Allstate in the Community

Allstate believes corporate citizenship isn’t optional, it’s essential in an increasingly interconnected world. We also believe we do the most good by focusing on areas where we have special skills or interests, and on communities where we live and work.

Giving Campaign

Allstate contributes to communities across the country through our Annual Giving Campaign, which matches 15 cents on every dollar donated by employees and agency owners to local and national nonprofits. The company adds an additional five cents to the local United Way, and covers all administrative costs associated with the campaign.

In 2011, 18,059 employees and 2,531 agency owners contributed $4.8 million, with an additional company match of $1 million, for a total of $5.8 million. The campaign involved more than 450 volunteer coordinators from across the country. Also this year, the campaign was nearly paper-free, which made it easier for employees and agency owners to donate to their favorite charities, and it simplified processing and reporting.

Volunteerism

Beyond financial contributions, agency owners and employees volunteer more than 180,000 hours each year — including on Allstate’s Give Back Day, our national day of service held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Every week, Allstaters volunteer their time and talents through more than 120 employee-led Helping Hands committees in their local communities — working soup kitchens, teaching children about business and the economy, cleaning up neighborhoods, painting schools, helping run fundraising efforts and hosting events at community centers.

To encourage their efforts, The Allstate Foundation awards “Helping Hands” grants to organizations where our employees volunteer. In 2011, the Foundation recognized 320 employees with grants to the employees’ community-based nonprofit organizations. The Foundation also awarded 1,600 Allstate Agency Hands in the Community Grants to agency owners, with the goal to enhance agency owners’ local presence in their communities.

In addition to the 50 percent of Allstate officers who serve on boards of community nonprofits, Allstate created the Allstate Fellows program in 2011 to give leaders the opportunity to provide business skills to selected nonprofits. In 2011, six Allstate Fellows were recruited and placed at Chicago-area Allstate Foundation or Allstate nonprofit partners, delivering 4,000 hours of dedicated service valued at $770,000.

Volunteerism Grants

Allstater Engagement in the Community

Employees and agency owners are also critical to the success of our Teen Safe Driving and Domestic Violence programs.

• To date, The Allstate Foundation has recruited 200 Allstate agency owners and financial specialists to provide domestic violence information to their customers and communities, work with domestic violence shelters as expert speakers on financial management topics and use social media to get people talking about the issue.
• Allstate Home Office employees, retirees and their families donated household items and raised money for WINGS, a local domestic violence organization, at Allstate Family Day. A truckload of donations was delivered to WINGS along with $6,342 in cash donations.
• More than 250 agency owners ordered 35,000 copies of the Foundation’s Fresh Perspectives on Teen Driving brochure, a free tool to share with customers and community members.
• To help agency owners connect with high schools in their area, we developed a new toolkit with information and resources they can use to encourage schools and customers with teen drivers.
• Nearly 500 copies of the new Allstate Foundation Parent-Teen Driving Agreement were distributed during Allstate Family Day for our Home Office employees.