St.Matthew's Lutheran Church/Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Service, Glendale, California, recently received a $5,000 “Lutheran Community Economic Outreach Bridge Grant” from the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation. The funding was awarded to St. Matthew's Lutheran Church/IRIS based on its effectiveness in addressing basic needs of the local community such as food, clothing or shelter.

Challenge Grant

St. Matthew's Lutheran Church/IRIS has also elected to participate in a complementary two-to-one challenge grant program sponsored by the Foundation. For every dollar raised by St. Matthew's Church/IRIS from donors by March 31, 2013, the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation will provide an additional 50 cents-up to $5,000-in support of the organization's food/clothing/shelter ministry. “Difficult economic conditions and high unemployment rates have caused many Americans to seek support for basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter from local nonprofits,” said Kathy Larson, grants program manager for the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation. “This grant program is designed to help effective organizations maintain their financial stability in the face of increased demand on their resources.”

St. Matthew's Church and IRIS

St. Matthew's Church has worked in partnership with Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Services (IRIS) for over five years, serving the needs of newly arrived immigrants to the United States. IRIS provides food, housing, assistance with navigating government requirements and forms, job placement and a host of other important obstacles for the new arrivals.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation

Founded in 1982, the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation is a private foundation that operates exclusively for charitable, educational, and religious purposes. It supports the health and vitality of the Lutheran community, the Fox Cities of Wisconsin and the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Grants are provided for projects and missions that reflect Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' charitable interests. The primary charitable interest of the foundation is assisting nonprofit organizations and those they serve in achieving economic security and sustainability. To learn more about the foundation and its programs, visit: http://www.thrivent.com/foundations . Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a not-for-profit, Fortune 500 financial services membership organization helping approximately 2.5 million members achieve financial security and give back to their communities. Thrivent Financial and its affiliates offer a broad range of financial products and services. Thrivent Financial creates and supports national outreach programs and activities that help congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need. For more information, visit Thrivent.com (http://www.thrivent.com/) . Also, you can find us on Facebook (http://www.thrivent.com/facebook) and Twitter (http://thrivent.com/twitter) .

(For Immediate Release: Minneapolis, December 18, 2012) A grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation aids efforts to support basic needs in community