Earlier this year, SFM established a new scholarship program designed to identify and support future leaders and introduce them to rewarding careers in the insurance industry. The Bob Lund Scholarship is named for SFM’s former CEO, who is widely known for his service to the field of insurance and his continuing passion for making the world a better place.

The group of SFM employees behind this effort, known as the Insuring the Future Committee, chose to partner with Wallin Education Partners . This Minnesota-based nonprofit has an established history of connecting students in need with the support they need to succeed in college and beyond. The Wallin scholarship program is committed to supporting students from historically underserved communities and eliminating barriers for groups that are underrepresented in business leadership roles (see page 100 of the 2022 Wallin Scholarship Yearbook where the SFM program is detailed).

“We decided to partner with Wallin because not only do they facilitate the scholarship and help us find a student, but they also provide support to students in the program throughout their college career,” said Insuring the Future Committee chair Carl Gruber. “They’re committed to supporting their students and helping them succeed.”

Meet the first Bob Lund Scholar

The inaugural Bob Lund Scholarship recipient, Van Nguyen, started this fall at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities as a first-year student.

The major Nguyen has chosen to pursue is Finance, Operations Management. She graduated from Robbinsdale Cooper High School in 2022, having distinguished herself through both academics and extracurricular achievements. The plan is to award Nguyen a scholarship through all four years of school, as long as she stays compliant with the program’s requirements.

In her scholarship application, Nguyen shared: “I believe that a successful college experience would be being able to find out who you are as you’re developing so many new skills and academic enrichments while learning about your interests.”

In addition to sponsoring Nguyen, the Insuring the Future Committee plans to support a new student each year, aiming to provide scholarships for four students at a time. The committee is also working on starting an internship open to Wallin Scholars.

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The SFM Foundation was featured on the November 9 edition of the KARE 11 “Communities that KARE” segment.

SFM Foundation Scholarship Director Debra Zorn was interviewed along with scholarship recipients Haley and Mason Rinzel and their parents.

KARE 11’s video and article showcase how the SFM Foundation changes lives and how their scholarships personally impacted the Rinzel family after Haley and Mason’s father, Greg, was injured in the line of duty as a Cottage Grove police officer.

“We are absolutely elated to have been featured by KARE 11,” said SFM Foundation President Linda Williams. “We are so grateful to KARE 11 for helping us spread the word about the important work we do so we can help more deserving families.”

View the full KARE 11 feature

About the SFM Foundation

The SFM Foundation was created in 2008 by SFM Companies, a regional workers’ compensation insurance group headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota. SFM Foundation is dedicated to easing the burdens on families affected by workplace accidents. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded 187 scholarships totaling $2.4 million. For more information, visit sfmfoundation.com .

SFM Foundation is an affiliate of Kids’ Chance of America  in Iowa and Minnesota.

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Injured workers covered by SFM now have 24/7 digital access to their claim information through SFM’s website.

Through a new self-service tool called SFM Claim Connection, workers with SFM claims can access claim details, review payments, download forms and set up text alerts to be notified of payment activity.

“This is the latest development in our ongoing initiative to improve the claim experience for the workers we serve,” said Steve Sandilla, SFM’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Business Operations. “We’re striving to eliminate barriers for the employees we insure, and this tool gives them a valuable new way to access critical information about their claims.”

Optimized for mobile devices

The system was designed with mobile users in mind, as we recognize that a growing percentage of users prefer to access this kind of information on their phones. Smartphone users can access all the same information that’s available on the desktop version. The application even includes a mobile-friendly insurance ID card that workers can take with them to medical appointments.

Empowering workers with information

“Equipping injured workers with the right information at the right time makes their lives easier,” Sandilla said. “We’ve always worked hard to empower our customers with reliable answers, and now we have a convenient new tool to help us deliver on that promise.”

Learn more about the SFM Claim Connection and how it can help injured workers.

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BLOOMINGTON, Minn., June 25, 2020 — SFM ranked ninth among medium-sized employers in the Star Tribune’s Top 150 Workplaces in Minnesota for 2020.

The Star Tribune’s top workplaces were chosen based on anonymous surveys of employees which asked them to rank their employers in areas such as quality of leadership, cooperation between departments, meaningfulness of work, appreciation from coworkers, positivity of workplace, flexibility in scheduling, level of pay and quality of benefits.

92% of SFM’s 250+ employees participated in the survey. Key findings include:

• SFM employees describe SFM as a caring, ethical, collaborative and supportive workplace
• SFM employees rate their job satisfaction 77 percent higher compared to similar business insurance companies
• 99 percent of employees feel well informed about important decisions at SFM compared to other business insurance companies
• 93 percent of employees believe that there is good interdepartmental cooperation at SFM
• SFM employees are engaged 9 percent higher than the industry benchmark

“I truly feel that we are the work comp experts because of our wonderful employees,” said Terry Miller, President and CEO. “Our employees are the heart and soul of SFM, and I believe they are the reason SFM is such a great place to work.”

SFM is known for its caring culture. We do this by helping employers keep safe workplaces, helping injured workers get their lives back, and making sure we take great care of our own employees.

“It’s wonderful to see that our employees feel good about working at SFM,” said Jody Rogers, Senior Vice President, Human Resources. “It’s always been our philosophy to take excellent care of our employees, and these survey results confirm that our efforts are being felt.”

The Star Tribune Top Workplaces designation is awarded based on the results of a survey of employees conducted by Energage, a company that specializes in employee surveys and conducts more than 66,000 annually.

View Star Tribune’s 2020 Top Workplaces article

View SFM’s Top Workplaces profile

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Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal ranked SFM Foundation’s annual Golfing for Scholarships event #8 of the metro area’s top 25 charity tournaments in 2019.

Tournaments were ranked based on their 2019 gross revenue. SFM Foundation’s gross revenue came in at $247,749. All proceeds of the event go toward the Foundation’s scholarship fund.

“We are absolutely thrilled that our golf event has grown into a quarter million dollar fundraiser and has been recognized alongside such exceptional Twin Cities charitable organizations,” said SFM Foundation President Linda Williams. “The number of families we’ve helped far exceeds what we originally dreamed of when we gave out our first scholarships in 2009. We are so thankful to our sponsors and donors who made this possible.”

Business Journal subscribers can view the full list online .

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SFM was recently recognized by the City of Bloomington as one of eight local employers who are supportive of breastfeeding mothers in the workplace. 

Senior Vice President, Human Resources Jody Rogers and HR Business Partner Mickey Willard accepted the award from Mayor Gene Winstead at an August Bloomington City Council meeting.

The award is part of the city’s Breastfeeding Awareness Month social media campaign to raise awareness of breastfeeding in the workplace laws, and encourage more employers to increase support of working mothers. 

SFM was nominated by one of its employees for providing a room for mothers to pump at work, ability to occasionally bring children to work when daycare or school aren’t options, and flexible work hours.

“I am proud that we received this nomination from one of our employees and that our moms feel taken care of and valued by SFM,” said Rogers. “SFM genuinely cares about its employees, and we are passionate about providing a family-friendly environment.”

Willard echoed her sentiments. 

“SFM truly affords people the opportunity to have a family and a career. Our continued support of working parents is evident with this award. SFM promotes family first, and supporting new moms with their breastfeeding goals after they return to work is a great example of how we do this,” said Willard.

Several SFM mothers were interviewed by the City of Bloomington for the following video that they hope will encourage more employers to follow suit. 

Other Bloomington employers recognized include Edmentum, HealthPartners, Minnesota Gastroenterology, P.A., NorthMarq, Prime Therapeutics, TRIA Orthopaedic Center and UMB Bank. 

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