For Florida Insurer American Integrity, Giving Back is Part of Company Culture

American Integrity Insurance Group’s charitable efforts have become an integral part of the company’s culture, and not just during the holiday season.

The Florida-based insurer, which formed in 2006, began asking employees four years ago what charities they would like to support. Every November, employees can submit and vote on the ones they would like to put company efforts toward the following year.

According to Michael Goodman, American Integrity Human Resources manager, employees have selected three different charities to support for the last several years: Metropolitan Ministries, which provides food for needy families in three Florida counties; John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, a pediatric hospital in St. Petersburg; and Joshua House, which offers a safe haven for abused, neglected and abandoned children aged six to 17 in Tampa Bay.

With each group the insurer supports, the response from employees is overwhelming, Goodman says.

From one employee collecting gift cards and loading up trucks of food during Thanksgiving for the Metropolitan Ministries food drive, to buying all of the gifts on the wish lists of children staying at Joshua House, to participating in a radiothon at the John Hopkins children’s hospital, employees at American Integrity feel passionately about giving back.

“It’s the individual passion that the employees have for the fundraisers that we do that has driven the success,” Goodman said. “It’s really extraordinary. When you give, you get.”

This holiday season, American Integrity contributed 8,000 meals to Metropolitan Ministries – enough food to feed a family of four for more than 600 days.

The company also ensures that each of the 30 to 40 children staying at Joshua House receive every item on their wish list at Christmas. A Christmas tree was put up at the company headquarters with ornaments listing an item requested by the kids. Goodman said typically 75 to 85 percent of American Integrity’s 200 employees participate in purchasing hundreds of items to fulfill the kids’ Christmas wishes.

In addition to participating in the John Hopkins radiothon, the company also holds a Lego drive to replace those the kids play with year-round at the hospital.

Goodman said the three organizations all have different needs at different times of year, so employees can participate in giving back at any time. Employees can also have personal donations of up to $500, or in some cases more, matched by the company should they choose to support a different organization.

“From an insurance standpoint, our role is to serve, and it just goes hand-in-hand that we would serve our communities as well,” Goodman said.

Goodman said that culture of giving back has also been a successful recruiting tool for the company in attracting new, young talent to the firm. Young people just entering the work force want to work for companies that they see making a positive impact on society, he said.

“We are drawing an incredibly rich, younger generation of people because they are seeing us out in the community giving back,” he said.

American Integrity announced to employees at the beginning of December that the company’s charitable efforts will benefit the same three organizations next year, making it the third year in a row it will support these groups.

“We are very proud to be a part of these charities and look forward to continuing to give back to the Florida communities we serve,” the company said in a statement.