American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation announces 2022 grant recipients

One-third of Missouri’s single mothers live below the poverty line, and one of this year’s American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation grant recipients, Almost Home, is working to change that statistic. They offer St. Louis single mothers and their children the help and hope they need today that leads to stability and self-sufficiency tomorrow.

American Family Insurance and its Dreams Foundation continue to have a significant impact in communities across the nation with this year’s grant investments to 263 organizations like Almost Home, totaling $2 million (see link to entire list below).

These grants are part of the Free to Dream initiative, where American Family has pledged $105 million over five years to further its already deep commitment to closing equity gaps and creating positive change in communities across the country. 

Building partnerships is priority

“Providing funding through our Dreams Foundation grant program is an important component of supporting community nonprofit partners and the work they do to close equity gaps,” said Maggie Pascaly, American Family community and social impact manager, “But equally important to us is creating authentic partnerships by understanding their needs and goals and continually listening and learning.”

“Our commitment to trust-based practices means we invest in our community partners through unrestricted, general operating support rather than requiring them to identify specific programs or services,” Pascaly said. “We believe our partners know their organizations' objectives and priorities and are in the best position to decide how to effectively use the funds to achieve positive results.”

The American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation's giving priorities were expanded in 2021 to include more partners and programs. These priorities include: Academic Achievement and Education; Economic Opportunity; Healthy Youth Development; and Community Resiliency. 

One organization’s story: Almost Home helps mothers break the cycle of poverty

Almost Home works with young, single mothers to provide a pathway out of poverty and better lives for both them and their children. The organization was founded in 1993 by two Franciscan Sisters of Mary in 1993 when they saw teenage mothers in St. Louis facing poverty and homelessness. Today the challenge persists, with more than one-third of Missouri single mothers living below the poverty line. This puts future generations at risk to remain poor, as 42 percent of children born into poverty remain poor a generation later. Almost Home strives to break this cycle, offering programs and services that provide stability for mothers and children.

By recognizing and responding to changing community needs, Almost Home has created programs that are yielding long-term success. They are different from other similar organizations because they are not just a shelter. While they do help provide safe and stable housing, their primary goal is to teach mothers the path to self-sufficiency through individual and family well-being, positive parenting, education, career advancement and financial literacy.

Mothers and their children in the program have opportunities to attend group therapy, life skills classes, GED classes, group field trips and more. The staff at Almost Home are trained to help mothers and their children prepare for independence, and they build powerful relationships in the process. “It’s important to us that we build strong relationships with the moms,” said Amber Wilson, program director of Almost Home. “We want to give them the opportunity to trust those of us in the organization. Some moms come from places where it’s difficult to trust anyone, and we want to offer that support.” 

Almost Home has been successful in serving more than 1,800 young St. Louis single mothers since its beginnings, with most of them pursuing further education, maintaining stable housing and obtaining jobs to provide for their families. 

Guided by its trust-based practices, the American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation grant offers unrestricted, general operating support to Almost Home, allowing the leadership there to allocate the funds as needed. “I’m so grateful we have this partnership, where we’re given trust and flexibility,” said Tyronica Dowdy, director of development. “American Family also provides great support for us and is available to us when we reach out to them.” As part of their long-term goals, Almost Home hopes to use some of the funding to create an early childhood education center, providing mothers access to childcare while they go to work or school. These additions will further assist them as they make strides toward independence.

See photos at the top of this page and visit their website to learn more about Almost Home and the positive impact they're having on families in the St. Louis community.

Investing in charitable organizations and meaningful work since 2016

Since 2016, American Family Insurance and the American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation have donated $16.5 million to nearly 1,300 community organizations.

American Family Insurance and the American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation together with their community partners continue to have a significant and positive societal impact across the country.

See the complete list of 2022 American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation grant recipients.

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About American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation
About American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation
The American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation, Inc. builds on our long-standing commitment and support of communities we serve by offering unrestricted, general operating grants to eligible non-profit partners. We are committed to using trust-based values to create meaningful, impactful relationships and reduce the inherent power imbalances of the traditional funding model. Like many of our community partners, we’re also committed to learning, listening, and changing through collaboration and trust. The Dreams Foundation grant funding priorities are Academic Achievement and Education, Healthy Youth Development, Economic Opportunity, and Community Resiliency. These priorities align with our organizational efforts to invest in and improve the communities where we live and serve. Read more.

About the American Family Insurance group
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, American Family Insurance has been serving customers since 1927. We inspire, protect and restore dreams through our insurance products, exceptional service from our agency owners and employees, community investment and creative partnerships to address societal challenges. We act on our belief in diversity and inclusion by constantly evolving to meet customer needs and preferences. American Family Insurance group is the nation’s 13th-largest property/casualty insurance group, ranking No. 251 on the Fortune 500 list. The group sells American Family-brand products, primarily through exclusive agency owners in 19 states. The American Family Insurance group also includes CONNECT, powered by American Family Insurance, The General, Homesite and Main Street America Insurance. Across these companies the group has more than 13,500 employees nationwide.