Ecclesiastical Insurance has reported a record year for community giving in Canada, directing a total of $2 million to more than 200 charities in 2025 as insurers increasingly use structured philanthropy and ESG initiatives to support core client sectors.
Since 2017, the specialist insurer’s Community Impact Grant program has provided more than $7 million in funding to over 700 charities nationwide. The program backs initiatives addressing food security, education and job training, health and wellbeing, and environmental sustainability.
Last year, the Community Impact Grant delivered $1 million across 47 registered charities, the highest annual total since the program began. The company said this was an "unprecedented year" both in terms of applications and the number of recipients selected.
According to Ecclesiastical, the 2025 grants will support more than 30,000 people through a diverse range of programs. Examples include music therapy for justice-involved young men in Ontario, employment training for recent immigrants in Winnipeg, and community gardening initiatives led by Indigenous Elders in the Northwest Territories.
The insurer said such projects can help change the trajectory of young lives and reduce recidivism, build stable incomes and integration pathways for new Canadians, and improve food security in Northern communities while preserving cultural knowledge.
Beyond the flagship grant program, Ecclesiastical donated a further $1 million during 2025 through other grant schemes and charitable partnerships. In total, the company said more than 200 Canadian charities received support over the year.
For insurance professionals working with non-profit, faith-based, heritage and community clients, initiatives of this kind highlight how carriers are looking to support broader resilience, prevention and social stability alongside traditional risk transfer. Many of the funded programs sit close to underlying risk themes that insurers and brokers watch closely, including property and community resilience, youth justice and crime prevention.
Ecclesiastical's ability to commit all available profits to charitable causes is linked to its ownership structure. The insurer is part of the UK-based Benefact Group. Profits generated across the group are channeled back into charitable work, with Ecclesiastical's Canadian grants forming one part of a broader giving strategy.
“At Ecclesiastical, we believe that better business can better lives,” said Lorna McIntosh, senior vice president, people and culture. “Thanks to the dedication of our employees and our unique structure as a proud part of the Benefact Group, an international family of financial service companies owned by a charity, the Benefact Trust, we are able to give all available profits to good causes through initiatives like the Community Impact Grant, expanding our reach and deepening our impact year after year.”
The insurer positions its giving program as complementary to its underwriting and risk management role in the charity, faith, heritage and education sectors.
For brokers active in those segments, the grants can provide clients with additional capacity to launch or scale prevention and community support projects that may not be funded through traditional insurance or public budgets.
Ecclesiastical’s announcement comes as ESG, purpose and social impact remain in focus for many insurers, MGAs and intermediaries. While some large global carriers have announced headline-grabbing climate and social commitments, smaller and specialist firms are increasingly highlighting targeted, sector-specific programs as part of their differentiation strategy.
