There are many parts of our society who are experiencing tough times right now. The truth is that some were living in difficult circumstances even before COVID-19 struck and the economic downturn and social isolation measures implemented to control the pandemic – while necessary – have only made life harder.
It’s been uplifting to see so many corporations give back at this time and FM Global has also played a part. We have pledged pandemic relief donations totaling US$1 million worldwide in the communities where our employees work and live. This includes a contribution of AU$75,000 to local nonprofit organisations in Australia.
Additionally, for all personal contributions made by FM Global employees and retirees to COVID-19 relief efforts, the company will double match each donation.
With so much need in our Australian communities, we went through a fairly rigorous process to decide where we could send our donations to. Our first priority was to ensure that the donation is going to where it can have the maximum positive impact for those who are in need. We have also aligned our donations with causes that are supported by our clients, with the hope that our donations would have an even greater impact.
After some deliberation, we picked the following organisations in Australia and New Zealand: Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Australian Red Cross, St Vincent de Paul Society, Kidscan NZ, Drought Angels and Foodbank.
Each of these fantastic organisations has an impact in areas that we felt were really important to support at this time. This includes medical research on COVID-19, mental health, homelessness, disadvantaged children and communities hit hard by the drought. Our largest donation went to Foodbank, which addresses hunger in Australia.
Our decision to support Drought Angels expands a commitment we made to the organisation way back in January, when our staff chose it as our charity for 2020, before the pandemic struck. We know their work is even more important now as communities face the double impact of drought and the economic downturn caused by COVID-19.
These donations speak to our culture as a mutual company, which revolves around the idea that, wherever possible, we always want to help the wider community, not just our own business.