Be Seen Giving Back: How Agencies Can Build Trust Through Community Service

• July 9, 2025

By Colleen Flynn

The days are long, school is out and summer’s here, which means now is an ideal time to roll up your sleeves and give back to your community. Independent insurance agencies are fixtures at community events every summer—from sponsoring festivals and charity walks to serving at food banks and hosting charity golf tournaments.

Despite all the community activities, only 37% of independent agencies involve their clients in their charitable work, according to research from Liberty Mutual and Safeco. There’s a disconnect between the agencies’ level of commitment and the way they communicate it. Simply put, they’re not telling anyone.

Consumers expect more from the companies they conduct business with and make purchase decisions based on what they see and hear. Therefore, your agency should be visible and vocal about your community involvement.

Consumers are four to six times more likely to trust, buy from, champion and defend a brand with a strong purpose, according to the “2020 Zeno Strength of Purpose Study.” Reminding consumers of your agency’s values, and how your employees live those values, establishes and maintains trust.

Most independent agencies give back to their communities. Some may seek to keep these efforts low-key because they don’t want to receive “credit” or to appear as though they’re bragging. Others may not want to impose on their clients or employees with fundraising or volunteer requests. But in an increasingly competitive insurance marketplace, consumers want to place their business with companies that care.

Reframing publicity around your philanthropy as inspiration rather than self-promotion can make storytelling easier and more impactful. Showing how your agency gives back is most effective. Consumers believe they don’t see brands sharing enough authentic, non-promotional content or transparency about business practices and values, according to a 2023 report from Sprout Social. And another study from Sprout Social found that nearly half of consumers want to see frontline employees featured on social media.

Photos or video captured on a smartphone during a giving opportunity can be shared in your storefront, agency newsletter, on social media and in outreach to the press or organizations such as a local chamber of commerce, rotary club or a house of worship.

That content has relevance long after the community service takes place. The same picture of agency employees volunteering at an animal shelter can be repurposed during National Volunteer Week, which takes place in April, or to spotlight individual staff during Pet Insurance Awareness Month, which is observed in September.

Thoughtfully leveraging generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help your team brainstorm ways to share philanthropic work throughout the year, as well as craft new captions for social media.

When you reframe sharing your agency’s community involvement as a way to inspire more people to get involved, you also remove a barrier to entry for your clients. Your clients likely want to ensure families have meals over summer break or donate back-to-school supplies, but they may not know how to get started or have much time to dedicate. If you lead the way by organizing a canned goods drive or by highlighting a teacher’s classroom fund, your clients now know about easy ways they can also help their community.

Genrose Insurance in Scottsdale, Arizona, donates to Make-A-Wish Arizona through its new business referral program. It’s a commitment from agency owner Michael Monteleone as a volunteer and wish granter, as well as an opportunity for customers to easily pay it forward.

Al DeLeon & Associates Insurance Services of Lehigh Acres, Florida, built a community of “friendraisers.” In addition to helping its nonprofit partner, Lehigh Community Services, secure better, more affordable insurance, the agency uses its network of clients and local business peers to gift fundraiser raffle items, recruit new volunteers and board members, and even secure in-kind repairs to lighting in the nonprofit’s parking lot. 

However you plan to have fun in the sun this summer, incorporate a plan for visibility in your community and enhance your agency’s reputation as a trusted partner. Encourage your teams to embrace these opportunities when local communities may need resources and support the most. By year’s end, you won’t just have made an impact, you’ll have deepened client relationships, elevated your brand, and shown what it truly means to be a trusted local partner.

Colleen Flynn is program manager for Independent Agent Giving at Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance.