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 DEI-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. We remain committed to driving change and are proud to showcase the significant strides we've made in promoting DEI in the RMI industry. Below are some key initiatives we've implemented since 2019:
Scholarship Application Redesign: We have revamped our scholarship application process to allow applicants to self-identify their race/ethnicity and gender identity. This enables us to track and understand the demographics of our scholarship recipients.
Bias-Free Review Process: Our scholarship application review process has been updated to remove all identifying information (such as names and demographics) during scoring. This change helps eliminate unconscious bias in our selection process.
Investment in Diversity: We are proud to announce the creation of hundreds of diversity-focused scholarships to be awarded over the next ten years, representing a strategic investment of over $1.5 million in cultivating diverse talent within the RMI industry.
Partnerships with Educational Institutions: We work with various companies and organizations to develop Risk Management and Insurance courses at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs).
Risk Manager on Campus Grants: We have awarded grants to several MSIs, providing thousands of students with exposure to the Risk Management and Insurance profession.
Course Development Sponsorships: We work with various corporate partners to sponsor Course Development Grants at multiple MSIs, including prestigious universities such as Fisk University, Savannah State University, Southern University, and several others across the country.
General Grants for Diverse Talent: We provide General Grants aimed at fostering a diverse talent pipeline and support initiatives within HBCU Impact, LAAIA, NAAIA, and numerous other programs focused on diversity and inclusion in our industry.
Collaborative DEI Partnerships: We are actively collaborating with various organizations within the RMI sector to explore partnership opportunities for advancing DEI initiatives. Examples include the American Risk & Insurance Association (ARIA), Asian American Insurance Network (AAIN), Canadian Association of Black Insurance Professionals (CABIP), HBCU Impact, InVest Program, Insurance Careers Movement (ICM), Latin American Association of Insurance Agencies (LAAIA), McGannon Foundation, National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA), Property & Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB), Rising Insurance Star Executives (RISE), Risk & Insurance Educational Alliance, Target Markets Program Administrators Association (TMPAA), University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA), Young Risk Professionals (YRP), and many 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.
