Outgoing 2008 financial directors and assistant financial directors will have access to the Chapter Leadership Administration Menu until Feb. 28, 2009. This allows these leaders to more easily:

• Complete 2008 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.

All other outgoing 2008 chapter leaders will lose access to the system on Dec. 31, 2008.

How it will work

• When your chapter adds its 2009 elected chapter leaders and advisors on the “Manage Chapter Leaders” page before year-end, you’ll see “Past Financial Director” and “Past Assistant Financial Director” listed as VACANT. Do not add anyone to these two positions – this will automatically be filled in on Jan. 1 (see next bullet point).
  
  
• On Jan. 1, any outgoing financial director or assistant financial director who is leaving the board after 2008 will automatically be placed in the “Past Financial Director” or “Past Assistant Financial Director” position. This allows them access to the Chapter Leadership Administration Menu. Chapters do not need to enter anything.
  
  
• On March 1, the outgoing financial director and assistant financial director will automatically be removed, and the “Past Financial Director” and “Past Assistant Financial Director” areas again will be listed as VACANT. Chapters do not need to remove the names from these positions.
  
  The outgoing directors no longer will have access to the Administration pages — no exceptions can be made.

Here are answers to some questions you may have about this time extension:

• 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 2008 financial director or assistant financial director continues in that role in 2009, the Past Financial Director and/or Past Assistant Financial Director position will be listed as VACANT in 2009.
  
  
• If a 2008 financial director or assistant financial director continues on the chapter leadership board in 2009, but in a different elected position (e.g., President), that person will still have access to the system in 2009, and the Past Financial Director or Past Assistant Financial Director will be listed as VACANT for 2009.
  
  
• 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 Feb. 28 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 (2006 to 2008), he/she will be eligible to be elected to the chapter leadership board again for 2010. The two months in 2009 do not count as a fourth term.

Questions?
Please contact the Fraternal Service Center at fraternal@thrivent.com or 800-236-3736.

In early November, all chapter leaders in voting positions will receive a letter from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans titled “IRS Form 990 Questionnaire.”

Actions Requested: 

1. Please take a few moments to complete this questionnaire to comply with a requirement of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The letter explains why chapter leaders in voting positions are required to complete the survey.
   
2. Return the completed questionnaire to your chapter president by Dec. 5. Instructions about what to do with the completed surveys are provided in the letter sent to chapter presidents.
   

If you have questions after you receive the survey, please contact the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736 or fraternal@thrivent.com.

In response to many chapter suggestions and requests, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now offers the following items that can be used as backdrops at events and activities:

• Full-color tabletop and floor displays that highlight Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
• Indoor and outdoor full-color logo banners that can be customized with your chapter name

The displays and banners are available from a new Thrivent Financial Catalog, which you can access from the Displays and Banners for chapters page on CHIP, your online reference guide (enter "displays" or "banners" in the CHIP search feature). CHIP includes detailed instructions for accessing and using the catalog.

Purchase with chapter operating funds
These items, which can be used over and over, are a great use of chapter operating funds. You can order directly from the online catalog or fax an order form, which also is available from the Displays and Banners for chapters page on CHIP.

Please use a credit card to place your chapter order. Shipping charges and any applicable tax will be included in your cost. Chapter leaders may use a personal credit card and then ask the chapter financial director for a reimbursement from chapter operating funds.

Questions?
Refer questions to Cheryl Coots from the Brand Execution area at cheryl.coots@thrivent.com or 800-847-4836, ext. 34180.

Thank you for the dedicated service you provided as Thrivent chapter leaders and congregational coordinators in 2008. As we approach year-end, we ask for a few more moments of your time to gather your thoughts on how we did communicating with you in 2008. Your input helps us identify strengths and weaknesses so we can improve our service to chapter leaders and congregational coordinators.
 
Action Requested:  Below are links to a Chapter Leader Communication Survey and a Congregational Coordinator Communication Survey. Please complete the appropriate survey and submit by Sunday, Nov. 30. All answers will be confidential and anonymous. When you reach the end of the survey, just click on the Submit Survey button (when indicating your role, choose the role you had in 2008).

• Chapter leaders take this survey: http://survey.thrivent.com/surveys/chapter_Communications_Survey_2008.htm
  
  
  
• Congregational coordinators take this survey:    http://survey.thrivent.com/surveys/congregational_Coordinators_Survey_2008.htm
  
  

If you cannot open the link above, please copy and paste the link name into the address bar on your Internet browser and click Enter. A link to the survey also is on your For Chapter Leaders or For Congregational Coordinators page online.

Your time and input is valued and appreciated. Our goal is to provide the information chapter leaders and congregational coordinators need to feel successful and motivated in their roles, and enjoy their member experience with us.

Thanks for a great year of helping others and making a difference!

All checks and activity forms for the Hurricane Ike National Chapter Response must be received by Thrivent Financial no later than Dec. 15. This deadline must be met to ensure timely processing of the checks so that all funds can be paid to Lutheran Disaster Response and the WELS Committee on Relief by year-end.

Action:  Provide service teams and congregations with an early December or earlier deadline to submit their dollars raised to your chapter so you have enough time to get the funds and activity form to Thrivent Financial by Dec. 15.

Questions?
If you have questions, please contact the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736 or fraternal@thrivent.com.

As announced in the October Chapter News, a redesigned Thrivent.com is scheduled to be live in early December. The updated site, which is being designed based on extensive member feedback, will provide members with a more personalized and valuable online experience that better meets their needs. [See sample of the new look of the home page]

Here is a glimpse of some of the new pages and features that will be available to members and to you as volunteer leaders: 

• MyThrivent – a personal, secure page for each member
  Members can log in, from almost any page on Thrivent.com, to their own personal, secure page called MyThrivent that provides both their account and chapter information in one convenent “go-to” location. This personalized page will include the following areas and functions: [see sample of page layout; the numbers on the sample correspond to the numbers below]
  
  
  1. “MyAccounts” — A comprehensive financial summary of a member’s Thrivent Financial products.
     
     
  2. “MyFinancialRepresentative” — Contact information for a member’s Thrivent Financial representative and the ability to email the representative directly from the page.
     
     
  3. “MyChapter” — Information about a member’s chapter, including a list of chapter leaders and congregational coordinators, activities taking place in the chapter and a link to the chapter website. This area also will include a direct link to the:
  • Chapter Leadership Administration page for chapter leaders.  [See sample]
  • Congregational Coordinator Administration page for congregational coordinators.  [See sample]
  • Thrivent Builds Administration page for Thrivent Builds chapter specialists and congregational champions.
    
    
  4. “Thrivent Favorites” — An area where a member can add a link to pages he or she visits frequently, which means the member can quickly link to those pages directly from his or her MyThrivent page. [See sample]  TIP: We recommend that chapter leaders and congregational coordinators add the “For Chapter Leaders” and “For Congregational Coordinators” pages to the Thrivent Favorites area because you’ll be able to access almost any chapter-related information you need from these pages.
     
     
  5. “Secure Message Center” — Secure email that allows the member and Thrivent Financial customer service representatives to communicate confidential, personal information with each other. Secure email protects this information from risk of interception by unauthorized persons.
     
     
  6. “Live Chat” — A live chat during business hours where the member can get immediate answers to his or her questions about our website.
     
     
  7. The ability for the member personalize his or her MyThrivent page by rearranging (e.g., moving the Thrivent Favorites area higher on the page) or adding features (e.g., daily devotionals) to the page so it’s most effective and convenient for the member. 

Reminder:  The Administration Menu functions you use to complete tasks for your volunteer leader role will not change. The background will have the new Thrivent.com look, but the functions and location of the functions will not change. 

• Thrivent Community – your place to find chapter-related information
  This new category on Thrivent.com will include information about membership, Thrivent chapters and other programs that benefit members, congregations and communities. [See sample]
  
  
• The “Chapters” area in Thrivent Community will have a “Volunteer Leader Resources” section that will include the information related to your volunteer leader role, including CHIP, Chapter News, Visibility Toolkit, Forms, quick-reference guides, Member Activity Highlights and more. [See sample]
  
  Two important pages for chapter leaders and congregational coordinators will be the “For Chapter Leaders” and “For Congregational Coordinators” pages, which will be located in the “Volunteer Leader Resources” section. These pages will link you to almost any information you need for your role, including the Administration Menu. TIP:  We recommend that chapter leaders and congregational coordinators add the “For Chapter Leaders” and “For Congregational Coordinators” pages, respectively, to the Thrivent Favorites area on the MyThrivent page.
  
  
• The “Programs & Outreach” section in Thrivent Community will include information about the Care Abounds in Communities® and Care in Congregations® programs, Join Hands Day, educational workshops and more. [See sample of “Volunteering Programs” page]

Tips & Reminders

• Soon after the redesigned Thrivent.com is launched in early December, the December issue of Chapter News will be posted.
• If you already are registered on Thrivent.com, you will not need to re-register. You may continue to use your current user ID and password.
  
• After the launch, you are encouraged to reset your bookmarks and favorites to the new URLs on Thrivent.com. However, you will not need to reset any bookmarks or favorites to CHIP pages—they will not change.
  
• Because path names are changing, any links you have to Thrivent.com from your chapter website will no longer work. Those links will need to be changed after the redesign is launched.
  
• A Frequently Asked Questions page now is live on Thrivent.com, and an online tour of the new site is scheduled to be posted soon.
  

Questions?
Please contact the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736 or fraternal@thrivent.com.

Congratulations to members of five Thrivent chapters who received a 2008 JOIN HANDS DAY Award of Excellence or an Honorable Mention. These chapters displayed excellent examples of:

1. Generating awareness about the difference our members make in the lives of others through volunteering with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
2. Teaming with different groups to make an impact in their communities. 

Overall, Thrivent chapters and members recorded more than 605,000 volunteer hours at more than 2,900 JOIN HANDS DAY projects! Thank you for all that you do to make a difference in your communities as members of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

Award of Excellence recipients
JOIN HANDS DAY selected 10 out of the numerous projects held on May 3, 2008, to receive an Award of Excellence—Thrivent chapters were involved in three of these projects: 

• Spink County Chapter (South Dakota)
  Members of this chapter worked with the Spink County Extension Service and the 4-H Club to create a Pizza Garden for Eastern Star Nursing Home. A circular plot was planted in slices with wheat, herbs, vegetables and tomatoes. The produce will be sold at the local farmers’ market and given to food banks.
  
  
• West Spokane County Chapter (Washington)
  In Spokane's West Central neighborhood (the lowest income per capita neighborhood in the state), Riverfront Farm and Project HOPE received permission from property owners to till trash-filled lots for urban gardens. Members from the West Spokane County Chapter joined with Girl Scouts troops, an elected city official and local businesses to help in this effort. The $1,000 of JOIN HANDS DAY seed money was used to purchase supplies including tools that remain in a “tool-lending library” for residents in this low-income area. Youth also built three handicapped-accessible raised planter beds and two compost bins.
  
  
• East Bexar County Chapter (Texas)
  KIPP Aspire Academy in San Antonio, Texas, is a free college preparatory public middle school that provides a “no excuses” approach to intercity students in fifth through eighth grades. Chapter members joined other adults, students and youth to create a special inner-city “green space” of flower beds and walkways next to the school. Youth participants learned how to plan and carry out a project. Adults learned how a dedicated educational program at KIPP Aspire could change and transcend the lives of youths and make a difference in the community.

Honorable Mention recipients
Additionally, nine more projects received an Honorable Mention status from JOIN HANDS DAY, including projects by two Thrivent chapters:

• Lee County Chapter (Florida)
  Chapter members joined with Boy Scouts, Society of St. Andrew and the Salvation Army to bag 44,000 pounds of loose sweet potatoes and distribute them to local food banks and in low-income neighborhoods in Cape Coral, Florida.
  
  
• New Hampshire Chapter (New Hampshire)
  Combining forces with Global Youth Service Day in Nashua, New Hampshire, Thrivent Financial members helped connect community service teams with City Year for an inspiring day of service led by AmeriCorps members and local middle school youth, ages 17 to 24.

What's ahead for 2009?
Mark your calendars for May 2—the date of the 2009 JOIN HANDS DAY. The focus of this day, which is sponsored by America's fraternal benefit societies, will be on generating awareness about the power of membership and the good that fraternal benefit society members do to improve communities through volunteering, as well as bringing youth and adults together to identify, plan and conduct activities that benefit their communities.

The Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Board of Directors election ends on Nov. 29. Please encourage benefit members* to:

1. Complete their ballots, which were mailed in October.
2. Return the ballots as directed. For votes to be counted, the completed ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 29.

If you are a benefit member, please remember to vote! Thanks again for your help in promoting this special privilege for our benefit members.

See the October Chapter News article for more information. If you have questions, please contact the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736 or fraternal@thrivent.com.

* 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.

Date	Description
Nov. 30  NEW!	Complete chapter leader or congregational coordinator Communication Survey by this date. (Details)
Nov. 30	Last day for chapter leader elections. Report results by Dec. 31.
Early December	Thrivent.com redesign scheduled to be launched. (Details).
Dec. 5  NEW!	All chapter leaders in voting positions need to complete and submit IRS Form 990 Questionnaire to chapter president by this date. (Details).
Dec. 18	The last day that new activity/funding requests can be made for 2008 Care Abounds in Communities® and Care in Congregations® activities. No exceptions can be made. Note: The “Change Funding Request Amount” function will remain active during the blackout period (see below). In previous years, that function was disabled during the blackout period. Reminder: Because Care Abounds in Communities® and Care in Congregations® are annual programs, the 2008 programs funds do not carry over to 2009. Requests to use 2008 funds must be made for activities that occur in 2008. Funding requests for activities being held in 2009 must be made in 2009.
Dec. 19 to Jan. 7	Activity requests cannot be entered. A blackout period on the system will not allow anyone to request funds for activities during this time.
Dec. 31	Report all 2008 activities by this date (chapter Care program activities and locally supported activities, including your election event). This helps ensure accurate 2008 results (i.e., 2008 activities reported after Dec. 31 will be included in 2009 results). Chapters need to report all 2008 chapter operating funds expenses online by this date. (Details) Chapters need to enter 2009 elected leaders by this date. (Details) Chapters need to submit new Chapter Depository Authorization & Security Questions Request (bank signature card) by this date if there are any changes to who should have access to the chapter checking account. (See details in CHIP.) NEW!  Chapter presidents need to submit IRS Form 990 Questionnaires with “yes” responses to Thrivent Financial by this date. (Details) Thrivent Builds chapter specialists and/or congregational champions should report all 2008 Thrivent Builds activities by this date.
Early to mid-January 2009	The specific date for the following is yet to be determined. Watch Chapter News for details: Chapter leaders and congregational coordinators may begin to enter 2009 Care Abounds in Communities® and Care in Congregations® activity/funding requests online when the 2009 funds for these programs are available.
Early January	The first of two 2009 chapter operating funds deposits into your chapter checking account will be made. Remember, all five required elected chapter leaders for 2009 must be entered on the system or the chapter forfeits the deposit. See CHIP for details about operating funds deposits.
Mid-January	The 2008 Chapter Summary Report year-end statement will be available for chapters. This year-end statement is necessary for the chapter audit, and must be completed and signed by Feb. 28. See CHIP for details about the Chapter Summary Report and the chapter audit.
Feb. 28	Submit the completed and signed 2008 Chapter Summary Report year-end statement. Outgoing 2008 financial directors and assistant financial directors no longer have access to Chapter Leadership Administration Menu. (Details)

Questions?
Please contact the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736 or fraternal@thrivent.com.