National Insurance Industry Council Pressed on Through Pandemic to Help City of Hope

Insurance and fundraising are both people-facing endeavors, so one would think that COVID-19, with all of its lockdowns and distancing, would have killed the giving spirit for a charitable group like the National Insurance Industry Council and its goal of raising money for the City of Hope.

However, the NIIC persisted and continued to raise funds and awareness for the renowned research institution, as did other industries this year — and as a whole, they did so at a record pace.

In 2021, donors and volunteers helped raise a record-breaking $260 million for City of Hope, according to the Duarte, California-based research facility.

“For the industry groups in total, philanthropy for the City of Hope was our two best years ever,” said Ken Birkett, director of development for NIIC for the City of Hope.

NIIC this year moved its annual Spirit of Life Gala online, and the Oct. 21 event reportedly raised more than $800,000 towards City of Hope’s research and cures.

The Spirit of Life Gala is NIIC’s key annual fundraising initiative. Each year an honoree is selected for work done in their profession and for their philanthropic efforts. The honoree is given The Spirit of Life Award, City of Hope’s top honor.

In 2021, the NIIC honored Tim Turner, president of Ryan Specialty Group, and chairman and CEO of RT Specialty. Past recipients include: Mike Miller, president and CEO of Scottsdale Insurance Co.; Christopher J. Swift, chairman and CEO of The Hartford; and Tony Markel, the name and the man behind building Markel Corp.

During the pandemic, NIIC was able to pivot its events to a virtual landscape — Virtual Hoops for Hope and a Virtual Wine Tasting.

However, Birkett said he’s hopeful to be able to get live events back soon — because he believes that’s the best way to network and raise funds.

“I think people really want to get together. I think they’re looking to get back to in-person events,” he said. “They want to talk to each other, experience each other in person rather than just in front of a Zoom camera.”

With that in mind, Birkett and his group are already planning some new things for next year.

They are of course looking for a new Spirit of Life honoree, and searching for companies that want to get involved, but NIIC is also working on plans to have an additional smaller-scale luncheon and honoree in the Los Angeles area this year to further engage the insurance community in the region.

“We need to reengage Southern California,” he said.

Among other initiatives, City of Hope researchers are furthering the development of a new vaccine, funded by a first-time gift from the Carol Moss Foundation, that aims to provide lasting immunity from COVID-19 to cancer and transplant patients. A Phase 2 clinical trial is currently enrolling patients.

Other City of Hope achievements include:

• Numerous breakthrough cancer drugs.
• Millions of people with diabetes benefit from synthetic human insulin, developed at City of Hope.
• The facility was a pioneer in bone marrow and stem cell transplants.
• Surgeons at City of Hope have performed more than 10,000 robotic procedures for prostate, kidney, colon, liver, bladder, gynecologic, oral and other cancers.