We look forward to partnering with our registered agents and advisors to recognize people who work for the benefit of their communities.
When:
Nominations are open from June 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009. Nominate your Symetra Community Champion by clicking on and following the prompts.
Who is a Community Champion?
A Community Champion is someone who has demonstrated a significant commitment to volunteer service providing long benefits to the community.
Your Community Champion nominee must be affiliated with a civic, cultural, health or human service organization, which are tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Private schools with a 501(c)(3) designation and all public schools including day care, K-12, colleges and universities are also eligible.
The nominating representative must identify the organization to receive the prize funds in the event his nominee is chosen.
Ineligible Organizations and Activities
A Community Champion is someone who has demonstrated a significant commitment to volunteer service providing long benefits to the community. In keeping with Symetra Financial’s corporate contributions guidelines, the following types of organizations/activities are ineligible for the Symetra Community Champion program, including:
- University-level Athletic or alumni associations, memberships or funds
- Seminaries or Bible colleges focused primarily on religious studies
- Churches and religious institutions (Symetra Financial will consider organizations only when the gift is designated to an ongoing secular community service program with a formal mission and program such as shelters, food banks, homelessness projects and literacy programs. These programs should not propagate a belief in a specific faith nor be operated exclusively for organization members.)
- Memberships that primarily benefit the donor (e.g., zoos, parks, museums, etc.)
- Fraternal or political organizations
- Service clubs and organizations such as lodges whose activities are social or recreational
- Trade or professional organizations (but a nonprofit organization affiliated with the trade or professional organization is eligible)
- Organizations with addresses outside the United States
Who can nominate:
Agents and advisors appointed with Symetra Life Insurance Company, or any of its affiliates, who have submitted business between January 1, 2009 and August 31, 2009, are eligible to participate. Winners (agents and advisors, Community Champions, and nonprofit recipients) in 2008 are not eligible in 2009.
Agent assistance:
- Web page
Symetra Financial will host a Community Champions Web page and provide a link for the agent to place on his/her Web site. Additionally, this link will be available for the affiliated organization following the submission of a nomination. The Web site will include identification of agents who nominate.
- Durable HTML Emails
Symetra will provide two Durable HTML Emails for use by the agents and by the affiliated organization. (1) These attractive, light-weight, completely forwardable emails can be used by the agent to solicit information for nominations prior to the announcement of winners. (2) The second Durable HTML Email will be made available to the agent and affiliated organizations for those who win. This would be a celebratory announcement of the winners and would likely be useful to the organizations as well as the agent.
- Press
Symetra will provide press releases about the nominations and winners. Agents are invited to submit names of press who they would like to receive the releases.
- Nomination certificate
Each person nominated will receive a Certificate of Nomination as a Symetra Community Champion. These certificates will identify the agent as the person nominating.
- Agent recognition
In addition to being mentioned in all appropriate material, the Agent will receive a plaque.
Awards and Presentations:
There is a limited number of Symetra Community Champions named in 2009 throughout the United States. Each person named as a Community Champion will receive a plaque in recognition of the award. The affiliated organization will receive a check in the amount of $2,500 in honor of the Community Champion.
It is hoped that the recipient will receive the check at an organizational meeting where the Symetra agent can present the funds and the plaque. A Symetra company representative will attend to present recognition to the agent of a winning nominee.
Selection committee:
A committee headed by Stan Emert - Managing Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Symetra Financial, and may be comprised of people both inside and outside the company, will determine the winners of the Community Champion awards. The committee’s determination is final.
Timeline:
Nominations open: June 1, 2009
Nominations close: August 31, 2009; 5 p.m. PDT; Web submission only
Announcement of winners: September 15, 2009
Award presentations: 4th quarter 2009
Questions:
Contact: Stan Emert, stan.emert@symetra.com, 425-256-6057