program included annual or biennial reports, magazines/periodicals, special reports, public information campaigns and websites.

The Medtronic Foundation received:

• A Gold Award in the Website category (Corporate Foundations with grants $2.5M and above) for the redesigned and enhanced www.medtronic.com/community
• A Silver Award in the Special Reports category (Corporate Foundations with grants $2.5M and above) for Science Matters, a family science guide
• A Bronze Award in the Annual Report category (Corporate Foundations with annual grants $2.5M and above) for the Medtronic Foundation Community Report.

The awards will be presented at Philanthropy’s Vision: A Leadership Summit, in National Harbor, Maryland, on Monday, May 5, 2008.

About Medtronic

Medtronic, Inc. (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Minneapolis, is the global leader in medical technology – alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people around the world. The Medtronic Foundation is committed to improving the health of people and communities. Its grant making is focused in three areas: health, education and community.