Message from thePresident
and theChairmen
AHead for Insurance. AHeart forNonprofits 1
25yearsago
In early 1989, it appeared unlikely that the
first company in ourGroup, Nonprofits’
Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC),
would ever open its doors. After nearly two
years of effort, most of the $300,000 raised
through grants to pay for the extensivework
required to create the organizationwas
spent. Insurance experts scoffed at our plan
to insure organizations that the commercial
insurance industry deemed uninsurable.
Tax law on charitable risk pools did not
exist.We had beenwaiting formonths
for the IRS to rule on the permissibility
of foundationsmaking loans of $1.3mil-
lion forNIAC’s original capital.Wewere
warned that that rulingmight takemore
than a year.Wewould run out of funds
well before that.
When the IRS finally ruled in our favor
inAugust of 1989, virtually everything—
including leasing office space, executing
loan documents, procuring investment ser-
vices and reinsurance, staffing andmore—
had to coalesce simultaneously and in short
order. OnOctober 17, with only $40,000
left to carry us before revenue generation
would start, wemoved into our tiny second
floor office. At 5:04 p.m. that day, the 7.1
Loma Prieta earthquake struckNorthern
California. The epicenter was not far from
our offices. Rattled andwith the possibility
of having no power, water or phone service
for weeks ormonths, things looked pretty
bleak. But, we were determined. On
November 1, 1989, wewelcomed our very
firstmember-insured, FoodFirst.We are
proud to report that they are still a valued
member today, with continuous coverage
in place for 25 years!
ExpandingAcross theCountry
Convinced that themodel which began in
CaliforniawithNIAC should be expanded
to other states, the Bill &MelindaGates
Foundation and theDavid&Lucile Pack-
ardFoundation each granted $5million
to enable Alliance of Nonprofits for Insur-
ance, RRG (ANI) and our property captive
affiliate to launch in 2001. Because these
foundations and hundreds of brokers and
