Travelers Insurance Foundation and Corporate Giving
/OVERVIEW: The Travelers Insurance Company supports education, work and opportunity, housing and arts and culture with a strong focus on the greater Hartford, Connecticut and St. Paul, Minnesota areas.
IP TAKE: Travelers’ largest area of giving is education, with grantmaking spread almost evenly between K-12 and higher education initiatives, which prioritize schools and programs that prepare students for careers in the insurance and financial services industries. Geographic priorities include Hartford, Connecticut and St. Paul, Minnesota, where Travelers maintains operations.
This accessible funder runs an open application system for organizations operating in its geographic priority areas. Due dates and guidelines vary by program. Unfortunately, it’s not approachable or particularly responsive without a way to get in touch with program officers.
PROFILE: The Travelers Insurance Company, an American multinational property insurer, supports communities in the U.S. through its charitable foundation and corporate giving program. The company is over 160 years old and maintains corporate headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut. Its philanthropic initiatives are academic and career success, thriving neighborhoods and culturally enriched communities. This funder prioritizes the areas of greater Hartford, Connecticut and St. Paul, Minnesota.
Grants for K-12 Education
K-12 education has accounted for about 17% of Travelers’ total annual grantmaking in recent years. The organization’s academic and career success funding area aims to “improve academic achievement gaps by focusing on low-income and minority students in grades 5-12.” Recent grants have supported educational policy development, teacher education and a broad array of out-of-school learning opportunities. Travelers appears to be aligned with the school reform movement. In Connecticut, Travelers has given to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hartford, the Connecticut Center for School Change, the Connecticut Council for Education Reform and the Hartford Youth Scholars Program. Minnesota education grantees include the Minnesota Children’s Museum, Minnesota Computers for Schools and Wilderness Inquiry, a nature education program. Other grantees include Teach for America, New Visions for Public Schools, and the online literacy organization ReadWorks.
Grants for College Readiness
College readiness appears to be a main area of focus of Travelers’ education funding. In Minnesota, the foundation has supported BestPrep, College Possible and Scholarship America. Other college readiness grantees include the National College Access Network, uAspire and the Posse Foundation, which supports young people with mentors, leadership training and college scholarships.
Grants for Higher Education
Higher education accounts for about 15% of Travelers’ grantmaking each year. Grantmaking through the organization’s signature Travelers Edge program aims to “increase the number of underrepresented individuals who complete a bachelor's degree and are prepared for a career at Travelers or within the Insurance and Financial Services industry.” Grantees include Minnesota’s Augsburg College, Morgan State University, Central Connecticut State University and Capital Community College in Connecticut. Other higher education grantees include St. John’s University’s School of Risk Management, Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship and New York City’s LaGuardia Community College.
Grants for Work and Economic Opportunity
Travelers’ academic and career success funding initiative launched its Small Business Risk Education program in 2012 and has partnered with several organizations to develop a signature professional development program that addresses insurance literacy, safety risk management and business continuity planning with a focus on women- and minority-owned small businesses. Recent grantee partners for this program include Syracuse University, Georgia’s Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, Minnesota’s Women Venture and the national organization Village Capital, a small business accelerator that focuses on sustainable companies. Other grantees in the areas of work and opportunity include the Connecticut chapter of Dress for Success, the National Association of Corporate Directors and Connecticut’s Social Enterprise Trust.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Community Development
Travelers’ thriving neighborhoods initiative names accessible and safe housing for low- and mixed-income neighborhoods as an area of grantmaking focus. In Connecticut, the foundation has given to Hartford’s Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance, which involves the public and private sectors in the creation of rental and home ownership opportunities for low- and middle-income residents. In Minnesota, CommonBond Communities received funding for its development of housing projects for vulnerable individuals and families. Travelers has also provided ongoing support to multiple chapters of Habitat for Humanity.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Travelers' culturally enriched communities funding program prioritizes projects and organizations that offer broad public access and promote learning and multiculturalism. Many of Travelers arts and culture grantees are small organizations that maintain a strong presence in the communities they serve. In Connecticut, the Travelers has given to the Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Hartford Stage Company, Real Art Ways and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Minnesota grantees include the Minnesota Opera, the Guthrie Theater Company and the Children’s Theater Company. Grantees operating in other parts of the country include the Center for Independent Documentary, the International Print Center in New York, Playwrights Horizons and the New York City Ballet.
Important Grant Details:
Through its foundation and corporate giving, the Travelers Insurance Company makes about $16 million in grants each year. Grants generally range from $5,000 to $375,000, with an average grant size of about $25,000. This funder does not distinguish between its foundational and corporate giving. Education is Traveler’s largest area of giving, and more than half of its grantmaking is directed toward organizations operating in Connecticut and Minnesota, where Travelers maintains corporate operations. For additional information about past grantees, see Travelers’ recent annual report.
Travelers accepts applications from prospective grantees operating in the greater Hartford and St. Paul areas. Grant applications are accepted via the organization’s online portal and due dates vary by program. Neither the Travelers Insurance Foundation nor the company corporate giving program offer a direct way of getting in touch, but general contact information for Travelers is available at the company’s contact page.
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