A Firm Foundation: How Insurance Supports the Economy

Media Folder: 

Images

Glastonbury, Connecticut, Selective employees helped build a home with the local Habitat for Humanity organization.

In the fall of 1933, Daniel L.B. Smith, the founder of a growing insurance firm in rural Sussex County, New Jersey, organized a horse show on his company’s grounds. The show earned $280.43, all of which was donated to the Sussex County Tuberculosis League. It was one of the first corporate philanthropic donations that Selective ever made. Today, after millions of dollars in donations and countless hours of volunteerism, the company continues to follow the example of its founder and keep its philanthropic culture strong.

Selective gives back to the communities where employees live and work through its philanthropic arm, the Selective Insurance Group Foundation (the Foundation). Grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations that provide health and human services, promote civic responsibility, and support home, auto and business safety. Over the years, Selective has donated to nonprofits as varied as Meals on Wheels, YMCAs, parentteacher associations throughout the country and women’s health and counseling centers. Additionally, certain organizations receive a standing annual contribution, including the Newton (New Jersey) Medical Center Foundation, The Foundation for Morristown Medical Center, the American Red Cross, Disabled Veterans Insurance Careers and the Nature Conservancy.

Beyond financial contributions, Selective also aids nonprofits by providing support and resources. Some of the organizations that Selective has been closely involved with for years include:

• The Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice Foundation. The nonprofit hospice has been serving families in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for 35 years. Selective helps with fundraisers, donations and administrative support.

• Project Self-Sufficiency. The organization supports and empowers low-income individuals and families in New Jersey to improve their quality of life. Selective has been supporting the organization since it was established in 1987, with donations and consultations on legal, human resources and IT issues.

• Pass It Along. This nonprofit helps teenagers in Northern New Jersey become confident, resilient and compassionate through selfdiscovery, volunteerism and leadership. Selective provides financial donations to the organization, and each holiday season, employees in the company’s headquarters participate in a fun “Build-a-Bike” event where they compete to assemble bicycles for children.

• The SCARC Foundation. The nonprofit organization plans and funds programs for people with developmental disabilities. Selective provides funding for many of its programs, and employees participate in its annual walk-a-thon.

Giving back to communities across the country is an important part of many of Selective’s employees’ lives. Recognizing this, and the need that nonprofits have for volunteers for important tasks like building playgrounds, hanging drywall, cooking meals and stuffing envelopes, Selective created the Community Volunteer Support Program. This program encourages employees to volunteer their time and in return, they can “earn” a donation for the charity from the Foundation. The amount donated varies in proportion to the hours volunteered each year. Many employees easily log hundreds of hours annually at nonprofits near and dear to them, from local little league teams and emergency medical services squads, to Special Olympics and local Junior League chapters.

To make it even easier for employees to donate their time, all employees are given a paid day off each year to volunteer during business hours. Employees have enthusiastically taken advantage of this opportunity and donated thousands of hours to worthy causes, such as an underwriter who has taken pledges at a radio station, a corporate lawyer who has prepared tax returns for senior citizens and a claims handler who serves on her church’s youth trustee board. Many of these opportunities are coordinated by a dedicated group of Selective employees, known as the VIBES team (Valuable Initiatives – Balance – Employee Satisfaction). VIBES helps identify nonprofits that need helping hands and organizes volunteer events for employees to give back to communities across the country. Time and time again, Selective employees have gone out of their way to pay it forward and make a difference in the lives of others.

Both the Community Volunteer Support Program and the paid day off reward the immense spirit of volunteerism that permeates Selective. Selective’s independent agency partners are also philanthropic. Each year, Selective helps them double the donations they make to causes that are important to them through a matching gifts initiative. Selective’s President’s Club Grant Matching program matches the generous donations by Selective’s independent agents to charitable organizations across the country.

One of Selective’s agency partners, Carey, Richmond & Viking Insurance of Middletown, Rhode Island, has participated in the President’s Club Grant Matching program for the past 15 years. Every year, it donates money to the James L. Maher Center in Newport, Rhode Island, and Selective matches the amount.

“The James L. Maher Center has provided care and developmental support to persons with disabilities in our community for more than 60 years,” said David Andrade, the agency’s President. “Like many social service organizations, it faces funding challenges every year. In partnership with Selective, we are proud to be supportive of their financial vitality and mission.”

He added, “Very few insurance companies direct their charitable initiatives as broadly as Selective does, by working in tandem with their agency partners. The Selective Insurance Group Foundation is a demonstration of the value Selective places on supporting its agents and the communities we jointly serve.”

Whether it’s through donations of money or time, Selective believes that as a member of the community, it is important to leave society better than it was found. Across the company, Selective’s employees are doing what they can, individually and collectively, to build better tomorrows that everyone can share.