Table of Contents 

Special Section
Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS)

PLUS Foundation has broad reach

Members support a variety of nonprofit causes
and educational programs

By Phil Zinkewicz

When the Professional Liability Underwriting Society started the PLUS Foundation in 1998, it was an important step in the evolution of the Society. The separately incorporated 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization was formed by industry leaders to enhance the work of PLUS. Through the foundation, PLUS members became part of a collective industry effort to reach beyond the Society’s network to create opportunities for new and diverse talent. Initially, the foundation’s purpose was to provide resources for education and research.

“Then came 9/11,” says the foundation’s president, Steven D. Dyson. “We ran a victims’ fund and raised additional money for the families of 9/11 victims. It was an experience that made a difference for us. We realized that we had a responsibility to do more than increase education and research, as important as those things are. We realized that we were in a position to help people in need. Today, the foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Society.”

The foundation’s mission statement reflects that new promise. “The PLUS Foundation will generate quality philanthropic and outreach programs that promote diversity and reflect the generosity of the professional liability community, and provide resources for education and research.” Since 2002, the foundation has been doing just that.

As an example, this year, the foundation instituted a program to assist wounded veterans of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Before the news coverage and the political storm, the foundation began to research charities that support wounded veterans,” says Dyson. “Background research quickly moved the Walter Reed Society (WRS) to the top of the list. What may seem like reaction was actually foresight.

“We raised money for the WRS to provide support for such things as: travel and accommodations for families visiting injured soldiers; overdue mortgage payments, rent and utilities to help families stay in their homes; basic needs such as clothing, food and child care so that families remain safe and cared for,” Dyson explains.

Also, this year, the PLUS Foundation is making available up to $2,500 for each official chapter to allocate to a nonprofit charity in its region.

“At PLUS special symposiums or at our annual meetings, we host fundraising events that raise money for charity,” says Dyson. “After our directors and officers symposium, we hosted a hockey game between brokers and underwriters to raise money for charities. When we have an event in a particular city, we want to leave that city a better place than when we got there. We are able to measure time given and dollars spent.”

The following represent some of the other activities of the PLUS Foundation:

Conference Causes

• Supporting charities in conjunction with the annual PLUS conference—more than $85,000 donated to date.

• 2006—$25,000 to Special Olympics/Special Children’s Charities of Chicago; PLUS Foundation volunteers worked at the annual soccer tournament.

• 2005—$28,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Boston and a recreational PLUS Foundation volunteer event for 100 children and their mentors.

• 2004—$33,000 to the Armed Services YMCA of San Diego; PLUS Foundation volunteers fed more than 300 servicemen and servicewomen from the USS Boxer.

In addition, the Foundation offers two grants of $3,500 each to each of the following schools to support graduate and Ph.D. level students in insurance and promoting research of professional liability: University of Wisconsin, Georgia State University, the University of Pennsylvania, University of Connecticut, Florida State University, St. John’s University and Stanford University.

Moreover, the Foundation offers a Minority Intern Grant Program, which promotes diversity and recruiting new talent into professional liability, and supports 72 intern placements. Financial aid scholarships are available from the foundation as well. Moreover, the PLUS Foundation has raised money for families that have fallen victim to hurricanes and other tragedies.

The PLUS Foundation has not received a great deal of publicity for its good works, but perhaps that’s about to change. “We at the Foundation do these things because it’s the right thing to do, not for credit or some kind of recognition. But maybe it’s time that we do tell our story so that we can raise more dollars for good causes. We have gotten to the point where we can say we have a program that gets results.”

For more information, go to www.plusfoundation.org. *

CONTACT US | HOME