Don’t be shy! Get the word out to your chapter members about your chapter events, about the difference members are making by working with and through your chapter, and about the fun members have together at chapter events.

Tips from CHIP Include phone number with contact information When you list a contact name on a chapter postcard or newsletter, don’t forget to provide a phone number.  An e-mail address works well, but because all members are not online, a phone number is required. Allow enough lead time for newsletters Chapter newsletters are mailed at the non-profit bulk rate, which means they may take longer to get delivered. Therefore, it’s recommended to submit a newsletter 3 to 4 weeks before your desired delivery date. (Postcards are mailed first class and should arrive at your destination within 2 weeks from the time you submit.)

A tool to help you do this is the Chapter Mailing Service. As your leadership board discusses how to increase awareness of your chapter, how to get more members excited about and involved with your chapter, and how to get more people to come to chapter events, remember to include the Mailing Service in your plans.

Through the Chapter Mailing Service, your chapter can send up to 10 mailings (chapter newsletter and postcards, including Thrivent Builds postcards) per year to all members in your chapter. Go to the template in your Chapter Leadership Administration Menu, fill in your information, and click Submit. Thrivent Financial will mail it for you, at no charge to the chapter.

Note:  The Mailing Service also includes a Chapter Election Invitation mailing, which does not count as one of your 10 chapter mailings.

Take advantage of this valuable tool to help your chapter better connect with members.

See CHIP for complete details
For details and tips about using this service, see Mailing service for chapters in CHIP, your online chapter reference guide. If you have additional questions, contact the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736 or fraternal@thrivent.com.    

If you’re looking for an example of an easy-to-navigate chapter Web site that effectively mixes fun and information for their members to see, you might want to visit the Ozaukee County Chapter (Wisconsin) Web site.

This Web site comes across as fun, energetic and welcoming, as it speaks directly to the reader in an easy-to-read format that includes a good use of graphics and pictures.

[Examples of site’s features]

The factory that produces the confirmation crosses and baptismal medallions shut down for an extended period of time. Although it has recently reopened, we will not receive a new shipment until December or January at the earliest.

ACTION Requested:  Because our remaining stock may not cover all orders, please limit the ordering of confirmation crosses and baptismal medallions to the amount needed only.

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

The deadline to submit funds as part of the National Chapter Response to help those affected by the Midwest Floods is coming fast – Oct. 1.

Action Needed:  A call for help!  
While the flood waters are gone, the devastation continues and the needs of those recovering are great. They need our help.

We encourage our chapters and congregational coordinators to form service teams and work with your members to raise funds through the National Chapter Response. For every $2 received, Thrivent Financial will provide an additional $1, up to a total of $250,000.

See your For Chapter Leaders or For Congregational Coordinators page for details about the response effort, the process for submitting the funds, and the reporting form.

Action Requested:  Please share the following information with your chapter members, Lutheran pastors and Lutheran congregation members. Last year, 82 families were helped through the Child Insurability Benefit, but there may be many more families who are eligible but not aware of it.

You may share this information through your chapter newsletter, chapter Web site, or an article in a congregation's newsletter, if permission is granted by the congregation:

Member benefit helps families with uninsurable children
The Child Insurability Benefit helps eligible benefit member families of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans who have a child, from birth through age 15, with such significant medical issues that the child cannot be approved for life insurance coverage and is considered “uninsurable.”  The benefit makes available for purchase $10,000 of paid-up-at-age 65 life insurance to cover the child.

If you know of a family who is dealing with this situation, please tell them about this member benefit. For eligibility information, have the family contact their local Thrivent Financial representative, e-mail Thrivent Financial for Lutherans at fraternal@thrivent.com, or go to thrivent.com > Fraternal Programs > Member Benefits > Family Financial Assistance Programs.

Coverage increasing
Effective Oct. 1, the amount of life insurance coverage available through the Child Insurability Benefit is increasing from $5,000 to $10,000. To ease the transition to the higher face amount, applications related to this benefit that are received between now and Oct. 1 are eligible for either the $5,000 or $10,000 face amount.

Questions?
For more information about this member benefit, send an e-mail to fraternal@thrivent.com. It's also described on the Family Financial Assistance Programs page on www.thrivent.com

NOTES: The Child Insurability Benefit is not a guaranteed contractual benefit. The interpretation of the provisions of this program is solely the responsibility of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. This program is reviewed and evaluated regularly. Thrivent Financial reserves the right to change, modify or discontinue the Child Insurability Benefit or any part of it, at any time. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans benevolent funds are contributed to the contract reserve to help cover the additional mortality risk of the uninsurable child.

As chapter leaders and congregational coordinators, you have access to member information (e.g., names and addresses) via a paper Member List you can request online. Because of this privilege and our commitment to protect member information, we are required to periodically send you a reminder about the importance of following Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' privacy policy and practices as it relates to Member Lists:

• Member Lists contain proprietary information that is solely for use by employees, members, and agents of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in connection with charitable, social and educational activities of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. They must not be copied or reproduced for unauthorized use, including personal use.
  
  
• ACTION Required:  Keep Member List information secure and protect it from any unauthorized access or use. If you become aware of any unauthorized use of the information, immediately notify the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736 or fraternal@thrivent.com.
  
  
• ACTION Required:  Member Lists must be destroyed if requested by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans or if you determine you no longer have need for the information. Consider confidentiality as you destroy chapter materials and records such as Member Lists and past financial records. If records contain a member's personal information (name, address, phone number, etc.), shred, tear or burn these records when disposing of them.

Complete details about the impacts of privacy on chapters, activity payees and recipients, and chapter leaders', congregational volunteers' and service team leaders' personal information are located in CHIP, your online chapter reference guide. Type "Privacy" in the "Search For:" box.

Accessing Member Lists

• Chapter leaders can order chapter member lists via the Chapter Leadership Administration Menu (go to the Reports/Listings area and click on Order Chapter Member Listing). Because chapter member lists can be lengthy and expensive to mail, we recommend that chapters not order a list unless they need to recruit new chapter leaders now and/or they need to contact members to request involvement in chapter activities.
  
  
• Congregational coordinators can order a member list (Thrivent Financial members in their congregation) via the Congregational Coordinator Administration Menu (go to the Reports/Listings area and click on Order Congregational Member Listing). Although these lists are shorter than the chapter member lists, we recommend not to order them unless they are needed for recruiting new congregational coordinators or members for activities.

See CHIP for more details about member lists. Type "Member Lists" in the "Search For:" box.

A 90-second video that features comments from this year’s Volunteer Excellence Award (VEA) recipients about the benefits of volunteering with and through Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now is available on thrivent.com.

Consider showing this video at your chapter election event and other chapter events. It may be a great lead-in to recognizing the outstanding volunteers in your area who have participated in Care Abounds in Communities® and Care in Congregations® activities.

To access the video, enter www.thrivent.com/fraternal/volunteerexcellence or:

1. Visit www.thrivent.com
2. Click Fraternal Programs
3. Click Volunteer Excellence Award

Or, you can ask to borrow a copy of the video DVD from a member of your Lutheran Community Services (LCS) Team.

Videos featuring our VEA recipients also available on thrivent.com
In addition to the 90-second video, three videos that highlight the efforts of this year’s VEA recipients — 3 members and a member family, four Thrivent Financial representatives and four Thrivent Financial employees — also are available on the Volunteer Excellence Award page of thrivent.com.