Each year, Spencer hosts a variety of in-person events in conjunction with the RIMS RISKWORLD annual conference.
Review our 2025 happenings below, and get ready to join us in May 2025 in Chicago, IL, USA!
WHO WE ARE
The Spencer Educational Foundation was established in 1979 and remains the leading organization that funds the education of the future leaders of risk management and insurance.
Since its inception, Spencer has awarded more than $10 million in scholarships and over $9 million in grants to universities and other professional institutions. These programs have impacted over 110,000 students across the United States and Canada!
SPENCER PROGRAMS
Click the links below to learn about our programs that support students, colleges, universities, Risk Managers, and other RMI non-profit organizations.
Scholarships
Spencer is dedicated to promoting innovation in the field of risk and insurance by providing financial assistance to talented students. The scholarship program supports students pursuing studies in risk management, insurance, actuarial science, and related fields in the United States and Canada. Spencer Scholarships are awarded to the most promising students who exhibit exceptional academic and professional potential.
Since 1980, Spencer has invested over $10.2 million in the Scholarship program, with awards to over 1,600 students. More than 85% of Spencer Scholarship recipients remain in the industry to this day.
Course Development Grants
Spencer Course Development Grants support the creation and expansion of Risk Management and Insurance courses and programs at universities and colleges in the United States and Canada in efforts to expose more students to the industry and grow a diverse talent pipeline.
Spencer is keenly focused on bringing new RMI curricula to Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) to expand the number of students introduced to the profession.
Since 2014, Spencer has invested over $1.3 million in developing risk management and insurance (RMI) courses at over 50 colleges and universities, exposing thousands of students to the RMI industry.
General Grants
Spencer General Grants aim to support initiatives that promote experiential learning opportunities and attract more individuals to the risk management and insurance (RMI) industry.
Some examples of such initiatives include student attendance at industry conferences and symposia, outreach programs for high school students, initiatives dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in RMI education, and other unique programs that aim to strengthen the talent pipeline.
Since 2010, Spencer has awarded over $3.3 million in General Grants to support over 130 student-centered experiential learning initiatives at universities and RMI non-profit orgs.
Risk Manager on Campus (RMOC) Grants
Spencer RMOC Grants enable universities to invite a practicing Risk Manager to visit the campus and engage with students about the RMI industry. The grant covers the Risk Manager's travel, housing, and other incidental expenses incurred during their visit. The university arranges various events (classroom visits, panel discussions, lectures, luncheons, receptions, etc.) for students to interact and learn from the visiting Risk Manager.
Since 1997, Spencer has awarded over $1.4 million in RMOC Grants to over 440 universities & colleges across the United States and Canada.
Internship Grants
Spencer Internship Grants offer $7,500 to Risk Managers who wish to hire interns within the risk management function of their companies.
These interns will learn about the field in a real-world business setting where they can apply their knowledge quickly, respond to new experiences, and begin to develop contacts in the RMI industry.
Risk Managers apply for grants from Spencer, and interested students can then apply directly with the companies for the newly-created risk management internship opportunities.
Since 1999, Spencer has awarded over $2.9 million to create over 570 risk management internships.
Student Risk Management Challenge
The Spencer-RIMS Student Risk Management Challenge is an international student competition in which students showcase their research skills and apply their risk management knowledge to a real-life scenario.
The competition requires university/college teams comprising of four students to develop and present a comprehensive risk management report based on a case study.
A judging committee evaluates the teams' solutions, and the top eight teams are invited to present their strategies at the annual RIMS RISKWORLD Conference.
Since 2023, Spencer has awarded over $160,000 in RM Challenge travel stipends and awards to over 70 recipients.
PROGRAM IMPACT
Since 1979, Spencer has impacted over 110,000 students!
Review the video playlist below to see how our programs have positively impacted students over the years.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
In 2024, Spencer awarded over $330,000 in DE&I-related funding.
At Spencer, DEI is not an initiative - it is a business imperative and baked into all of our programs. We strive to attract the best diverse talent to the industry and support our donors in finding diverse talent. Below are some examples of steps we have taken since 2019:
Redesigned our scholarship application so that applicants can self-select their race/ethnicity and gender identity, in order to track (and measure) who exactly is receiving our scholarships.
Changed our scholarship application review process so that all identifying information (name, demographics) is not visible during scoring to avoid interference from unconscious bias to the extent possible.
Enabled the creation of hundreds of diversity scholarships to be awarded over the next ten years, representing a deliberate investment of over $1.5 million in diverse talent.
Partnering with the Alliant Foundation to create a robust Risk Management & Insurance Program at Southern University, an HBCU in Louisiana. The program is also supported by the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
Awarded Risk Manager on Campus Grants to several Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and exposed thousands of students to the Risk Management & Insurance industry.
Working with corporate partners to sponsor Course Development Grants at Minority-Serving Institutions, including Fisk University, the University of the District of Columbia, University of North Texas, University of Nevada Reno, Mercy College, Brooklyn College, Northern Arizona University, California State University Fullerton, University of Houston Downtown, Fayetteville University, Stony Brook University, New Mexico State University, and New York Institute of Technology.
Awarded General Grants to foster a diverse talent pipeline, including support for NAAIA, HBCU Impact, NABCRMP, Appalachian State University’s D&I in RMI Initiative, Indiana State University’s Recruitment and Career Awareness Diversity program, Howard University's FIRM Symposium, and many more.
Collaborating with other RMI industry organizations to learn how we can partner on DEI initiatives, including the Asian American Insurance Network (AAIN), American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA), HBCU Impact, Insurance Careers Movement (ICM), Latin American Association of Insurance Agencies (LAAIA), the McGannon Foundation (Canada), National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA), Rising Insurance Star Executives (RISE), Risk & Insurance Teaching Society (RITS), the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research (TNA), University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA), and more.
ANNUAL REPORT
In 2023, Spencer empowered future risk management and insurance professionals by awarding over $1.6 million in scholarships, internships, program grants, and other crucial initiatives.
This investment included 103 scholarships, 32 Internship Grants, 22 Risk Manager on Campus Grants, 16 General Grants, and 14 Course Development Grants.
Spencer invested another $750,000 in programs designed to attract students to our industry and support those students through their educational journey, such as our annual Student Risk Management Challenge, our mentorship program, our webinar series, and more.
