The Allstate Foundation (AF) was established in 1952 with money from the Allstate Insurance Company. While the Foundation operates as an independent entity, its funding priorities are determined by the Insurance Company’s trustees. AF awards grants only to 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, but gives no money to groups that explicitly advocate religious beliefs or restrict participation on the basis of faith.

Between 1952 and 2013, AF—aiming to “help Americans realize their hopes and dreams … through innovative programs that drive social change”—awarded more than $275 million in grants to groups addressing any of the “key social issues” encompassed by the Foundation’s three National Programs:

(1) The Safe and Vital Communities (SVC) Program strives to “foster communities that are economically strong, crime-free, and give residents a sense of belonging and commitment.” SVC initiatives include:

• Teen Safe Driving, a project that seeks to “save young lives and instill a lifetime of safe driving attitudes and behaviors”;
• Catastrophe Response, whose focus is on “rebuilding lives after a natural disaster strikes”; and
• Neighborhood Revitalization, which aims to promote “safe, strong, and healthy communities.”

(2) The Economic Empowerment Program is committed to helping Americans acquire “the economic resources and knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their financial future.” Key initiatives in this area include:

• Domestic Violence Prevention, with an emphasis on “helping survivors live free and stay free from violence by building their financial security”; and
• Financial and Economic Literacy

(3) The Tolerance, Inclusion, and Diversity Program supports groups and projects that “bring tolerance, inclusion, and value to people of all backgrounds regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, age or physical challenges.” Funding priorities in this area are:

• Teaching Tolerance to Youth, with an emphasis on “fostering a generation free of bias and intolerance”; and
• Alleviating Discrimination, whereby “communities” from coast to coast are encouraged “to be free of prejudice.”

Notably, AF has identified the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) as a model of the type of tolerance and inclusion that it champions, lauding the latter as “a leading organization dedicated to reducing poverty and discrimination and to improving opportunities for Hispanic Americans.” Thus has the Foundation supported a number of NCLR projects that address such issues as leadership development, financial literacy, education, housing, health, immigration, and workforce development.

Other key recipients of Allstate Foundation grants include the now-defunct community organization ACORN, the Center for Community Change, the Council on Foundations, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters, the NAACP, the National Urban League, Planned Parenthood, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the YWCA.

To view a list of additional noteworthy grantees of the Allstate Foundation, click here.

Viewing America as a nation rife with sexism, AF laments that “the number of women reaching the highest level of corporate management is still relatively low.” To address this issue, the Foundation in 2004 earmarked a $500,000 grant for a leadership-development program at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management’s Center for Executive Women. That program was designed to “help female executives gain the leadership skills necessary to move into the uppermost ranks of corporations,” and to “address the barriers that prevent more women from achieving top corporate management positions.”

For additional information on the Allstate Foundation, click here.

(Information on grantees and monetary amounts courtesy of The Foundation Center, GuideStar, ActivistCash, the Capital Research Center and Undue Influence)