What was that about building on a foundation of shifting sand?
Thrivent Financial cuts outreach funding, offers buyouts
The Business Journal of Milwaukee - by Katharine Grayson Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is cutting the amount of money it spends on outreach programs and offering buyouts to some employees who support related efforts.
Minneapolis-based Thrivent, a not-for-profit financial-services firm with a large operations center in Appleton, will spend $125 million on tax-exempt activities in 2010, down from about $172 in the prior year.
The decision was partly driven by the downturn in the financial markets, said Tim Lehman, senior vice president of member experience strategy for Thrivent. The company expects to restore funding to tax-exempt activities in the coming years.
About 260 employees work on tax-exempt programs. Lehman declined to disclose how many of those workers have been offered voluntary severance packages. The deadline to accept buyouts is today.
Thrivent’s outreach programs range from offering financial education programs to matching donations. Along with budget changes, Thrivent will eliminate two of its giving programs, Care and Congregations and GivingPlus, which provides a 50 percent match for donations members make to Lutheran organizations, Lehman said. The programs will be replaced with a new offering, Thrivent Choice, which allows members to direct funds to organizations of their choice.
The Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal is a sister publication of The Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee.
6 comments:
My former congregation had factored in Thrivent matching funds in the commitments from members for their expansion program. Now it sounds like they are going to have to ratchet up the law based stewardship programs. Oh, I forgot. They contracted with Jeff Davis and Cornerstone Stewardship Ministries for their next two stewardship appeals. After the 3% to 4% commission, they should still be covered and not have to worry. As they always say, "just give and God will provide".
rlschultz,
When one gives to Jeff Davis and Cornerstone Stewardship, are they really giving to God?
Good. Now they can get back to doing the work of the Lord instead of scrounging for money.
The question is why does a congregation sub-contract stewardship activities to an outside firm that is paid a commission. The entire capital appeal process becomes a big sham. Whether it is Perish Services, Cornerstone, or anyone else outside, it is really quite revealing about the leadership. How many years of post high school education do pastors have? Yet, they can't get the funding that they they need for an expansion.
Are members really giving for the Lord's work? They are constantly told that they are. Yet, we have seen how synod headquarters has squandered millions of dollars. Many of the congregations adopt a corporate model. Yet, no private company could waste money like this and stay solvent.
Interesting to see the de-Lutheranizing of Thrivant. Not that it was ever all that Lutheran. The predecessor companies that make up Thrivant were formed for a good reason. It was a way for pious Lutheran farmers in the Midwest to avoid having to join the Freemasons in order to get life insurance so they could be assured of a decent burial at the end of their days. Well, today you can buy all sorts of insurance from non-masons so the companies' reason for existence ended many years ago. The Lutheran insurance companies remained around out of inertia. When I became a Lutheran I was appalled that every congregation had a representitive assigned to it
to hawk insurance wares to members. Now its not just insurance but "financial services." We should follow the example of our Lord and Savior and make a bullwhip out of cords and throw the moneychangers and pigeon sellers out of the temple.
I think lay leaders should ask the obvious question to Thrivent: "To what degree are you cutting your match dollars and/or capping the match?" Let them feel the heat from congregations. (The $47 million mentioned in the article contains both match dollars and personnel.)
The corollary question is, "Why should we keep using Thrivent placemats at luncheons after funerals?!?"
How tacky.
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