May 31 deadline to submit nominations

This year, three benefit members will be elected to the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Board of Directors to serve four-year terms. Between April 1 and May 31, chapters have the opportunity to nominate candidates for the 2008 national election of the board of directors.

Nomination guidelines 

• Chapters wishing to nominate candidates must do so at chapter meetings held between April 1 and May 31, 2008. Nominations made at meetings held outside of this period will not be accepted.
  
  
• The following materials will help you with the nomination process:
  
  
  1. Letter from Kurt M. Senske, Vice Chairman of the Board (PDF, 37K)
  2. Call for Nominations form (PDF, 35K)
  3. Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws (PDF, 145K)
  4. Desired Qualifications for Nominees and Biographical Information Affidavit (PDF, 51K)
  5. Conflict of Interest Resolution (PDF, 39K)
     
     
• If your chapter chooses to submit a nomination, please get permission from the nominee. Then complete the Call for Nominations form in full and submit it via U.S. Mail postmarked no later than May 31, 2008. Nominations submitted in any other manner will not be accepted. Send the form to:

  Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
  Attn: Teresa J. Rasmussen, Corporate Secretary
  625 Fourth Avenue South
  Minneapolis, MN 55415

Remember, the nomination(s) must occur at a chapter meeting.

• Please have the nominee complete the Biographical Information form and submit it to the same address as above no later than June 16, 2008. All nominees must submit this biographical information.

Questions?
If you have questions about the nomination process, please contact Cindy Nigbur at cindy.nigbur@thrivent.com or 800-THRIVENT, ext. 38322.

Member Activity Highlights for 2007 and news release template now available

Fraternal Highlights has been updated for 2007 and also has a new name – Member Activity Highlights. They continue to be located in the Fraternal Programs area of www.thrivent.com (Fraternal Programs > Member Activity Highlights).

The Highlights is a tool to help us, and you, describe the impact Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and our members have in communities and congregations.

Feedback we gathered strongly indicated that a more descriptive and member-focused name was needed for these Highlights. The 2007 Highlights:

• Are available at the chapter, region and state levels. The 2007 national highlights are scheduled to be available later this month. 
• Include statistics for chapter activities (e.g., funds raised, hours worked and number of activities), GivingPlus® contributions, Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity and — in a separate section — grants awarded by the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation.

Action Requested:  Share Member Activity Highlights with others; news release template available
Please share the Member Activity Highlights with members, elected officials and others to show the tremendous difference Thrivent Financial and members like you make. The Highlights help illustrate the unique and special nature of our membership and organization to carry out the mission and vision of caring for others. It can be a great tool to share as you encourage others to become involved with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and your chapter.

Consider sharing the information at chapter events, through your chapter newsletter, and maybe in your congregation's newsletter if permission is granted.

Note to Chapter Leaders:  Use News Release template to get the word out to your community
To help you easily share your chapter’s Highlights with your community, a News Release template (Word, 62K) now is available.  [PDF copy, 31K ]

All you need to do is:

1. Click on the Word link above and save the template to your computer.
2. Add your local information and the statistics from your chapter's and region's Member Activity Highlights (instructions are included in the document).
3. Delete the instructions pages.
4. Save the changes.
5. Send the release to local media outlets.

For details about submitting a news release to your local media and working with your local media, see the Media Relations area of the Visibility Toolkit, located at www.thrivent.com/visibility. The template also is scheduled to be added to your online Order Chapter Supplies page soon.  

Consider social and educational opportunities; send us your success stories

In a recent poll of Thrivent Financial members, many say they do not participate at all in their local chapters. Some aren't even aware they belong to a Thrivent chapter or that one exists near them, while others point to busy schedules and little time to attend "another meeting."

Those who do actively participate in chapters point to "lack of understanding on how the system works" as a reason more members aren't involved.

Action:  What can you do?
As chapter leaders and congregational coordinators, we know you'd like to have more members involved as well. We're looking at ways we can reach more Lutherans, but you may be wondering what you can do locally to help Lutherans become more aware of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and your chapter. For example, what are some new and different things that might attract members who may not be as interested in volunteer opportunities?

As a fraternal benefit society, our focus is on membership, and we can offer social and educational opportunities as well as volunteer opportunities. For example:

• Chapters can support various seminars — led by Thrivent Financial representatives or other trained facilitators — that educate participants about financial topics in the context of their values. See Thrivent Financial educational seminars/workshops in CHIP for details about these offerings and the seminars that qualify as chapter activities. Then discuss these opportunities with your Thrivent Financial representatives.
  
  
• Many chapters already use chapter operating funds to hold member social events (e.g., picnics, day at the zoo, day at the ballpark) where a large number of chapter members come together to not only have some fun, but also learn about Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and their chapter. It's a great opportunity to tell members about the educational and volunteer opportunities available to them as members.

Action Requested:  Do you have ideas to share?
If your chapter has come up with some new and different ways (e.g., member events, educational activities) to let more people know about Thrivent Financial and your chapter, or to get more members involved, we'd love to hear about them. Simply send an e-mail to clfeedback@thrivent.com. We may share some of these ideas in future Chapter News issues.

Many tips, tools and templates available online to help you

This year’s JOIN HANDS DAY on May 3 is quickly approaching! Don’t forget about the many tools, including bulletin inserts, posters and recently added Fact Sheet, Media Advisory and News Release templates, available online:

• Chapter leaders: Join Hands Day page in the For Chapters Leaders section.
• Congregational coordinators: Join Hands Day page in the For Congregational Coordinators section.
• Members and service teams: www.thrivent.com/jhd

In addition, go to the Visibility Toolkit for tips on how to select and use appropriate promotional tools, as well as how to work with the media and invite elected officials.

For more details about promoting your JOIN HANDS DAY activity, see the 2-page How to Promote Your JOIN HANDS DAY Activity: Tips, tools and merchandise to generate awareness guide.  [link to guide]

Questions?
If you have questions about promoting your JOIN HANDS DAY activity, contact the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736 or fraternal@thrivent.com.

Find out how!

Let the national JOIN HANDS DAY organization know about your activity! By doing so, it will be considered for national recognition, including the Excellence Award. Top projects receive $1,000.

To qualify, simply:

1. Pre-register your activity on the JOIN HANDS DAY Web site at www.joinhandsday.org by May 2, and
2. Complete the online JOIN HANDS DAY post-activity report at www.joinhandsday.org by June 3.

Action Required:  Important Note to Chapter Leaders:
Registering and reporting the activity on www.joinhandsday.org for national recognition does not take the place of reporting the activity in your Chapter Leadership Administration area online.

Remember, all eligible Thrivent chapter JOIN HANDS DAY activities must be reported:

1. After an activity, the service team needs to complete the JOIN HANDS DAY Report Activity Results form and submit it to the chapter leadership board by July 14. [link to form]
   
   
2. A chapter leader reports the activity online:
   
   
   • Remember, JOIN HANDS DAY activities are not reported the same way as Care Abounds in Communities® activities.
     
     
   • Use the 1-page Reporting JOIN HANDS DAY chapter activities instruction sheet to guide you through the 6 easy steps to report the activity. [link to instruction guide]

If you do not report your activities online, our records will show that none of your $1,000 of JOIN  HANDS DAY seed money was used by your chapter. Remember, all remaining JOIN HANDS DAY seed money on record will be removed from your chapter checking account on Aug. 11.

Questions?
If you have questions about promoting your JOIN HANDS DAY activity, contact the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736 or fraternal@thrivent.com.