The global insurance industry is built on the concept of helping people at a time of great need. This extends beyond assisting policyholders by helping to protect their homes, businesses and so much more to include becoming a force for good across our communities through charitable giving and volunteerism. Every day, professionals across our industry roll up their sleeves to offer their time and talent, and to give generously, in support of the communities where they live and work.
Our industry provided $1.3 billion in charitable contributions in 2023, along with more than 500,000 professionals giving of their time to volunteer, according to the most recent data gathered at the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation. These figures reflect 100 insurance and insurance-related organizations.
The insurance industry also recognizes that helping others is not only good for the community but good for business. Positioning our board member companies at the forefront of community involvement and highlighting their social impact programs can help showcase the good the industry does while focusing attention on those in need.
Ours is an industry that appreciates the power of collective strength in working together to make a greater impact. At the heart of many influential efforts is our organization – The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), which, by working with the global insurance industry for more than 30 years, provides grants, volunteer service and leadership programs throughout the U.S., U.K. and, beginning this year, in Canada.
Each October, IICF hosts a global Month of Giving, celebrating insurance industry volunteerism throughout the year and highlighting philanthropic commitment in action. In this article, we'll talk about some insurance industry initiatives that make a difference in local communities and provide best practices to build a successful philanthropic program.
The New Normal
The evolution of work over recent years has had a significant impact on philanthropy and charitable giving. Whether operating in a remote or hybrid environment, a daily 9-to-5 or in-the-office structure is no longer a reality for many insurance professionals. As such, the ability to find and connect with people is critical, along with turnkey avenues for philanthropy given that people are spread across multiple locations, geographies and time zones.
IICF's Fill the Truck Food Drive is an example of a turnkey initiative that meets people where they are. Created and implemented during the pandemic as a safe, socially distant way to donate much-needed food, Fill the Truck also provides a pathway for various areas of connection in the form of in-kind donations and financial contributions from an organization to individuals donating and facilitating the collection and delivery of food. Since its inception, this program has grown to deliver thousands of meals across the West and Southeast U.S. regions through the IICF's food bank partners.
Another distinct challenge when navigating philanthropy in today's business environment is striking the right balance between corporately supported initiatives and causes and the varied, and often more locally based, charitable passions of individual employees. Both are important and carry a considerable role in shaping corporate culture, and the quality of business, employee and community connection. Embracing both a top-down and bottom-up approach is important, helping to ensure that the philanthropic avenues are not only strategic, but also authentic in their connections.
For instance, one long-serving IICF board company, Brown & Brown, had been seeking to engage its summer interns with philanthropy in a meaningful way. Through the organization's Next Gen Connect Program, IICF helped facilitate connections with nine nonprofits from around the country. The 61 Brown & Brown interns developed social media campaigns, created impact videos and supported several functions that small and medium-sized nonprofits do not have the capacity to coordinate. The project instilled a sense of purpose among the group of interns and goodwill toward our industry, while providing fulfilling and relevant experiences.
This is just one of thousands of volunteer efforts from our tremendous partners and their colleagues. Each year IICF features the contributions of our Key Partner Companies, those companies supporting us at the highest leadership level, in an annual publication that shines a spotlight on their extraordinary contributions through charitable giving, volunteerism and innovative industry leadership. The impact can be viewed in the 2024 IICF Insurance Industry Philanthropic Showcase.
Setting the Foundation
I have always believed the building blocks of a successful community outreach program already exist within each organization; the key is properly identifying this foundation through the organization's collective values. For example, a company's clients – and their own employees – are already connected within their own communities and are acutely aware of their neighbors' needs. To that end, insurance leaders should aim to gain a deeper knowledge of programs already in place and expand on them to benefit the community.
Second, I like to urge organizations to benchmark participation and effectiveness of any programs in place, the same as any successful business would benchmark operational goals. Good measurement of outcomes will enable a company to understand its current position and determine how to effectively develop or expand its philanthropic strategy.
Finally, companies should identify the top performing champions of philanthropic programs and empower them to drive and grow those efforts. These "doers," are the champions who are truly passionate about connecting the community and the selfless purpose behind charitable giving. Organizations that can effectively harness that employee passion will reap the rewards – including a positive reputation across the community, and enhanced employee recruitment and retention. Some thoughts for consideration to develop a greater employee connection:
- Cultivate connections. Effectively communicate the reason for launching a charitable campaign or a coming volunteer event to drive employee engagement.
- Make involvement easy. Create a variety of options for engagement and opportunities to connect. Not everyone has the time, ability or financial resources to contribute to every single cause. Make it easy for people to engage by giving them opportunities to amplify a philanthropic message via social media, or throughout the community without needing to commit time or financial contributions.
- Share the successes. Contextualize the impact of a particular donation or volunteer effort and celebrate the successes. Make your teams aware of how their contributions have made an impact on a particular campaign, mission or nonprofit organization. This can be done through sharing success stories or clearly identifying how donated funds will be deployed in the community.
The IICF is privileged to have nearly 300 board companies, and more than 800 individual insurance professionals serving on its boards and committees across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. These include organizations, individuals and teams passionate about doing good in the world and making our communities better for all. Building even stronger connections among employers, employees and the community benefits all involved. And participation in our Month of Giving is a great start - find out how you can get involved by visiting https://www.iicf.org/.
