Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Awards Grants

The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) New York division awarded grants to eight not-for-profit organizations at its 2010 benefit dinner held Wednesday December 10 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
 
“Our dinner was a record-setter,” said David Brinkman, chair of the IICF New York Division board and executive managing director of Aon Benfield  He noted that more than 800 representatives from throughout the insurance industry attended the benefit dinner, with dinner ticket sales exceeding $1.1 million. “It’s an exciting time to be part of IICF. We are only starting to show the impact of our work.”
 
The IICF New York Division supports charitable organizations in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area that focus on education, children at risk, the environment, and disaster preparedness. The 2010 IICF grant recipients are:

Published on December 22, 2010

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (for programs for academic success, good character and citizenship and healthy lifestyles for youth).

Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York (to provide education and a home environment for abused, neglected and at-risk teenagers).

Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation (for funding research, and for improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy).

Community Mainstreaming Associates, Inc. (for Sweet Comfort Bakery & Café, a targeted education program for adults with developmental disabilities).

Covenant House of New Jersey (for an onsite education program to increase literacy, high school graduation and college attendance for youth).

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. (for an environmental leadership initiative for inner-city youth in the Hudson Valley from New York to Albany).

Starlight Children’s Foundation NY•NJ•CT (for five Starlight Fun Centers for children in tri-state hospitals).

World Cares Center (for volunteer workshops in tri-state area for a Ready Responders network and training exercises for a simulated disaster environment).
 
Maurice R. Greenberg, chairman and CEO, C.V. Starr & Co., Inc., was honored with the IICF 2010 ‘Double I’ award for influence in the industry and impact in the community. In commending the audience for its leadership role, Greenberg said: “I've traveled all over the world. There is no country that matches the generosity of the American people.”
 
Keynote speaker was Rudolph W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York City. Baseball great Ken Griffey Jr. and hockey legend Mark Messier made special presentations to grantees at the dinner, which included remarks by dinner chair Greg Case, president and CEO, Aon Corp. Case noted that the foundation is the “perfect channel to harness the enormous energy and collective leadership” present at the fundraising event.
 
About the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF)

The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation was established in 1994 and is completely directed and funded by the insurance industry. The foundation seeks to help communities and enrich lives by uniting the collective strengths of the industry to provide grants, volunteer service and leadership. Since its inception in 1994, IICF has contributed more than $16 million in grants to charities and 140,000 volunteer hours to hundreds of community nonprofit organizations. IICF is a registered not-for-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.