A fond farewell: How Raise and Zurich are ending their community partnership well

In collaboration with the Z Zurich Foundation, Zurich Financial Services Australia has been supporting youth mental health charity Raise closely since 2017 to support their substantial phase of growth and capacity building. While the grant funding comes to an end, Raise is now well set to continue its work to support youth across Australia.

You might think that a community partnership involving substantial financial support for a growing not-for-profit (NFP) over eight years was one in which the benefits were mostly one-sided. But when the corporate’s employees come away reporting they are “better humans”, having more positive relationships with their own children and young people in their lives because of the skills they’d learned through volunteering with the NFP, then clearly it’s been a relationship of deep reciprocity.

The Z Zurich Foundation is the main vehicle by which Zurich Insurance Group delivers its global community investment strategy. It supports NFPs in delivering impactful programs for the community, through grants, capacity building and advocacy. In collaboration with the Z Zurich Foundation, Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich) began a three-year partnership with Raise, which runs a mentoring program in schools for young people at risk of disengagement, in 2017, which was later extended a further five years.

Linda Griffin, Head of Brand Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Zurich (pictured left), looks after the community programs within Australia and New Zealand. “The Raise program ticked all of our boxes because young people, mental wellbeing and resilience are areas that Zurich as a company is very strong on supporting,” she said.

“We see the impact of the mental health pandemic first-hand, particularly in respect to our life insurance business,” said Linda. “So, we think early intervention is incredibly valuable.

In Raise’s program, young people meet a mentor of their choice on a 1:1 weekly basis for six months. An independent evaluation of its programs this year showed an impressive social return on investment – for every dollar invested, there is a $4.37 return in savings to the health and welfare system in the future.

“There is so much going on for young people with social media and issues like bullying and social isolation,” said Raise CEO Vicki Condon. “Giving them the confidence to reach out to a trusted adult for help if they are struggling with their mental health is a critical factor in achieving a positive outcome to situations when they feel at risk,” she said.

Z Zurich Foundation’s granting allowed the program to expand to more than 50 schools, meaning the program supported a further 800 young people, and enabled Raise to go national after having been only based on the east coast.

The driver of Zurich’s community investment approach is empowering smaller organisations to spread their wings and grow, so it’s time to support Raise, which is “really in a great place now” move into a new phase of its development with other funders, said Linda. “We’re now looking for an opportunity to help another organization who was in the same space as Raise in 2017.”

This process has been characterized by much communication and understanding. The wind-down of contracts has been done in advance and as a transitional support, Zurich has introduced Raise to its contacts and sought opportunities to share the positive experiences Zurich had with its networks.

Linda said that Zurich will still provide some support, such as facilities, volunteering and fundraising after the partnerships ends at the close of 2024. Many Zurich employees have also expressed their willingness to continue to mentor through Raise.

One of the “beautiful benefits” was the skilled volunteering opportunities for Zurich’s team. Remarkably, more than 130 Zurich employees, including Linda, became mentors.

“I went into it with excitement around mentoring a young person, but I felt like I learned so much more. Not only from the young person, but in relation to my own children. I listen much more to my kids now and we collaborate. I definitely have a better relationship with my children because of volunteering with Raise. It gave a lot back to me,” said Linda.

“At the end of the program, you also get the opportunity to hear from your mentee on the impact you’ve have had on them. And, you know, it’s pretty profound.”

The knock-on effect for Zurich employees has been significant, she said. “The feedback we’ve had is that they’ve learned new skills and extended their networks, meeting people not only at Zurich they hadn’t known, but also at other corporates who were volunteering.

“Our employees say they’re better humans because they can manage situations with their children or nieces or nephews or friends’ children. They really feel that they’ve developed tools to help others,” said Linda.

Vicki Condon said: “Z Zurich Foundation and Zurich have been amazing. Sustained relationships with engaged corporate partners like this are very hard to come by and their support has been transformational.

“I like to think that it’s been a win-win because we’ve been able to train their staff in how to have great mentoring skills. Those skills are transferable into their workplaces, homes and families.

“It’s wonderful to have financial support but I think what a lot of organisations and philanthropists are looking for now is more of a reciprocal relationship where they can come in, participate in the program and see the difference they’re making – rather than just receiving reports,” said Vicki.

Matt Apps is a Zurich employee who is aiming to do five years as a Raise mentor and will continue volunteering next year. “Raise’s program is a wonderful initiative because so many kids have significant challenges today and I think prevention is always better than cure,” he said. He has gone on to complete mental health first aid training as a result of the interest he’s developed from the program.

“The end-of-year graduation is very emotional. I received a really nice card from the last mentee I had. And a card from his parents, which I was absolutely chuffed with,” said Matt. “It does make you feel good that you’ve had a positive impact on somebody.”

Linda said: “I absolutely commend Vicki for her drive and passion. Raise also has a strong commercial and data-led approach and is very well run.

“I couldn’t recommend partnering with Raise more and I look forward to seeing Raise continue to support young people all around Australia.”