We will be able to do a whole lot more good in coming years.
The board of the National Life Group Foundation voted this week to boost the annual budget from $750,000 to $1 million.
“The Foundation’s mission mirrors that of the company,” Foundation President Beth Rusnock wrote in a report to the board. “By providing grants to qualifying nonprofits, we keep our promises to support local communities. They, in turn, keep their promises to those they serve, some of whom are our own employees. This support has resulted in thriving communities in which our colleagues live and work.”
In the past year, the Foundation has awarded more than 100 grants to large and small organizations. The average grant this year was $6,293, an increase of more than $200.
But some of the grants are for much more. National Life, for example, awarded a $100,000 multi-year grant to the Committee on Temporary Shelter, which operates the largest homeless shelter in Vermont. In the Dallas region, Communities in Schools won a $50,000 grant.
When the board last increased funding, the Foundation expanded its giving so that it can match each employee’s charitable giving up to $1,500 each year through the Community Giving Campaign. That program, which happens near the end of the year, grew by 59 percent last year.
The Foundation also provides the prize money for the 16 LifeChanger of the Year national winners and makes grants to charitable organizations in communities that host Do Good Tour stops.
“Thank you for the very generous donation,” David Mullin, executive director of Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity. “We will put it to good use on the home build now under way locally. Thank for helping change the lives of local families in need.”
