A New Approach to Corporate Donations:

How Lemonade Gives Back to New Story

Lemonade Insurance’s giveback program may have the catchiest headline ever:

Transform insurance from a necessary evil into a social good.

But even better than its headline is the truth it delivers, that giving back isn’t just something tacked on at the end of the company’s annual goals. It’s a key piece of the backbone of what makes Lemonade the company  it is. Lemonade’s Giveback program shows that businesses don’t have to rely on philanthropic donations or corporate social responsibility, they can be a part of your business model.  What’s the secret? With every insurance policy purchased, Lemonade gives a percentage of customers’ unclaimed policy dollars to a cause they care about.  Since 2017, Lemonade has been working with New Story to deliver not only great insurance to its community but also a helping hand to the rest of the world and end global poverty. To date, Lemonade has helped build three homes in Latin America, one as part of the world’s first community of 3D printed homes, by raising over $20,000 with the help of their customers.  Here we spoke with Nina Rauch, Lemonade’s social impact coordinator, about the program, what’s up next for the company’s social impact ambitions, and why they love working with New Story.

What significance does your corporate donations program have at Lemonade?

“As a Certified B-Corp and Public Benefit Corporation, social good is baked into the core of our Lemonade business model.

When you get a Lemonade renters or homeowners insurance policy, Lemonade takes a flat fee, and you choose a cause to support with your leftover premium. Once a year, Lemonade calculates the unclaimed premium and gives it back to the charities its community members chose. This is called the Lemonade Giveback.

We want to make it easy for people to do good, so we make Giveback baked into our profit model. Growing more than 1,000% since the first Giveback, Lemonade’s 2019 Giveback raised over $630,000 from Lemonade policyholders – which shows that as Lemonade grows, so does the potential of social impact!”  

Why is New Story a good fit for Lemonade?

“Lemonade cherishes transparency and building trust, and as a tech company doing insurance, we’re looking to partner with organizations that share these values while making a dent in the universe. This is why we identify so strongly with New Story: they have chosen to move away from the traditional nonprofit model, as they’re completely data-driven, and powered by transparency and technology.

New Story’s model allows us to show our policyholders exactly where their money is donated, and see the full impact of their Giveback: we get to meet the families and accompany them as they move into their new homes, and know where every dollar donated is going. 

Since the 2016 launch of Lemonade, the Lemonade community has given back over $20K to New Story, funding three homes for three families in need in Central America.”

What’s up next for the Lemonade + New Story partnership?

“As the Lemonade community grows, so does the potential of our Giveback, and in 2019 we saw more than $631,540 donated by our Lemonade community to 26 charities. New Story are one of our original Giveback partners, and we are so excited to continue creating impact together!

But Giveback goes beyond the once-a-year donation- it’s part of our everyday culture. So while we continue to expand our Giveback program and add new charities, we’re also putting effort into organizing  physical volunteering opportunities and events for our community. This coming year, we will work with the New Story team to build more opportunities for our policyholders to engage with New Story on the ground, and help bring an end to global homelessness.” 

If you’re interested in learning more about Lemonade’s Give Back program or how we accept corporate donations to end global homelessness

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