Insuring A Better World Fund

06/26/2024

Each June, Americans celebrate National Rivers Month. The importance of rivers in the United States and globally cannot be overstated. Rivers supply fresh water for drinking, irrigation, transportation and are also home to species that are an essential part of our food chain. Yet, as the country grew, humans neglected our rivers by polluting them with industrial, agricultural and human waste. Less than sixty years ago, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire multiple times due to oil spills and industrial waste.
But, with effort and ingenuity, our rivers can be restored to health. My hometown of Chicago was settled because of its location at the delta of the Chicago River and one of the largest sources of fresh water in the world, Lake Michigan. As Chicago expanded, its river began to suffer from discharges of pollutants and sewage. By 1900, Chicago completed the construction of canals for shipping and to reverse the flow of the river so sewage and pollutants would no longer flow into Lake Michigan. That’s right, the Chicago River flows backwards. This is still one of the most ambitious feats of civil engineering in history and provided fresh water to more rural communities. To celebrate the reversal of the river, in the early 1900’s, the Illinois Athletic Association began hosting a series of open water swims in the Chicago River. These swims drew an estimated 100,000 spectators.

But as the city grew and became a center of industry, transportation hub and a primary distribution point for cattle and hogs, the river was transformed once again for the worse. When I was growing up, it was unthinkable to swim in the waters of the Chicago River, but infrastructure projects such as the deep tunnel project were completed to reduce flooding and help clean the river. My office is just steps from the Chicago River, and I am still amazed at its transformation with its beautiful river walk, architecture tours, restaurants, and recreational boating making it a vital place for people to enjoy once again.

Now, for the first time in over 100 years, the City of Chicago is celebrating this remarkable environmental transformation for the better by hosting a Chicago River Swim for competitive swimmers which is scheduled in September of 2024. In honor of National Rivers Month, Insuring A Better World Fund is making a donation to the American River Conservancy which is a charity that seeks to ensure healthy ecosystems for a large number of our nation’s rivers. Life insurance is a huge opportunity for philanthropy and often overlooked as an asset class for charitable giving by insurance agents, wealth advisors and charities. Together, we can ensure a better world for us all.

06/26/2024

A few weeks ago was a tremendous week for myself and the Insuring A Better World Fund. On Wednesday morning the 22nd, I had the privilege of presenting to the Chicago Council on Planned Giving annual symposium. Congratulations to the leadership for putting together such an impressive conference. I am honored to be included in this group of dedicated professionals working hard to serve their donors and charitable missions. I hope this chapter will be a beacon of light in leading all charities to utilize life insurance as one method to help their donors achieve their philanthropic goals. I look forward to working with each of them in the coming weeks and months to take advantage of this grossly underutilized $21 trillion asset class for philanthropic purposes.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the conference early to catch a flight to Washington DC to attend the annual Finseca conference. Finseca is the largest group of insurance agents and carriers who meet in Washington DC to promote the industry and the professionals within it. I especially want to congratulate Mike James on his inauguration as the Board Chair of Finseca. His heartfelt acceptance speech was emotional and inspiring. I especially enjoyed hearing about his recent joyful experience of handing his daughter her diploma at her graduation. The Finseca conference embodies family, community and its mission of financial security for all. I am optimistic that Mike will lead our industry to better days ahead and hopefully embrace the huge opportunity for life insurance agents to use their skills and products for charitable purposes.

Insuring A Better World Fund is dedicated to increasing charitable non-cash gifts of life insurance and strengthening the relationship between the financial profession and the planned giving profession to better serve both our constituencies. We all need to work together to help our clients/donors fulfill their philanthropic and economic goals. Finseca means financial security for all, and that cannot be achieved without working hand and glove with the many charitable organizations that help achieve that mission. Insuring A Better World Fund is proud to be part of that solution.

08/18/2022

Insuring A Better World Fund’s Executive Vice-President of Operations, Adam Simon, is a life-long sailor. A few years ago, Adam became aware of a volunteer opportunity at the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation.

This foundation is one of the largest adaptive sailing programs in the nation and has a fleet of over twenty sailboats specially adapted for people with disabilities of all kinds. Each year, the organization hosts the Independence Cup Regatta and this year, US Sailing announced that the Independence Cup Regatta would also serve as the US Para Sailing Championship.

Adam volunteered and was thrilled to watch the awards ceremony celebrating the top finishers in three different classes of boats. Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation’s mission is “Helping people achieve self-esteem and independence”.

With a shared goal to our own mission to uplift others, Adam shared his reflection: “At this years’ regatta, the Goldman Foundation achieved its mission and so much more. The Goldman Foundation and US Sailing fostered championship level competition, teamwork and camaraderie.”

A hearty congratulations to the Goldman Foundation, US Sailing, and all competitors, staff and volunteers who helped make the regatta possible. Both the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation and the US Sailing Foundation are nonprofits worthy of your support!

07/28/2022

Over 80% of adults 65 and older don't know there is an alternative to lapsing their unneeded life insurance. Insuring A Better World Fund was created to transform these lapsing policies to charitable causes at no cost to the donor or charity. Learn more today about how we have reimagined charitable gifts of life insurance to benefit you and your favorite charity. https://www.iabwf.org/for-donors/

06/07/2022

Our co-founders Robert Stuchiner and David Simon recently attended the Finseca AMAS conference in Washington, D.C. Robert & David enjoyed educational speakers from the finance & insurance industries and hosted a roundtable discussion at the conference entitled: “Thinking outside the box – Charitable Giving in Estate Planning."

Thank you to everyone who joined our discussion and to Jen Fox, Suzy Jacobs, Bonnie Godsman and Marc Cadin for organizing a wonderful event!

03/31/2022

Our mission? Help repair the world by enabling charities to access the largest untapped asset class in the United States: unwanted or unneeded life insurance policies. Learn more today: https://www.iabwf.org/for-donors/

03/30/2022

Donating life insurance policies is a hidden gem of philanthropic opportunity in our industry. Let Insuring A Better World Fund show how you can donate an existing life insurance policy for the benefit of the charity of your choice.

Best of all, by donating the policy through Insuring A Better World Fund, neither the donor nor the charity will have to pay any premium or other costs.

Life insurance is an affordable way to leave a large, lasting legacy to a charity, school or religious organization.

03/08/2022

Today on , and throughout this important month focused on women's history, we honor and celebrate the contributions of women to our world & society.

02/10/2022

Are you reviewing the need to continue your life insurance policy? We understand that as life changes, your needs change, and the reasons you purchased life insurance changed.

Read our new blog to help you determine if you still need your life insurance. We can help you with a no cost exit strategy that adds to your legacy. https://bit.ly/3Lmse3W

01/13/2022

At Insuring A Better World Fund, we've created a new source of legacy-sized donations for charities. Now donors can support the charities of their choice at no cost through a simple but impactful donation of valuable unneeded life insurance policies.

As Kiplinger's Michael Aloi writes succinctly about this unique opportunity, "Though gifting a life insurance policy to a qualified charity is nothing new, it is often overlooked." Read his piece on the ease of donating life insurance policies and share your thoughts in a comment below.

Earlier this year, Grace who is a recent widow and longtime client, found herself questioning the need of an old whole life policy. The policy had cash value of $100,000 and a death benefit of $220,000. With the passing of her husband and her two grown children financially independent, she wondered....

01/10/2022

At the beginning of the year, we reflect on those who make our mission for a better world possible - including our first donor, the late Kevin O'Connor. Learn more about his story from our friends at The American College of Financial Services.

About one year ago, a bright star in the life insurance industry passed away. Kevin O’Conner, CLU®, was a true student of life insurance.  He loved the business and The American College.  Kevin valued education immensely; however, of greater value to Kevin, The College provided him with lifelon...

01/08/2022

We’re taking this to share one of the impactful causes we supported over the years. The Pope Francis Legal Clinic in the Diocese of Oakland The Cathedral of Christ the Light , was established in 2016 with seed funding support from Insuring A Better World Fund, serving all members of their community with free legal consultation. Our team is proud to support the clinic’s mission to provide the Oakland, CA, community with access to justice and reconciliation:

The Pope Francis Legal Clinic provides free legal consultations for people in the Diocese of Oakland and elsewhere to consult our legal experts about cases which are affecting their lives. Our experts are are imbued with the spirit of Christ and His Church, in the way they approach legal problems. I...