Outgoing 2007 financial directors will have access to system until March 1, 2008
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CHAPTER LEADERS
Extended time will help chapters complete year-end reporting and train new financial directors
Based on the requests of many chapters, we're happy to announce that outgoing 2007 financial directors and assistant financial directors will have access to the Chapter Leadership Administration Menu until March 1, 2008. This is important to chapters because it allows outgoing financial directors and assistant financial directors to more easily:
Complete 2007 year-end work related to the audit and the Chapter Summary Report, which needs to be submitted by the end of February.
Train new financial directors and assistant financial directors.
As in past years, all other outgoing 2007 chapter leaders will lose access to the system on Dec. 31.
How it'll work
As of Nov. 29, a Past Financial Director position and Past Assistant Financial Director position will be added to the Administration pages that list the chapter leadership board. Note that these positions will be listed as VACANT.
Note: When chapters add their 2008 elected chapter leaders and advisors to the system before year-end, they will not be able to add anyone to the Past Financial Director or Past Assistant Financial Director positions. This will automatically be done on Jan. 1 (see next bullet point).
On Jan. 1, any outgoing financial director or assistant financial director (those who are leaving the board after 2007) will automatically be placed in the Past Financial Director or Past Assistant Financial Director position on the Administration pages. This allows them access to the Administration Menu. Chapters do not need to enter anything.
On March 1, the outgoing financial directors and assistant financial directors will automatically be removed from the Past Financial Director and Past Assistant Financial Director positions on the Administration pages. Chapters do not need to remove the names from these positions.
After March 1, these two positions will show as VACANT. The outgoing directors no longer will have access to the Administration pages — no exceptions can be made.
Following is additional information that may answer questions you have:
Only outgoing financial directors and assistant financial directors can serve in the Past Financial Director and Past Assistant Financial Director positions. For example, an outgoing communications director cannot be added to one of those positions.
If a 2007 financial director or assistant financial director will continue in that role in 2008, the Past Financial Director and/or Past Assistant Financial Director position will be listed as VACANT in 2008.
If a 2007 financial director or assistant financial director continues on the chapter leadership board in 2008, but in a different elected position (e.g., President), that person will still have access to the system in 2008, and the Past Financial Director or Past Assistant Financial Director will be listed as VACANT for 2008.
If a chapter manually removes an outgoing financial director or assistant financial director from the system before Dec. 31, the person will not automatically be placed in the Past Financial Director or Past Assistant Financial Director position on Jan. 1.
Chapters and Lutheran Community Services (LCS) staff will not be able to manually add a person to the Past Financial Director or Past Assistant Financial Director positions.
If a chapter accidentally removes a person from the Past Financial Director or Past Assistant Financial Director position after Jan. 1, the chapter can contact the Fraternal Service Center to have the person added back on the system.
The Jan. 1 to March 1 time period for Past Financial Directors and Past Assistant Financial Directors does not count as serving another term. For example, if an outgoing financial director served three years (2005 to 2007), he/she will be eligible to be elected to the chapter leadership board again for 2009. The two months in 2008 does not count as a fourth term.
Questions?
If you have questions about this enhancement, please contact the Fraternal Service Center at fraternal@thrivent.com or 800-236-3736.
A great time to say 'thank you'
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CHAPTER LEADERS
Recognizing congregational coordinators and chapter volunteers is a great use of chapter operating funds
As your chapter leadership board looks back on 2007 and reflects on all the good that has been done, it's a great time to say thanks to the congregational coordinators and others who volunteered with and through the chapter.
If you are looking for ways to show your appreciation for all they have done, here are a few ideas you might want to consider. Remember, recognizing others in fun and creative ways is a great use of chapter operating funds.
Send E-cards to thank volunteers or community service team members when an activity is completed. You can find free E-cards on Lutherans Online under E-Greeting Cards.
Purchase thank-you cards with chapter operating funds, or order Thrivent Financial thank-you cards at no cost from the Order Chapter Supplies page in your Chapter Leadership Administration Menu.
Include a note of thanks in a chapter newsletter.
Provide personalized Volunteer Certificates of Appreciation, available in PDF format from the Order Chapter Supplies page in your Chapter Leadership Administration Menu. Three certificates are available where you can fill in the volunteer's name. Version 1 | Version 2 | Version 3
Hold an appreciation dinner and hand out special recognition items. See The Store on www.thrivent.com for great Thrivent Financial promotional merchandise items.
For more great ideas, visit www.energizeinc.com/ideas.html and also do a search of recognition on the Energizeinc Web site for all sorts of great recognition ideas.
The following articles also are posted for congregational coordinators.
Ordering supplies soon will become more user friendly
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CHAPTER LEADERS AND CONGREGATIONAL COORDINATORS
New Supply Order System scheduled to be live November 29
Starting Nov. 29, the Order Chapter Supplies (chapter leaders) and Order Congregation Supplies (congregational coordinators) pages on your Administration pages will have a new look that provides an improved method to place and track orders of supplies available to you.
The new user-friendly Web-based system has a similar feel and function of many popular online order sites such as Amazon.com—which use a “shopping cart” system that allows users to preview, select and order items from a single Web site.
What's new?
You'll be able to see images of the various items, which makes searching for these items easier.
You now will receive online confirmation of completed orders.
You'll receive online notification of back-order status.
You can track the order and delivery progress online (for orders weighing 8 ounces or more).
Chapter leaders continue to access the supply pages by clicking Order Chapter Supplies from the Chapter Leadership Administration Menu page (www.thrivent.com > Members/Chapters > For Chapter Leaders > Chapter Leadership Administration Menu > Order Chapter Supplies)
Congregational coordinators continue to access the supply pages by clicking Order Congregation Supplies from the Congregational Coordinator Administration Menu page (www.thrivent.com > Members/Chapters > For Congregational Coordinators > Congregational Coordinator Administration Menu > Order Congregation Supplies)
You still will be able to view and/or print certain items.
Only those items available to you will appear on the screens.
Phone orders will still be accepted by the Fraternal Service Center. Rush orders must be placed via phone to the Fraternal Service Center.
All orderable items still are free of charge.
Instruction guide available
Before submitting your first order, please link to, print and review the How to Order Supplies two-page step-by-step instruction guide (PDF, 192K). This guide is available on the Tutorials/Quick References page in the For Chapter Leaders and For Congregational Coordinators sections on the Members/Chapters area of thrivent.com. A link to this guide also is available on the Materials for chapters and congregations page in CHIP, your online chapter reference guide.
Questions?
If you have questions about using the new supply order system, please contact the Fraternal Service Center at fraternal@thrivent.com or 800-236-3736.
Annual Volunteer Leader Survey may be coming your way
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CHAPTER LEADERS AND CONGREGATIONAL COORDINATORS
Your input will be valuable; please respond if you receive the survey
In late November or early December, the annual Volunteer Leader Survey will be sent to a sample group of our 2007 chapter leaders, congregational coordinators, Thrivent Builds chapter specialists and Thrivent Builds congregational champions.
If you receive this survey, we encourage you to take 10 to 15 minutes to complete it. Your input will be extremely valuable.
The survey will be sent via e-mail to those in the sample group who have an e-mail address on record with Thrivent Financial (the e-mail will have a Thrivent Financial address). The remainder of the sample group will receive it via mail.
Please inform your Thrivent Builds chapter specialists and congregational champions that they may also receive this survey. Thanks!
* A benefit member is an individual who is at least 16 years of age and, in the vast majority of cases, is the insured or annuitant listed on an insurance or annuity contract issued by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans or premerger Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) or Lutheran Brotherhood (LB). In some cases, third-party owners of premerger AAL or Thrivent Financial contracts or beneficiaries of settlement agreements may be benefit members. Voting eligibility does not include associate members. An associate member is a member who has only mutual funds, products issued by Thrivent Life Insurance Company, products issued by other Thrivent Financial for Lutherans subsidiaries, or who has joined by paying a membership fee.
Thrivent chapter leader's trip to Washington helps educate elected officials
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CHAPTER LEADERS AND CONGREGATIONAL COORDINATORS
Connecting elected officials with members helps demonstrate our unique nature
State and federal tax exemptions provide the resources that fund the chapter system and programs our members use to make a positive difference in their congregations and communities. To ensure those exemptions and resources continue to exist, it's important to educate elected officials about Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and the work our members do in the local communities those officials represent.
That’s why Thrivent Financial supports the Fraternalists-in-Action program of the National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA) that recognizes members like the Rev. Jeff Pedersen from Platteville, Wisconsin. Rev. Pedersen, president of the Grant County WI Chapter, was honored for his outstanding fraternal service with a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with his members of Congress.
“Having a nationwide network of members who volunteer differentiates Thrivent Financial from commercial financial services companies,” says Rick Kleven of Thrivent Financial's Government Affairs area. “Connecting elected officials with Thrivent Financial members in their districts helps demonstrate the unique nature of our organization. Rev. Pedersen's visits with Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin), Representative Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin), and a staff person for Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) certainly left a positive impression on the congressmen and gave them greater insight into the impact fraternals have.”
Through his chapter, Jeff has inspired other members to support countless efforts in his community, and he has worked to open the church he pastors to the homeless and poor. He does extensive work with Habitat for Humanity and was instrumental in establishing a Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity project this year.
The NFCA is the trade association of America’s 76 fraternal benefit societies, including Thrivent Financial, which is the largest.
For more information about the NFCA, please contact Magan DeValk, Government Affairs, at 800-847-4836, ext. 83315.
In addition, see the Fall 2007 Thrivent magazine issue to read an interview with Rick Kleven about why strong relationships with key public officials is important to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
Lutheran history at a glance
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CHAPTER LEADERS AND CONGREGATIONAL COORDINATORS
Timeline now available as a poster
Based on member feedback, we’ve turned the Lutheran timeline from the Summer/Fall issue of Thrivent magazine (see pages 23 to 27) into a poster.
Free to members, the 39" x 11" poster offers a quick look at several turning points in Lutheran history, in the context of what was happening in world history. They make a great teaching aid for pastors or Sunday school teachers.
How to order
Use the following online order form to order complimentary copies. [Link to online order form]
Know others who would like Thrivent magazine?
You can sign up a friend or family member who’s not a member of Thrivent Financial to receive a complimentary one-year subscription to Thrivent magazine. It’s easy to do. Just visit www.thrivent.com/magazine/offer and submit the required information.
Volunteers needed for Thrivent Builds Gulf Coast builds
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CHAPTER LEADERS AND CONGREGATIONAL COORDINATORS
Team recruiters and volunteers needed for November and December trips
Take a low-cost working vacation to the Gulf Coast to help victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Thrivent Builds Worldwide is organizing these trips and offering special pricing to Thrivent Financial members and nonmembers. Team recruiters and volunteers are still needed for the November and December trips.
