Collection documents the faith-based philanthropic organization, the Aid for Association for Lutherans, the Lutheran Brotherhood, and later Thrivent Financial.
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes early founding documents of Thrivent's predecessors, Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) and Lutheran Brotherhood (LB), including articles of incorporation, by-laws, magazines published by both organizations; magazines published by Thrivent; ballots; song books (for AAL or LB gatherings); placemats; contracts; photographs; brochures, and recruitment brochures.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
The Aid for Association of Lutherans (AAL) was organized in 1902 by members of the Lutheran Church in Appleton, Wisconsin for the purposes of giving to its members, aid for their wives and children in case of death and to provide assistance to themselves in case of sickness, accident and old age. The Luthern Union was founded in 1917 and later changed its name to the Luthern Brotherhood (LB) in 1920. The AAL and LB merged to form Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in 2002 and would grown to become on of the largest fraternal benefits societies in the United States.
Today, the company is known as Thrivent, a not-for-profit financial services organization. It offers financial products and services including life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, disability income insurance, credit union products, money management, brokerage services, retirement planning and more. Additionally, Thrivent provides volunteer services to charitable organizations, schools, congregations and individuals in need. In 2014, Thrivent allowed non-Lutheran Christians to join.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center by Thrivent Financial in 2017.
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
