I’m really looking forward to this next chapter – both for myself and for Allan Financial. We’ve always been innovators and now I get to shape the next evolution of this company, and what life insurance and financial literacy can mean for generations to come.
~ Danielle
In 2014, we partnered with Kiva with the goal of lending $250,000. Over the last 7 years and with the help of our community, together we’ve lent over $1 Million to women around the world.
Microfinance loans not only have the power to transform the lives of the women that receive them, but they also have ripple effects into their communities and beyond. Studies show that when you lend money to women, those dollars are reinvested into their communities at much higher rates.
That money is having a direct impact on the lives of women like Lindiwe, a 22-year-old business owner in Zimbabwe.
She operates 3 businesses in her village — a poultry business, a small shop and Lee Juice — all under an umbrella company she named Lee Investments. Her business savvy and work ethic is clear in everything from her creativity to her bookkeeping to her pricing.
For Lee Juice, she thought about the thirsty workers at the mine near her village and asked herself how she could have a competitive advantage for something they needed. So she started making her own juice and soda from scratch, and priced it at half the price they would pay for a national or international brand.
Her plan worked. With the business training and guidance provided by Kiva’s Field Partner Camfed, and a $500 loan from Kiva, her business grew quickly.
“The loan boosted this business up. I used to make only 20 liters a week, now I’ve expanded to 200 liters a week.”
With her business success, Lindiwe has seen a change in how she feels about herself, and her standing in her community.
“I am independent…and if I am independent I can do anything that I want at any time,” she says. “If I want to help someone who is in need I can just take my money and help.”
Lindiwe is currently training one woman from her community to work with her, and has started saving $10 each month from her profits for her future. With the rest of her profits, she wants to expand her production and also add a large run to her poultry house.
Lindiwe is just one of thousands of women that you’ve helped empower with a microfinance loan. Thank you to everyone who lent and joined together to have this collective impact.
It’s bigger than we could have ever imagined!
To learn more about Lindiwe’s story as originally told by Kiva, click here.
Meet Casey and Rich, a couple who have created a plan for retirement and are building an investment inside their life insurance policy.
Life insurance is something that’s usually only thought of as a payout after you die. We want to ensure that you can benefit from your life insurance right now. And we have so many stories of clients who are able to do just that.
Now that we’re back in the office, please join us in welcoming our newest team member, Jessie Mejia!
Jessie joined us in early March as our Senior Executive Assistant (you can thank her for keeping Ross in line). Onboarding remotely at the onset of a pandemic was no easy feat, and Jessie took it in stride. She came to us highly recommended as a seasoned pro with over a decade of experience in high-level administration.
We love Jessie for her gentle and empathetic presence in the office, and her sharp organizational skills. Coming from the public health world, her expertise in client care and confidentiality are a huge asset to our team.
If you haven’t met her yet, Jessie is the first friendly face you’ll see when you walk in to AF. We can’t wait for you to meet!
Dear friends:
Prior to the onset of the pandemic, we updated our technology to give our team the capability to work remotely. We didn’t know we’d need it so soon, and have a few small pieces still to implement. This should all be completed by early next week, but in the meantime, our team is taking advantage of our new capabilities.
With that in mind, we continue to be available to provide you with service regarding your existing insurance, to continue working through the design and implementation of new insurance currently under way, and to start any new planning and insurance reviews. We can easily arrange any meetings using screen sharing and teleconferencing to avoid the need for face to face meetings.
A number of our core values are being put to good use at this time – leading with heart, being thoughtfully driven to do more, and stretching to change.
This is an unprecedented situation for all of us, but rest assured that your needs continue to be our priority.
Your Allan Financial Family
Our community of Bowen Island comes together at the end of every summer to put on the annual community festival, aptly named “Bowfest.” We have participated for more than a decade now, by sponsoring and volunteering to man the rides. This year, we were responsible for the inflatable Bungee Run that had kids straining to race against one another.
Giving out our signature Enjoy Your Life t-shirts celebrating each years event, and spotting these around the lower Mainland throughout the year has become a tradition for a generation of Bowen Islander, big and small. We would LOVE to get tagged if you see one of these t-shirts out and about. On facebook we are @allanfinancial and on instagram we are @enjoyyourlife.af
If you were there you know all about it, but if not, you can tell from the photos that we had a blast catching up with friends and clients all day long!
Change is inevitable, but certain things will always stay the same. One of those constants in *our* world is Kal Sangha who just celebrated 25 years with Allan Financial. She’s seen our business and our family grow, but one thing is the same – she’s always here for our clients.
We are thrilled to announce that Rachel Rogers is a Licensed Life Insurance broker at Allan Financial. Rachel joined the company six years ago and has advanced through progressively more responsible positions in Client Service and Product Design to her current role as Director of Client Service.
Rachel brings her wealth of experience to this new role providing services to individuals seeking life insurance and tax-advantaged investment strategies. We are pleased that she will now advise clients on these issues at Allan Financial.
Please join us in congratulating Rachel on this exciting next step in her career!
As Rachel says here, “Having good people in your corner is key to helping you make the right choices.” We couldn’t have said it any better.
The first is that Hardeep Arreaga, our Director of Underwriting, is on her second maternity leave with baby boy Cruz joining his brother Kiaan. At this point in time, Hardeep plans to return around May of 2020. We can’t wait to meet this new addition to the Allan Financial family!
The news of growth and change doesn’t stop there though. You’ve all gotten to know and appreciate Katie Erickson in your dealings with Ross, and we are pleased to say that she has been in training to take on the role of Underwriting Associate. The addition of her natural care and concern to this position is such a natural fit for clients during the many complexities of the underwriting process.
But you needn’t fear that once Katie transitions to Underwriting that you will need to rely upon Ross alone to manage all the many details of his life! We have brought a new team member, Laura Jane “LJ” Klassen, to be the Executive Assistant to both Ross and Danielle as of April 1st. Coming from a background in program coordination, working with youth in and around the Downtown East Side, Laura Jane brings the ability to (in her own words) “herd cats gently and effectively”. If you need anything of Ross or Danielle, LJ will now be your go-to contact at laurajane@allanfinancial.com.
Always growing and stretching into change, just like our clients!
You’d never guess what one of our clients is now able to buy because of the investment aspect of her policy. While everyone’s financial goals are different, our clients typically have something enjoyable they are planning for.
Not your run of the mill life insurance policy – for not so run of the mill people!
When we partnered with Kiva 3 years ago, our initial goal was to create $250,000 in small loans to women around the world. We never imagined what was possible . . .
Watch our short documentary on how this all came about!
It may seem counter-intuitive to say that giving away money can make smart financial sense, but we’ve found that to be exactly the case!
We all know that there are tax benefits to giving to charitable organizations, but the WAY in which we give can also have a huge impact.
This past year we set up an endowed fund with the Bowen Island Community Foundation. The goal of the newly named “Foxglove Fund” is to provide bursaries for preschool on Bowen Island for families who otherwise could not afford it.
Instead of fundraising every year for this bursary, having an endowment means that the interest earned on the endowment fund is distributed back instead. Ensuring the sustainability of this cause far into the future.
That’s what we call smart finance!
We have roots on Bowen Island, and every year participate in the annual end of summer festival “Bowfest”.
Our team typically assists with one large field game on the day, and this year we were looking forward to manning the inflatable (!) Human Hungry Hungry Hippo game. Alas, the weather gods were not kind, and the games company insisted that it was too dangerous to offer this when the inflatable would be getting rained on.
So, we made the best of our time, catching up with friends and clients all day long. And if you happen to see one of our signature Tshirts around, let it be a reminder that NOTHING dampens our spirits!
Together we’ve raised $612,245 in small business loans!
Hear the story of how 23-year-old Rwandan Jean Bosco, used a Kiva loan to start his own biofuel business, managing his district’s poor waste system by turning their trash into fuel.
His solution was so innovative that this past June, he had the opportunity to meet ex-President Barack Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in the US, and was asked to join them in a panel discussion about small businesses.
Reflecting on his $5,100 Kiva loan, funded through 145 lenders all over the world, he says –
“For me, it’s like a debt that I owe to people, not in terms of money, but a debt in terms of trust. Because these people are giving you money, and they didn’t come to see first-hand what you’re doing. So you need to pay back in terms of making it happen just like you said you would…”
See the full story on Kiva’s blog.
It’s hard starting out today, especially in the Lower Mainland, but having good people in your corner is key.
The Future of Allan Financial is Bright. An interview with Ross & Danielle in the Globe & Mail on how they are handling the transition of the family business.
Ensuring our clients feel comfortable and safe in every growth phase of their life is what it’s all about for us. Everyone’s journey is so beautifully different, and the fact that we get to be alongside for this journey is always a privilege.
Hear the heart of one such core story.
There are certain questions we hear a lot when folks are interested in life insurance. Things like “How much insurance do I really need?”, “What’s the difference between all the types of policies out there?”, or “What is the process of getting life insurance like?”
So we’ve put together an FAQ to help you out!
We love hearing about the dreams and goals that we’ve enabled our clients to reach. Everyone has that special something they’d love to do if they had the means. Helping this happen never gets old!
It’s a throwback to last year when Ross, Danielle, and Chriselle were on the cover of our industry publication!
Every industry seems to be changing. Insurance is too. Hard to believe that such a stalwart of traditional commerce can change, but clients are requiring this sector to keep pace with how they now expect to do business.
Hear how we’ve managed to have success by embracing change. It’s never too late!
Read the full article from Forum Magazine, Revive Your Firm.
You’d never guess what one of our clients is now able to buy because of the investment aspect of her policy. While everyone’s financial goals are different, our clients typically have something enjoyable they are planning for.
Not your run of the mill life insurance policy – for not so run of the mill people!
