Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Logo
Contact Us
| Site Help | Corporate News | Become a Member 
Free Offers | Chapter Web Sites | Locate Your Financial Representative

 
HomeYour AccountsAnnuitiesInsuranceInvestmentsBankRetirementPlanning: Tools & ServicesAbout UsFraternal ProgramsMembers/ChaptersCareer Center
 Thrivent Builds | The Store | Lutherans Online | Lutheran Heritage | Church Loan Program | Thrivent Magazine | Foundations

  About Chapter System
  Chapter Locator
  Chapter Care Programs
  Church & Community Programs
  Member Activity Highlights
  Heartwood Conference Center & Retreat
  It's as Easy as ABC 1-2-3
  JOIN HANDS DAY
  Member Benefits
  MLCS Locator
  Supporting Our Troops
  Thrivent Magazine
  Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity
  Visibility Toolkit
  -  Four Simple & Effective Tools
  -  Why Should I Promote Our Activity?
  -  Picking the Right Tools!
  -  Know Your Tools
  -  Power Tools: Paid Advertising
  -  Free Advertising
  -  Persuading the Media to Tell Your Story
  -  Media Relations: Beyond the Basics
  -  Describing Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
  -  Describing Chapters; Terminology Guidelines
  -  Obtaining and Using Our Logo
  -  Photo Tips
  -  Inviting Elected Officials to Your Event
  Volunteer Excellence Award
  FAQs

 

 


Fraternal Programs > Visibility Toolkit > Know Your Tools
Know Your Tools

 
When to use; benefits and cautions of common tools  
 
What tools are in your toolkit?
 
Bulletin Inserts   Promotional Items
Chapter Web sites   Scrapbooks/Display boards
E-mail   Temple Talks
Newsletters and Postcards   Word of Mouth
Posters/Fliers    
 
Bulletin Inserts

When to Use: When you want to reach members in a specific congregation(s).

Benefits: It’s very targeted.

Cautions: Not all congregations will include them. You may prefer to provide text that the congregation can put in a newsletter or on its Web site. Remember to ask permission from the congregation to use the bulletin insert.

Many bulletin inserts already have been developed for programs such as Care Abounds in Communities®, Care in Congregations® and Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity. You can access the Care program bulletin inserts via our Web site.

Top of page


Chapter Web Sites

When to Use: As often as possible! More and more, people like to access information whenever they choose to, and a Web site is a great place people can visit again and again, if they know they’ll find useful information.

Benefits: It’s free, flexible, available to most people, and can hold a lot or a little bit of information—plus photos!

Cautions: Not everyone likes to rely on Web sites for information, and if people are very busy, they may not have time to check a Web site for time-sensitive news. Plus, someone on the chapter leadership board (typically the Internet Advisor or the Communications Director) needs to take time to update the site, and the board leaders as well as members need to take the time to supply fresh news.

The chapter Web site is a good place to promote:

  • What the chapter and chapter Care programs are about and how they can help Thrivent members in their volunteer efforts.
  • Upcoming chapter activities (invite others to attend and ask for volunteers to help).
  • Results from chapter activities and the impact that was made.
Tip: Promote your chapter’s Web site address every chance you get! Over time, people will get used to going there for information.

Top of page


 
Chapter Leaders: How to update your chapter Web site
 
Go to thrivent.com, click on Members/Chapters, then click on "Ask CHIP."
 
  Once inside CHIP, type "websites" in the 'Search For' box , click 'Go' and click the first link on the results page—Web sites for chapters. This page provides information and instructions for updating your chapter site.
 
 
OR
  Thrivent.com > Members/Chapters > Ask CHIP > Job Aides/Publicity > Web sites for chapters.
 

E-mail

When to Use: If you’re interacting with a group of people for whom you have e-mail addresses (Thrivent Financial does not yet have e-mail lists available for chapters to use).

Benefits: It’s free, and more and more people prefer to receive information electronically. It also makes it easy for the recipient to forward the e-mail to another person – grassroots marketing!

Cautions: Not everyone has e-mail.

Important: When sending e-mail to two or more recipients, enter their e-mail addresses in the bcc: field. This protects a person’s e-mail from being visible, and then copied to other e-mail lists that are not desired.

Top of page


Newsletters and Postcards

When to Use: When you want to reach members in a specific geography.

Benefits: Using the mailing system offered by Thrivent Financial to chapters, it’s easy for chapter leaders to choose a pre-formatted newsletter or postcard. Postcards are best for events; newsletters work well when you want to share general news or tell stories of great events after they’re done! Chapter leaders just choose a template, fill in the text, and select the mailing list. Thrivent Financial does the rest!

Cautions: Postcards work best when you can keep the information short and simple. People are so busy that newsletters may not be read as much as they were in the past.

Chapter leaders can access the newsletter and postcard templates by going to their Chapter Leadership Administration Menu (thrivent.com > Members/Chapters > For Chapter Leaders > Administration Menu) and clicking on Manage Chapter Newsletters.

Top of page


 

Posters/Fliers

When to Use: When you have a community or congregational event and want to remind people of it repeatedly. And/or when you want to reach a group for whom you don’t have mailing or e-mail addresses.

Benefits: They can attract a lot of attention and tell a simple, compelling story.

Cautions: Production costs can be expensive, depending on quantity and type of paper used.

Top of page


Promotional Items (merchandise with the Thrivent Financial logo)

When to Use: At an event where you would like people to be able to see the name Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and/or where you would like to provide gifts to people.

Benefits: People love to get free things! And if those free things are useful, like a pen, or fun, like a T-shirt, we can achieve more name recognition.

Cautions: Chapter boards need to manage their operating funds carefully, so think about whether the people you are trying to “tell our story to” would appreciate promotional items or not. Some people receive them frequently, so don’t value them. Others may want us to spend more of our money on helping people rather than handing out mugs.

Top of page


Scrapbooks/Display Boards

When to Use: At events when you want to show people all the great activities your chapter or church has accomplished.

Benefits: Pictures speak louder than words sometimes, and people may become excited to participate in future events when they see all the wonderful things you’re doing!

Cautions: These work best at the events themselves, so aren’t appropriate for all situations when you need to attract people to an event in the future.

Top of page


Temple Talks

When to Use: When you want to reach a specific congregation(s).

Benefits: They’re free and a great way to reach congregations.

Cautions: Some churches prefer other formats for sharing news, and people like to have information in writing so they can remember it.

Top of page


Word of Mouth

When to Use: All the time! Every event should have great word-of-mouth, as chapter leaders and other active members tell others about all the great work going on.

Benefits: Besides being free, people tend to respond positively when they hear about something from a friend or relative. Person-to-person promotion can be the best tool available.

Cautions: Key details can be lost in translation, and of course, there is little to no control over this time-honored grassroots tool.

Top of page

 

 

To find templates:

Posters and fliers are available to chapter leaders and congregational coordinators on their Supply pages in their Administration sections online (www.thrivent.com > Members/Chapters > For Chapter Leaders or For Congregational Coordinators > Administration Menu)

To order:
 
The Store (www.thrivent.com > The Store) contains the following types of promotional merchandise that have the Thrivent Financial logo:
 
  Adults and children’s apparel items
 
  Specialty items, such as bags and luggage, recognition items, children’s items and much more.

 
   Page Settings
 Adjust Text Size:
A A A A
Printer Friendly

 

Proceed with care: Consider confidentiality of recipients!

Recipients must complete a Permission to Disclose Information form, granting Thrivent Financial permission to use, disclose and publish their name and other pertinent information for planning, conducting, advertising and communicating the results of a fund-raising activity.

Access this form from the Forms page on thrivent.com (www.thrivent.com > Members/Chapters > Volunteer Resources > Forms).

If the recipient is a qualified not-for-profit organization, the form does not require a signature, unless a volunteer or employee’s name or likeness is published.

 

   HOME | Site Map | Site Tour | Privacy Policy | Business Continuity Information | What's New On The Web Site | Contact Us | RSS Feeds | Top of Page

Appleton Office:
4321 N. Ballard Road
Appleton, WI 54919-0001 USA
800-THRIVENT
(800-847-4836)
E-mail: mail@thrivent.com

Minneapolis Office:
625 Fourth Avenue S.
Minneapolis, MN 55415-1624 USA
800-THRIVENT
(800-847-4836)

Dalbar Seal of Excellence

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Appleton, WI 54919-0001, is authorized to conduct business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. NAIC # 2938-56014. Products issued by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans are available to applicants who meet membership, insurability, U.S. citizenship and residency requirements. Not all products described are available in all states. Thrivent Financial representatives are licensed insurance agents. Insurance and retirement products, where available, are individual contracts, (not group coverage), and issued by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Investment products are offered through Thrivent Investment Management Inc., 625 Fourth Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55415-1665, a wholly owned subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Member FINRA. Member SIPC. Thrivent Financial representatives are registered representatives of Thrivent Investment Management Inc.

Bank products and trust services are offered through Thrivent Financial Bank, 2000 E. Milestone Dr., Appleton, WI 54919-0006 (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender), a wholly owned subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Insurance, investment products, securities, trust, and investment management services and accounts are not deposits, are not FDIC insured, are not insured by any federal government agency, and are not guaranteed by Thrivent Financial Bank. Variable insurance contracts, investment products, trust, and investment management accounts may go down in value.

©1995-2008 Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

This document was last updated on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 2:04 PM