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Thrivent Builds Publicity Newsletter Archive

January 2006

Feature Article

After more than a year of planning, piloting and launching, the Thrivent Builds Homes program now begins in earnest. Congratulations, you get to build houses!

Starting off right
To get your Thrivent Builds Homes program off to a good start, here are the top five things you can do this month:

  1. Hold your kickoff planning meeting.
  2. Plan your community meeting.
  3. Plan the public announcement of the homes you’ll be helping affiliates to build.
  4. Attend Thrivent Builds training in Minneapolis during the week of January 23.
  5. Begin to capture volunteer data.
Planning your public announcement—tools are now available
Announcing 312 homes in 2006 is the next exciting step in the relationship between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International. It’s great news, and we need you to get the word out.

A Media Kit is now available in the Resources section of www.thriventbuilds.com to help you with your regional media outreach. There you will find the following tools to announce your homes to media, congregations and chapters.

Tools for Media Outreach:

A few brief pointers as you begin to work with us as, together, we prepare for the January 30 announcement of the 312 homes that will be built in 2006:
  1. The LCSS-TB and ODC should meet with all affiliates receiving houses to determine which media outlets, congregations and chapters need to hear about which houses. That information should be used to create a contact list.
  2. This week, complete the variables in the regional news release (Word, 79K), family bio (Word, 414K), talking points, RFO fact sheet (Word, 41K) and Habitat affiliate fact sheet (Word, 44K). Remember both the LCSS-TB and Habitat affiliate designees will need to fill in the templates.
  3. On January 30, e-mail or fax the news release and any of the additional tools located in the Thrivent Builds Homes Awareness Toolbox to every media outlet, congregation and chapter identified in step one.
    • TIP: If the news comes from Habitat personnel, it is generally more likely to be covered by the media. Whenever possible, please have a Habitat designee send the news release to the media.
    • TIP: The LCSS-TB may want to work with congregations to make this announcement in the Sunday, January 29 church bulletin or church newsletter, but Sunday, February 5 will work, too.
  4. On the morning of January 30, call the primary media outlets to ensure they received your information and suggest they announce your homes that week.
  5. Media contacts and spokespeople from Thrivent Financial and the Habitat affiliates should be available for media calls and interviews all day January 30.
    • TIP: If the calendars of your spokespeople can’t be cleared, make sure you have cell phone numbers or other means to connect them with the media.
  6. From January 30 to February 10, follow up with media outlets, congregations and chapters that have not yet made the announcement.
One tool in particular could help increase your chances of media coverage:
  • The family bio guidelines (Word, 414K) – If possible, identify a Thrivent Builds Homes recipient family in your area that has an interesting story and is willing to receive publicity. If you have an immediate human interest angle, be sure to leverage it with the media.
Thrivent Builds Homes announcement media relations call scheduled for Jan. 19
The Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity Alliance Strategy office (ASO) is hosting a national call to update Habitat affiliates, Habitat U.S. support staff and Thrivent Financial regional staff on the media relations efforts for the Thrivent Builds Homes announcement on Jan. 30.

The call will give an update on the national media relations strategy and support that is being provided from the ASO, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International communication staffs. In addition, we will briefly review regional publicity expectations that were shared earlier, as well as give you time to ask questions now that you’ve begun to plan for the announcement and are starting to work with the template media relations tools.

Please join us at 1 p.m. Central, Thursday, Jan. 19, for this important call. Simply call 800-713-9452 or 847-413-3714 and give the operator confirmation No. 13673732. The call will be recorded for those whose schedules conflict with this time. To listen to the recording, call 877-213-9653 and enter the confirmation number. The recording will be available until Jan. 30.

Thanks to everyone for their hard work on this important public kick-off for Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity!

*Please call in 5 to 10 minutes early, if at all possible, to avoid a rush at the start of the call. Thanks!

National announcements will also be made on and after January 30
Although the special event in Atlanta has been cancelled, there will be national announcements of the 312 homes to support your regional announcements. Here are a few examples:

  • End of January – Advertisement in Thrivent magazine will tell Thrivent Financial members that we are opening doors to new lives for more than 300 families.
  • January 30 – Advertisement in USA Today.
  • February and March – Advertisements in Lutheran publications and Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Appleton and Redding newspapers, as well as on radio stations.
  • February and March – Thrivent Financial member mailings will include an insert about the announcement.
Interested Lutherans can go to www.thriventbuilds.com
As part of the national announcement on January 30, interested Lutheran volunteers will be directed to www.thriventbuilds.com. Once they arrive at the site, they will see information about the homes being built in 2006, as well as a link to find a build location near them.
  • From the Build Locations page, volunteers will click on their home state in an interactive map to see the different builds happening in their state. The information will include the city of the build, Habitat for Humanity affiliate name and Web site, Thrivent Financial region and Web site, and an “Interest List” button.
  • When potential volunteers click the “Interest List” button, they’ll open a simple form where they can enter their contact information, Lutheran/Thrivent Financial member status and areas of volunteer interest. This information will then be e-mailed to the LCSS-TB for that region. Volunteers will be told that there may be a delay in being contacted and that Lutherans and Thrivent Financial members will be contacted first.
We encourage the LCSS-TB to use the Thrivent Builds Volunteer Interest List template (Excel, 17K) (located in Thrivent Builds Homes Resources) to capture this volunteer data and share it with the project team for follow-up throughout the year.

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Best Practices

You’ll be holding your official kickoff planning meeting by the end of this month to get your project team acquainted and start the planning process. But have you started thinking about planning your community meeting yet?

There are several resources available to you as you begin inviting community, congregation and chapter members to these meetings. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Use the Community Meeting Invitation Postcard Template (Word, 518K) or Community Meeting Invitation Letter (Word, 27K) (located in the Recruitment Toolbox in Volunteer Resources) to invite potential volunteers to the meeting.
  • Start your invitation mailing list with existing volunteers you know – chapter members, Habitat volunteer lists, church committees, etc.
  • Use the leads generated from the Thrivent Builds Web site as part of your mailing list.
  • Show the Presentation – Post-Home Selection PowerPoint (PowerPoint, 2.1MB) (located in the Recruitment Toolbox in Volunteer Resources) to give attendees an overview of the Thrivent Builds program. If you use the customizable version, you can insert the number of homes being built in your area.
  • As part of your community meeting, show the Thrivent Builds Volunteer Recruitment Video (Order item 22517DVD). Congregational Champions received one in their Congregational Champion Program Guide, and MLCS/LCSS-TBs received them by mail.
TIP: Be sure to bookmark the Thrivent Builds Volunteer Resources Web site in your Internet browser. For example, if you use Internet Explorer, navigate to the Resources site, then select “Favorites” from the menu bar, and select “Add to Favorites.” That way, the next time you need something from the Resources site, you can simply click “Favorites” and select it from the menu listing.

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Program Information

Thrivent Builds Homes

Build Agreements Sent to Affiliates
The logistics of the funding process for Thrivent Builds Homes involves Thrivent Financial for Lutherans making a lump sum contribution for Thrivent Builds Homes to Habitat for Humanity International, and in turn, HFHI's finance department facilitating the distribution of funds to individual affiliates at appropriate intervals. Last week, the finance and legal departments at HFHI sent out Build Agreements to affiliates awarded Thrivent Builds Homes (TBH) funding. Build agreements are the legal documents used by HFHI to clarify roles and responsibilities of the financial awards made to Habitat affiliates.

Should affiliates have questions about the specifics of the Build Agreements, you are encouraged to refer them to Bill Brown, Financial Analyst at HFHI. Bill can be contacted at 800-422-4828 extension 2295 or at jbrown@habitat.org.

You may wish to review the Sample Build Agreement (Word, 153K) to become familiar with it. It is also available in the Thrivent Builds Homes Resources page, Program Tools, under the Build Implementation subheading. The 20 page legal document signed by the affiliate specifies the requirements by which funds can be requested, as well as documentation affiliates are obligated to provide. Two of the five related documents affiliates will be providing are to be sent to the affiliate’s Organizational Development Consultant. These two documents include the affiliate’s construction safety plan and the affiliate’s build schedule for the awarded Thrivent Builds Homes houses. The other three documents – a signed build agreement, certificate of insurance and project status report signed by LCSS-TB and ODC – are to be sent to HFHI finance department directly. Training on the project status report will be given at the January training in Minneapolis.

The build agreement includes sample build schedules and a sample final report that will be required of the affiliate upon completion of their Thrivent Builds Homes houses.

Thrivent Builds Worldwide

  • The first 2006 TBW team departed for Papua New Guinea on January 11, 2006. The ten person team led by Pastor David Sprang and Bishop Gary Hansen, have raised over $6000; this in combination with the $6,500 Thrivent Financial Second House Sponsorship grant will result in a $12,500 donation to the Markham HFH affiliate
  • Trips to PNG, New Zealand, Ecuador and Slidell, LA have filled and are set to depart throughout January and February
  • Look for new & exciting TBW trips to be posted on www.thriventbuilds.com including trips to Senegal, Guatemala and El Salvador.
ACTION REQUESTED: If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a team leader with the Thrivent Builds Worldwide program please contact Sheila Crowley, TBW coordinator at scrowley@habitat.org.

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Upcoming Important Dates and Milestones

Jan. 23–25 — Thrivent Builds Training in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

  • Thrivent Financial employees: Plan to arrive before 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 23 and to depart after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
  • Habitat for Humanity Employees: Plan to arrive before 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 23 and to depart after 5 p.m. on Friday, 27. Additional Habitat meetings will follow the Thrivent Builds training.
During January — Conduct kickoff planning meetings January 30 — Public announcement of the 2006 homes End of January — ODCs create growth/risk mitigation plans for each awarded affiliate End of January — Assure affiliates have clear title to land

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Upcoming Teleconference Information

Weekly National Call
The Thrivent Builds Advisory Team is currently reviewing the need and frequency of future teleconferences. Stay tuned for more information.

Thrivent Builds Homes announcement media relations call scheduled for Jan. 19
The Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity Alliance Strategy office (ASO) is hosting a national call to update Habitat affiliates, Habitat U.S. support staff and Thrivent Financial regional staff on the media relations efforts for the Thrivent Builds Homes announcement on Jan. 30. See information in the Feature Article.

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New Thrivent Builds Volunteer Resources

Thrivent Builds Homes Program Tools

  • Thrivent Builds Homes – Sample Build Agreement
Thrivent Builds Homes Awareness Toolbox
  • Thrivent Builds RFO Marketing Plan Template
  • Media Log Sheet
  • Thrivent Builds Homes News Release Template
  • Media Kit Assembly Instructions
  • Habitat Affiliate Fact Sheet Template
  • RFO Fact Sheet Template
  • Family Bio Guidelines
  • Communications Photo Release Form
  • Groundbreaking Quick Reference Guide
  • Groundbreaking Planning Worksheet
  • Groundbreaking - People House Example
  • Wallraising/Roofraising Quick Reference Guide
  • Wallraising/Roofraising Planning Worksheet
  • Dedication Quick Reference Guide
  • Dedication Planning Worksheet
Thrivent Builds Worldwide Resources
  • Post-Trip Bulletin Insert
  • Post-Trip Newsletter/Web Text

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Thrivent Builds News Recap - from LCS Team and InSite

From LCS Team (for Thrivent Financial employees - links require login)

From Habitat Communications (for Habitat employees - links require login)
  • Quiet please ... Announcement of Thrivent Builds Homes locations should be kept low key until Jan. 30 (Refer to Weekly Message to U.S. Office Staff - December 23, 2005. Can be accessed through the message archive on WorkZone.)
  • Thrivent Builds special event is cancelled; Homes announcement remains on January 30 (Refer to Weekly Message to U.S. Office Staff - January 6, 2006. Can be accessed through the message archive on WorkZone.)
  • Logistical Info for Minneapolis (Refer to January 9th email from Dawn Lindsey.)
  • Thrivent Financial builds hope and homes in time for the holiday (Refer to Habichat Newsletter, January 6, 2006.)
  • Thrivent Builds Mobile coming to Americus (Refer to Habichat Newsletter, January 13, 2006.)

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Media Watch

December’s media activity was an awesome end to the pilot year of Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity as two of our country’s largest daily newspapers covered our new alliance. Did you know that since the September 8 launch, the alliance has been mentioned more than 600 times in the media? That’s 266 print, 50 TV/Radio and 289 online stories. Way to go everyone! We are looking forward to an exciting and headline-filled 2006!
  • Habitat Organizational Development Consultant Ginny Sargent, Ventura, Calif., and Thrivent Financial Consultant Brian Boyle, Camirillo, Calif., were featured on the December 5, hour-long “Cross Talk” radio show on KCLU, public radio 88.3 FM in Ventura County and 102.8 FM in Santa Barbara.
  • A photo with extended cut line of the truck was featured in the Sunday, December 4 edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Ranked at 23 for dailies in the U.S., the paper boasts a 416,682 circulation on Sundays.
  • Chicago Sun-Times Columnist Neil Steinberg references Thrivent Financial’s stepped up efforts with Habitat in the Sunday, December 4 edition. Circulation of 38,271.
  • Chicago pilot builds featured in the Sunday, December 11 Chicago Tribune. The paper is ranked 6th, with a Sunday circulation of 950,582. The full-page feature included numerous pictures and had interviews with the new homeowners as well as Julie Donovan, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Lake County.
  • The Indiana Region of Thrivent Financial had an effective event at a college basketball game. While not specific to Thrivent Builds, the regional team viewed it as an excellent way to brand their regional financial office as a key partner of Habitat. The story was covered by Fox 7 in Evansville, Ind.; WISH Ch. 8 (CBS) in Indianapolis; Indianapolis Star in its Sunday, December 11 edition and WNDE – AM Indianapolis.

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This document was last updated on Friday, April 24, 2009.