How exciting it was to read about the huge difference Lutheran social ministries are making in so many people’s lives in this month’s Chronicle of Philanthropy. In naming Lutheran Services in America to its “America’s Favorite Charities 2018” List, the Chronicle highlighted how we’ve been able to significantly increase donations for our work, “beating a national trend of declines for social-service charities.” The publication also highlighted the success of our rebranding and compelling messaging, “aimed at raising our profile “in an era when government support for the safety net is endangered.” None of this would be possible without the generosity of our supporters and the innovation of our members nationwide.
On that front, the Chronicle of Philanthropy piece also explored the important projects which several Lutheran Services in America members have tackled, and the success they’re seeing in efforts including protecting patient access to Medicaid, combatting child abuse, and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. You can click here to read a related press release highlighting profiles of three of our more than 300 valued members.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday have all gone. It's well into December. Already. Christmas will come soon enough and then … 2017 and beyond.
Over 140 senior service leaders and board members from over 30 LSA member organizations across the country came together at the 2016 LSA Member Reception at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting and Expo on October 30 in Indianapolis to network and share in the spirit of the event.
Thirty-four of the top financial minds representing LSA member and associated Lutheran organizations gathered in San Diego for the annual Lutheran Financial Managers Association (LFMA) meeting on October 9-11, 2016, to share best practices, network, and explore new trends in financial management. In addition to being in beautiful and warm San Diego, it was a fantastic conference, focusing on everything from new FASB regulations to growth strategies to the new federal overtime law.
Is it possible to improve high school graduation rates, or reduce the number of homeless youth in our communities by December 2017? These questions and others were explored on September 15th and 16th, when leaders from 10 LSA member organizations traveled to Washington D.C. for the first LSA Results Based Leadership Institute (RBLI). Results Based Leadership is a highly regarded leadership development program developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation for health and human service providers, and it combines results based leadership techniques with hands on implementation. At the start of this session, each LSA member committed to making a measureable impact toward the goal of ensuring that All children in the US are nurtured and on a pathway to successful adulthoodby December 2017. This is a very ambitious goal to achieve in a short period of time, but operating with a sense of urgency and call to action is a key component of the RBLI. LSA is offering this unique opportunity to LSA members through a partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation who is generously covering the cost of the RBLI faculty, AECF design staff and travel expenses for participants. I am so proud of this partnership, because this is what we strive to do at LSA--bring resources and opportunities to LSA member organizations to help strengthen Lutheran social ministry organizations and improve the lives of the most vulnerable.
