Newsroom

Expanded participation will strengthen support for nonprofits across the country

Rock Island, Ill. (April 13, 2023) – For nearly 130 years, Royal Neighbors of America has worked to insure lives, empower women, and serve communities. In an ever-changing world, the organization is committed to this legacy and continues to develop new programs to inspire positive community impact through its membership.

Originally launched in December 2022, RoyalConnect was designed for the organization’s members to make a difference through small acts of kindness each month. In turn, for each person that conducted a small act of kindness in that month, a $10 donation was made to a nonprofit.

“As we launched this new program, it quickly became apparent that there was an opportunity for members to share this program with their personal networks so their friends and family could participate as well,” Director of Philanthropy Amy Jones said. “Through this feedback, we regrouped and thought about ways we could make an even bigger impact. We listened to our members, and we decided to open this program to nonmembers as well.”

In this expanded form, each month participants will be asked to conduct a small act of kindness, and in turn, a nonprofit will receive a $10 for each person that participated. Nonprofits are selected from those that have received the organization’s signature women’s empowerment award and grant, Nation of Neighbors. This award is given annually to an individual that is making a difference in the lives of women and girls in their community.

“We have established some great relationships with our Nation of Neighbors℠ recipients,” explained Ms. Jones, “and we wanted to continue supporting them. This is a win-win-win. More people will be exposed to the work of these nonprofits, and they will receive financial support from us – all because of small acts of kindness being performed throughout the country.”

The first nonprofit to be featured as part of this expansion is Lead(h)erhttps://www.leadherqc.org/, a local Quad City nonprofit that has a mentorship program that fuels career and community engagement for women in the workforce.

Royal Neighbors’ newly appointed CEO and President Zarifa Reynolds notes that this program aligns directly with the social impact goals of the organization.

“In my first few months at Royal Neighbors, I have witnessed amazing generosity and impact from our members who participate in RoyalConnect,” said Royal Neighbors President and CEO Zarifa Reynolds. “The benefits of expanding the program to all members of the community is to encourage small acts that collectively make a big impact for women and communities across the country.

Royal Neighbors of America offers life insurance and annuity products to its members and is driven by its mission of supporting women and serving communities. The organization’s employees, members, and chapters across the country drive the mission through localized volunteerism and philanthropy programs making social impact the cornerstone of their work. In 2020, Royal Neighbors was upgraded to “A Excellent” (3rd highest out of 13) by the AM Best Company for overall financial strength and ability to meet ongoing obligations to certificate holders. The rating was affirmed as of November 30, 2022. In 2022, Royal Neighbors delivered a record $24.5 million in social good impact and received an all-time high score from the Great Place to Work® employee survey, achieving their sixth Great Place to Work Certification. For more information about Royal Neighbors of America, go to royalneighbors.org.