Corporate Social Responsibility

We are committed to supporting the communities where we live and work. Below are a few of the key projects we support near our U.S. headquarters in Iowa.

Athene North Shore Recreation Area at Easter Lake Park

Athene donated $1 million toward one of the most universally accessible recreation-focused parks in Iowa, which features a one-of-a-kind beachfront and water experiences for all abilities. Led by Polk County Conservation and the Great Outdoors Foundation, the park supports veterans and individuals with disabilities. 

The park has been honored with the 2025 Innovation in Equity Award by the National Recreation and Parks Association for its commitment to improving access to parks and recreation for all community members

Read more about the Athene North Shore  

Great Outdoors Foundation

Athene’s gift of over $1.8 million over five years provides seed money for a brand-new funding mechanism in partnership with the Great Outdoors Foundation. The Conservation Acceleration Fund matches private donations with a conservation portfolio, filling public grant match requirements, unlocking previously untapped funding for water quality improvement. The Fund multiplies Iowa’s investment in water quality and reflects a commitment to create impactful change for our community stakeholders. 

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity

Athene has committed over $1 million to Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity over the course of eight years to help address the housing needs in the community, including support of their volunteer initiative Habitat Heroes. In addition to the monetary contributions, Athene has volunteered over 700 hours in the past year with Habitat. Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity has recognized Athene for its corporate stewardship and awarded the organization with the Key Award this year.

Athene Pedestrian Bridge 

The Athene Pedestrian Bridge connects Raccoon River Park with Walnut Woods Park for cyclists and pedestrians to current and future greenway trails in central Iowa. Athene gave $750,000 to support the project, which is part of the Great Outdoors Foundation and the City of West Des Moines Five Water Project Partnership.

Recognition – Each year, Business Record recognizes a project that has a significant impact in Iowa. In 2024, the Athene Pedestrian Bridge received this honor and was named a Cultural Story of the Year.  

 Read more about Athene Pedest rian Bridge   

ChildServe

In 2024, Athene committed to $1 million to ChildServe to build the Athene Therapy Gym, a new rehabilitation center increasing their capacity from 60 to 600 children.

WesleyLife Meals on Wheels

Athene has committed a three-year, $300,000 gift to WesleyLife’s Meals on Wheels program, funding an estimated 31,000 meals from 2024 through 2026. 

Since the start of the partnership, Athene employees have volunteered over 175 hours delivering meals and tending the program’s hydroponic garden.

Game Changer scholarship

Game Changer scholarship provides 40 scholarships each year to support Iowa students pursuing secondary education. Sponsored by the Athene Charitable Foundation and administered by Scholarship America, the program is designed to help ensure Iowa students of all socioeconomic backgrounds can achieve their educational and career goals. Since the program started in 2021, over $475,000 in scholarships have been awarded to Iowa students.

Athene employees drive volunteerism at Athene, leading over 30 opportunities each year to get involved. Below are our longstanding annual volunteer events, supported by the Athene Charitable Foundation and made possible by employee dedication.

Each year, Athene employees donate books and volunteer to support the Athene-hosted community collection event for the annual United Way Stuff the Bus early reader book drive. Since 2015, Athene has donated 156,985 books to the campaign.

For more than three decades, the Athene Charitable Foundation has carried on a proud tradition of keeping local children warm through our signature Coats & Boots program. Each year, we purchase and distribute new coats and boots to elementary students in Des Moines Public Schools who need them most. 

In 2024, 265 Athene employees volunteered to ensure a proper fit for more than 2,600 students across six schools, providing comfort, confidence and warmth. 

The program traces its roots back to the 1993 floods, when an Athene legacy company supported flood victims and later extended that care to local students by providing winter clothing. Athene has donated more than 24,000 coats and boots since the program began.

 In 2025, Athene’s IT department cleaned up and donated 466 devices to nonprofit and community organizations, including 29 United Way of Central Iowa Partner agencies. Since 2020, Athene has donated 2,036 pieces of technological equipment.  

In 2024, over 1,350 Athene employees came together to provide essential needs and holiday cheer to 55 families at six different area schools and organizations. Since 2016, Athene employees have supported over 2,100 individuals and 390 families through Adopt-a-Family. 

The 2025-2026 school year marks the fourth year of partnership with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa. The onsite Workplace Mentorship Program pairs Athene employees with local youth. The program focuses on the students’ education and career goals while instilling within them confidence and purpose.

Athene partners with a variety of nonprofits in Central Iowa, including event sponsorships and volunteering. Many of these community-led initiatives are assisted by Athene Employee Resource Groups, which share support of the nonprofit missions. Below are some of the community events and initiatives in which Athene has been involved.

Key events from 2024 include:

• Back 2 School Iowa - Athene filled 400 backpacks with school supplies for Des Moines metro students for the Back 2 School Bash.
• Athene Life Career Expo in Bermuda – second annual event hosted by Athene provided student awareness to careers in life insurance and retirement service industries.
• Capital City Pride – employees volunteered at Pridefest, events that provide education and support to the LGBTQ+ community.
• Des Moines Arts Festival – sponsored the Iowa Art Force Billboard project where festival goers recreated artwork that will be installed in Des Moines area high schools.
• Easterseals – honored as Easterseals Iowa Inclusion Business of the Year for the Athene@Work initiative, representing a successful initiative in hiring neurodiverse individuals into the workforce.
• Hip Hope – sponsor for the Young Women’s and Men’s Conference.
• Iowa Asian Alliance – Athene sponsored, and employees volunteered at the annual CelebrAsian festival.
• Iowa Juneteenth Observance – sponsor of the annual observation festivities and volunteering at the Neighbors' Day Celebration.
• Latino Resources Inc. – sponsorship of the Latino Heritage Festival in Des Moines.
• NAMIWalks – Athene employees participated in the National Alliance on Mental Illness walk in September.