During Dan Rashke’s 29-year tenure as the chief executive officer of TASC – the nation’s largest privately-held third-party administrator for employee benefits – few saw him get rattled or caught off-guard. But it happened right around 2010, and it set the next course for the future of the company. As TASC celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, it’s worth looking at that moment, as well as how the company founded by Dan’s father, Don Rashke, came to be a benefits industry force for society’s betterment.
The Backstory
Don Rashke, a family farmer, entered the insurance sector in 1975 and was the first to discover an arcane, overlooked portion of the tax code – Section 105 – that allowed sole proprietors to tap into the tax savings of larger businesses. He combined his passion to help others and his entrepreneurial spirit to launch a business that would line up behind family farmers and small business owners to provide affordable healthcare.
Don Rashke and a small team worked doggedly to determine how to take advantage of other savings and benefits that were unnoticed or underutilized, later expanding to serve nonprofits and larger employers.
Dan Rashke and TASC Philanthropy
Dan succeeded his father in 1995, and as later recounted in the book “The Back 40: TASC’s Story,” a board member around 2010 asked Dan a question he hadn’t considered: “What’s your endgame?” Linda Hoff inquired.
“It kind of put me back on my heels,” Dan told the book’s author, Doug Moe. Ultimately, the answer was philanthropy, and it became a key tenet that continues to define TASC’s outlook as a company and for its staff.
Dan described a glimpse of his view on strategic philanthropy in a 2011 blog post, writing, “With the assistance of several members of TASC board of advisors, I developed the concept of Active Philanthropy, which is how I describe my involvement in the community as a business executive/owner. Active Philanthropy is not just writing a check; it’s showing up, contributing resources, and getting engaged in the process. This includes giving not only your money, but also your time, your mind and your heart.”
Roots to the past, focus on the future
Under new CEO Pam Reynolds, who has been with the company since 2000 and took over leadership in 2024, the charitable commitment continues as she carries on Dan’s vision with the TASC Cares program. Areas of focus center on supporting health, education, and basic needs.
TASC Cares has a robust set of community involvement partnerships that fund and offer in-kind donations to help others. Additionally, each TASC employee receives 40 hours paid annually to dedicate to community service during business hours. TASC’s ability to innovate puts it at the forefront of the benefits industry and meets the ever-changing needs of their clients. The company delivers quality solutions – and is the first-to-market with the offerings – that help business owners and their employees.
Reynolds recently noted that complexity and confusion in the benefits industry creates questions and uncertainty that TASC’s 1,000-plus workforce aims to demystify daily. “In our 50 years, TASC has been able to help tens of thousands of businesses and millions of employees pay less in taxes and invest more in their health and prosperity,” said Reynolds. “TASC embraces challenges and has been able to leverage technology to deliver a variety of different employee benefit accounts and offerings through a customizable benefit solution that both employers need and their employees want.”
TASC offers more than 50 benefit accounts, plus continuation and compliance services that are accessible under the industry-exclusive MyTASC platform that is available by desktop, a top-rated mobile app or ready-to-assist call center. The efficiency of a single platform with instant configurability leads to a smart, easy, and connected experience for employers and employees.
“Creating a seamless integrated benefits ecosystem and bringing simplicity to a normally fragmented and complicated process and customer experience has been TASC’s mission since day one,” Reynolds said. “We will continue that commitment to innovate and work with employers and employees to meet their benefits needs of today and for the next 50 years.”
Meet GiveBack Benefits
TASC’s newest solution announced in January 2025 is GiveBack Benefits, which anchors to their roots in strategic philanthropy and enters uncharted territory in the benefits industry. GiveBack Benefits opens a window for employers into building a workplace culture of generosity by providing employees the ability to make charitable contributions to causes they are passionate about. It presents the opportunity for employers and employees to give together and grow their impact exponentially.
Options include an internal crisis fund for an organization, a tax-advantaged scholarship fund for employees’ dependents and multiple other methods of strengthening employee engagement and fostering camaraderie. In addition, the new Give Now feature will allow the over one million TASC MyTASC® participants to donate funds to a charity of their choice directly from their MyCash account.
Employers have found that TASC GiveBack Benefits solutions are powerful in recruiting and retaining employees, enhancing internal morale and creating a positive external perception of a company’s brand identity. “The introduction of GiveBack Benefits exemplifies our commitment to fostering meaningful connections between employers and their teams through shared values and community engagement,” said Reynolds.
This new employee-focused offering exemplifies TASC’s 50-year legacy — where mission-driven innovation meets the meticulous execution of our trusted benefits programs, all in service of meaningful philanthropic impact.
Building On 50 Years of Giving Back
TASC’s commitment to its community and helping those in need is part of who we are. We will always look for ways to make a difference and inspire others to make a positive impact, from our direct charitable contributions to mission-aligned offerings like GiveBack Benefits that support others in their giving efforts. TASC philanthropy is not just something to look back on; it’s the foundation on which we’re continuing to build.
