Misplaced Pages

#586413

24-1155: Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (marketing name Thrivent ) ( / ˈ θ r aɪ v ɪ n t / THRYVE -int ), is an American Fortune 500 not-for-profit financial services organization headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota , and Appleton, Wisconsin , and founded by Lutherans . As a member-owned fraternal benefit society , it operates under a chapter system, serving nearly 2.3 million members. Operating through its local chapters nationwide, Thrivent and its subsidiaries offer financial products and services including life insurance , annuities , mutual funds , disability income insurance , credit union products, money management, brokerage services, and retirement planning. The organization and its members provide volunteer services to charitable organizations and schools. For example, Thrivent members reportedly volunteered more than 8.6 million hours in 2013 and contributed $ 182.7 million in that year to organizations and activities that aim to strengthen families and communities. In June 2013, members voted to allow non-Lutheran Christians to join, and as

48-661: A board of directors that met four times a year. The AAL was particular about its locals not being called "lodges" because that was too similar to the nomenclature of oath-bound, ritualistic groups such as the Freemasons or the Oddfellows . The AAL was headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin. The AAL was also involved philanthropically, giving money to scholarships, support for educational institutions and training for church workers. Grants were made to agencies, boards, minorities, and homes for

72-506: A form of usury and reflected distrust in God. In 1899, Albert Voecks, a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Appleton, Wisconsin , broached the idea of creating an insurance society for Lutherans to fellow church members Gottlieb Ziegler and William Zuehlke. They each gave $ 13 to the fund, and found several hundred others willing to contribute $ 5 each. In 1902, the founders of the society recruited

96-646: A quadrennial convention and a board of directors who managed its business. It was headquartered in Minneapolis . The LB helped establish new Lutheran congregations through the Church Extension Fund, sponsored scholarships for Lutheran clergy, and arranged seminars on Christian topics. In 1972, the Canadian branches of the Lutheran Brotherhood and the Aid Association for Lutherans merged as a result of

120-459: A result in March 2014 the marketing name for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans was shortened to Thrivent Financial . In the summer of 2020, the marketing name was changed to Thrivent . Thrivent Financial was officially formed on January 1, 2002, with the merger of Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) and Lutheran Brotherhood (LB), which had been established in 1902 and 1917 respectively. The merger formed

144-521: Is based upon the Ethisphere Institute 's Ethics Quotient (EQ) framework which offers a quantitative way to assess a company's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%), and provided to all companies who participate in

168-483: The United States' gross domestic product with approximately $ 14.2 trillion in revenue, $ 1.2 trillion in profits, and $ 20.4 trillion in total market value. These revenue figures also account for approximately 18% of the gross world product . The companies collectively employ a total of 29.2 million people worldwide, or nearly 0.4% of the world's total population . The following is the list of top 20 companies. This

192-470: The 20th century. In June 2001, after close consideration of how combining the two organizations would benefit members, the AAL and LB merged, with the merger completed by the end of that year. After the merger, in 2002, a new name was voted upon and approved by the members of the merged organization: Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Thrivent provides advice center products. In 2016, Thrivent Financial ranked 318 on

216-559: The 50 largest commercial banks (ranked by assets), utilities (ranked by assets), life insurance companies (ranked by assets), retailers (ranked by gross revenues) and transportation companies (ranked by revenues). Fortune magazine changed its methodology in 1994 to include service companies. With the change came 291 new entrants to the famous list including three in the Top 10. As of 2020, the Fortune 500 companies represent approximately two-thirds of

240-502: The 500 applicants necessary to receive a charter from the State of Wisconsin for their group. It was chartered on November 24, 1902, as the Aid Association for Lutherans in Wisconsin and Other States. Like most fraternal benefit societies of the time, the AAL operated on the actuarially unsound graded assessment system. In 1905, it began a move to the legal reserve system, a transformation that

264-554: The Fortune 500 and received an A.M. Best rating of AA+ (Superior) and a Fitch rating of AA+ (Very Strong). Thrivent members made donations to Haiti relief following the 2010 Haiti earthquake through Lutheran World Relief , ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, LCMS World Relief/Human Care, and WELS Committee on Relief. Thrivent Financial provided funding for the 2003 film Luther . Through its Thrivent Choice program, members gave 43 million dollars in 2016. The program offers members

SECTION 10

#1732869374587

288-520: The Lutheran Brotherhood in 1920. The articles of incorporation of Lutheran Brotherhood stated its purpose: To aid the Lutheran Church in extending the Lutheran Faith, to foster patriotism, loyalty, justice, charity and benevolence, to provide education, instruction, proper entertainment and amusements, to encourage industry, saving, thrift and development on the part of its members, to give aid in

312-676: The aged and disabled. The association also had its own family health program and sponsored blood drives and family health workshops. It joined the National Center for Voluntary Action . The Lutheran Brotherhood dates to the founding convention of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America , when J. A. O. Preus , Minnesota's state insurance commissioner , proposed launching a not-for-profit aid society. As with other Lutheran denominations, this move proved controversial, with some saying it indicated lack of faith in God. Those who favored

336-474: The case of poverty, sickness, accident or old age, and otherwise promote the spiritual, intellectual and physical welfare of its members. Membership was open only to Lutherans. There were 550,000 members in 1965 and 900,000 in 1979. Local units were called "branches", and were divided into three categories: A-1, affiliated to Lutheran congregations; A-2, usually sponsored by a group within a Lutheran parish; and A-3, geographic branches. The Lutheran Brotherhood had

360-694: The desire for an indigenous Canadian fraternal benefit society. They formed a new fraternal order called the Faith Life. Like the AAL and LB, the LLISC was organized into branches and run by a board of directors. There were 120 branches in 1979. The society was based in Kitchener, Ontario . The LLISC provided scholarships to Lutheran educational institutions, gave grants to churches and church-related organizations and projects, and gave reduced-rate mortgages for Lutheran churches. The AAL and LB functioned independently throughout

384-585: The largest fraternal benefit society in the United States. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod forbade its members to join fraternal societies because they required initiation rites and secret oaths. Life insurance was also frowned upon in some quarters since Martin Luther had written against similar enterprises in his day, as the practice could be considered

408-483: The opportunity to make recommendations for where some of Thrivent's charitable outreach funds are directed. The list of charities comes from members and non-profits can apply to be eligible for choice dollars. Thrivent has formed an alliance with Habitat for Humanity called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity through which it contributes financial assistance for building affordable homes. The initiative also sponsors homebuilding trips by Thrivent members throughout

432-946: The process. Thrivent has been the subject of awareness campaigns by migrant rights groups and other activists for its holdings in CoreCivic and the GEO Group , the two largest U.S. Government immigration detention contractors, whose assets include detention facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border. In its first quarter 2019 SEC filings , Thrivent reported 87,038 shares of CoreCivic, Inc—currently valued at over $ 1.5 million—and 142,432 shares of GEO Group—currently valued at just under $ 2.5 million. Banks such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and others have divested from these companies after calls from migrant rights groups. 44°58′30″N 93°15′57″W  /  44.975007°N 93.265831°W  / 44.975007; -93.265831 Fortune 500 The Fortune 500, created by Edgar P. Smith,

456-560: The society prevailed by arguing that the aid society would prevent Norwegian Lutherans from joining unacceptable secret beneficial societies or "lodges", which was forbidden by conservative Lutheran doctrine. The organization authorized by the convention was called the Luther Union, and was incorporated in the state of Minnesota on September 18, 1918. That month, the Luther Union entered into negotiations with Lutheran Brotherhood of America of Des Moines, Iowa . These two organizations merged in

480-624: The world. The Thrivent Builds alliance began in September 2005, with a four-year commitment of $ 105 million. Thrivent Financial chose Habitat for Humanity as an ally because, in the previous ten years, its members had already proven their interest in volunteering with them by building over 500 homes. In December 2007, Thrivent Financial increased its total commitment to $ 125 million. The alliance makes Thrivent Financial one of Habitat's largest single allies and aims to increase Habitat's annual house production by hundreds of U.S. homes per year and more around

504-483: The world. There are two programs within the Thrivent Builds alliance. Additionally, there are two whole communities being built: Aid Association for Lutherans maintained a library of over 12,000 books on business management, fraternalism, and life and health insurance. Since 2012, Thrivent has been named on the list of The World's Most Ethical Companies, eight years running, by Ethisphere Magazine . Assessment

SECTION 20

#1732869374587

528-589: Was completed in 1911. Women were also admitted as members in 1905. Most of the early business was conducted in German, until this was discontinued in 1927. Membership was open only to members of the Missouri Synod and other Lutherans who were in fellowship with it until the mid-1960s, when it became open to Lutherans of all denominations. In the late 1960s, the association had 792,000 members, which increased to about 1.2 million members in 5,019 branches in 1978. By 1979, it

552-411: Was first published in 1955. The original top ten companies were General Motors , Jersey Standard , U.S. Steel , General Electric , Esmark , Chrysler , Armour , Gulf Oil , Mobil , and DuPont . The original Fortune 500 was limited to companies whose revenues were derived from manufacturing, mining, and energy exploration. At the same time, Fortune published companion " Fortune 50" lists of

576-481: Was the largest member of the National Fraternal Congress of America and ranked 13th among the 1,800 insurance firms in the country. Neither AAL, Lutheran Brotherhood, nor Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has (or had) initiation rites, oaths or other rituals. The association was organized on two levels: the local branches attached to Lutheran congregations and the national level, which consisted only of

#586413