Just in time for the holidays, iA Financial Group will be donating a total of $2,074,766 to charity group United Way-Centraide.

According to the insurer, this amount is 16% more than what it donated last year to United Way-Centraide, and it is the first time employees’ donations have surpassed the two-million-dollar mark. More than 50 iA Financial employees helped hold fundraising campaigns among their co-workers in Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

"For years, iA Financial Group's employees have contributed to United Way-Centraide and I'd like to thank them publicly for their remarkable commitment and their generosity," said iA Financial Group president and CEO Denis Ricard. "The strong commitment of our employees to this cause and the notable increase in donations this year are much more significant in the context of the pandemic and remote work by most of them."

A company release said that for iA Financial, philanthropy is “one of the vital components” of its role as an insurer on a social level. The insurer donated more than $7.5 million to various social, community, health, education, and environmental organizations in 2021 – most recently through its annual philanthropy contest.

Read more: iA Financial announces winners of 2021 philanthropic contest

Four charities were selected to each receive $100,000 from iA Financial – this year’s winners were La Bouchée généreuse of Quebec City, the Teach for Canada Foundation of Toronto, the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation of Winnipeg, and the Kids Eat Smart Foundation of St. John's. The insurer also made a surprise announcement this week that the remaining finalists that did not make the final four will be given another $100,000 in total.