In this new age of uncertainty–where the environment, society and financial system are all connected–a strong and solvent insurance industry is needed more than ever. Companies like GoodWorks Insurance are leading the way as they help clients assess risk and prepare for the future. They are also committed to building strong communities.

We recently sat down with GoodWorks Senior Vice President Ed Ryan to hear more about their innovative work:

Q. We know that GoodWorks strives to have a “purpose beyond profit” by donating no less than 50% of its operating profits to local NGOs each year. That is not an insignificant amount! How do you manage it?

A. We are able to grant 50% of our operating profit because we are a lean organization. We try to exceed our industry’s best practices in virtually every category and operate with a smaller but very experienced staff in all of our CT and MA offices. When GoodWorks started, it filed a business plan with the states where we operate that requires the 50% donations. We have learned to operate within those parameters.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about the charities you supported last year and why you’ve chosen to support education, healthcare, and public safety programs in particular?

A. GoodWorks’ overarching purpose is to support the communities where we operate. As opposed to taking from the community and not giving back, we strive to be different. This is a key factor whenever we seek to add a new business to our organization. That business needs to have the same motive that we do. We believe that nonprofits involved with education, healthcare and public safety are at the heart of local community support. Sometimes when a nonprofit contributes directly to community support in another way, we will donate to it. reSET fits that mold. Some charities that have received recent donations are: Operation Fuel in CT, New Milford Visiting Nurses in CT, Kids Play Museum in CT, Community Health Programs in MA, and Berkshire Community College in MA.

Q. What is one piece of advice you would give to other businesses–insurance or not–that are thinking about adopting a model like yours.

A. Becoming a socially responsible business requires a total commitment. That’s why GoodWorks made its voluntary filings when it began operations 10 years ago. The decision was made to learn to operate on half of our profits, not some of the time, but all of the time. Now that we are used to doing so, it has become the norm and allows us to be able to support the charities that we do. Our next step in this process is to work more closely with entities that wish to sponsor our business offerings by setting up special funds that allow us to earmark 20% of our net revenue (aka 50% of our operating profit) to donate to charities these sponsors care about. It makes the donations more palpable and helps GoodWorks to more directly support the sponsor’s goals and initiatives.

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