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WASHINGTON — For the second consecutive year, The Chronicle of Philanthropy has named Lutheran Services in America to its annual list of “America’s Favorite Charities.” The Washington, DC-based organization’s national network of 300 health and human service organizations works with one in 50 Americans each year, improves the health and quality of life for low-income people throughout the nation, and operates with over $22 billion in annual revenue.

The Chronicle’s 2019 “America’s Favorite Charities” list, featured in the magazine’s November issue, ranks the top 100 nonprofits that raised the most contributions for their efforts in 2018, and establishes which U.S. charities attract the most giving from people, foundations and corporations. Having earned more than $810 million in support — representing a 10.8 percent increase from $732 million the prior year — Lutheran Services in America ranked 13th on the list of 100 organizations.

“The generosity of so many people toward our efforts is really changing lives. It has meant moving the needle on critical challenges facing our nation, and has played a defining role in expanding the work of our national network of 300 health and human services organizations,” said Charlotte Haberaecker, president and CEO of Lutheran Services in America. “Whether helping change the life trajectory for children and youth, or creating and deploying national solutions that improve the lives of so many seniors, we’re able to accelerate innovation given the immense reach and trusted presence of our network. This just wouldn’t be possible without the generous support we’ve received.”

Lutheran Services in America’s national network tackles a broad scope of issues affecting millions of Americans every year — ranging from health care, senior services and affordable housing to disability services, disaster response, and children, youth and families. The network is deeply embedded in the fabric of over 1,400 communities, and viewed as trusted providers of service known for high-quality, compassionate care and support.

Increasingly, Lutheran Services in America is attracting notice for its groundbreaking programs and collaboratives that promote the inherent value of helping all people grow, thrive, and live independent, productive lives — regardless of where they were born, their income, gender, faith, skin color or ZIP code. This is the case with the organization’s Results Innovation Lab, whose moonshot goal is transforming the lives of 20,000 children and youth by 2024. Already, the initiative has changed the lives of over 7,000 children and youth, having delivered concrete results in numerous states. These successes include increasing high school graduation rates for foster youth in Colorado; reducing re-arrest for over 700 youth of color in South Dakota; and improving outcomes for hundreds of youth of color existing homeless youth programs in Minnesota.

The organization’s LSA Senior Connect program represents another prime example of the organization’s reach and results. The program, an innovative service coordination model that connects seniors with chronic health conditions to needed resources in their communities, is improving seniors’ quality of life and reducing unnecessary health care spending. And Lutheran Services in America’s award-winning Great Plains Senior Services Collaborative represents another prime example; the initiative has improved the health and quality of life of 1,100 isolated older adults in 70 rural Midwest communities, with expanded efforts that will reach even more rural seniors underway.

About Lutheran Services in America
Lutheran Services in America is the national network of Lutheran social ministry organizations — connecting over 300 health and human services providers located throughout the country. Recognized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Forbes as one of the nation’s largest nonprofits, the Lutheran Services in America network operates with more than $22 billion in annual revenue and over 250,000 member employees. Together, the network lifts up the nation’s most vulnerable people from children to seniors — making a difference in the lives of one in 50 Americans every year. To learn more, please visit www.lutheranservices.org.

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Contact: Christopher Findlay
202-499-5833
cfindlay@lutheranservices.org

WASHINGTON — Forbes has recognized Lutheran Services in America as one of “America’s Top Charities” in 2019. Ranked 16th on the list of America’s top 100 charities, the Washington, DC-based organization earned a slot among the nation’s largest 20 charities for the sixth consecutive year.

The publication’s prestigious list records the top charities’ intake of private donations; organizations recognized on the list must have received “at least $146 million in private donations from last year,” according to Forbes. In ranking 16th on the annual list, Lutheran Services in America attracted $810 million in private donations, up from $732 million the year prior, marking an 11 percent increase.

The Lutheran Services in America national network is comprised of 300 nonprofit health and human service organizations that improve the health and quality of life for one in 50 Americans each year, working with groups ranging from children and families, to seniors, veterans and people with disabilities. Lutheran Services in America organizations are active in over 1,400 communities in 46 states nationwide.

“The generous support we receive from people around the country is fueling our work to transform lives. That support helps expand our network’s efforts for so many Americans of all ages,” said Charlotte Haberaecker, president and CEO of Lutheran Services in America. “Whether helping change the life trajectory for children and youth, or creating and deploying national solutions that improve the health and quality of life for so many seniors, we’re able to accelerate innovation given the immense reach and longtime trusted presence of our network. The contributions we receive play a major role in the real results we’re seeing.”

2019 saw groundbreaking progress for the Lutheran Services in America network. By the end of 2019 its Results Innovation Lab had helped improve the lives of over 7,000 children and youth, and in January 2019, the organization launched the second phase of its Great Plains Senior Services Collaborative to enable low-income seniors in rural communities to live independently at home with purpose and meaning. In 2019 Lutheran Services in America launched the second phase of its Connect-Home Collaborative, which is empowering seniors and their caregivers to manage seniors’ illness at home. Also in 2019, Lutheran Services in America launched LSA Senior Connect, a new and innovative service coordination model whose goal is to improve the health and quality of life of seniors. The initiative is focused on empowering seniors to live independently at home while reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalization, increasing seniors’ satisfaction and lowering total costs of care.

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About Lutheran Services in America
Lutheran Services in America is the national network of Lutheran social ministry organizations — connecting over 300 health and human services providers located throughout the country. Recognized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Forbes as one of the nation’s largest nonprofits, the Lutheran Services in America network operates with more than $22 billion in annual revenue and over 250,000 member employees. Together, the network lifts up the nation’s most vulnerable people from children to seniors — making a difference in the lives of one in 50 Americans every year. To learn more, please visit www.lutheranservices.org.

The latest issue of Living Lutheran magazine features Lutheran Services in America’s Results Innovation Lab and how the program equips leaders with the skills necessary to improve health, safety, stability and education for 20,000 at-risk youth by 2024. Lutheran Services in America President and CEO Charlotte Haberaecker notes how the Lab’s participants come out of these intense, interactive trainings with a better understanding on how to create strategic partnerships in addressing challenges that face the communities they serve. Due to the program’s success, Lutheran Services in America expects to add more participants to the Lab for a total of 50 member organizations in 40 states.

Read the article published in the January 2020 issue of Living Lutheran.

Read More

WASHINGTON — Recognized for their continuing focus on strengthening families, Lutheran Services in America and Genacross Lutheran Services have been awarded a grant from Aetna Better Health of Ohio to develop a framework to strengthen families, prevent unnecessary child welfare custody and improve health equity in 10 targeted communities throughout Ohio. The framework, to be completed in Q1 2020, will be the first major step in creating what will be the new and scalable Partners in Treatment Preservation Program (PTPP). PTPP will be designed to achieve key objectives of the Ohio state Medicaid Support for Children’s Services Transformation, including implementing evidence-based practices to prevent child welfare custody, opening access to Behavioral Health Care Coordination and improving equitable health outcomes.

“PTPP will build on a successful program Genacross currently offers, the Partners in Treatment Program, which provides family preservation and reunification programming along with individual family therapy, multi-family group therapy, and Community and Psychiatric Supports and Treatment for youth and their families,” said Rick Marshall, president and CEO of Genacross Lutheran Services.

The holistic approach expands family preservation and reunification to include an evidence-based, family-centered approach to develop skills to prevent crises, manage behaviors, and promote self-care. To improve equitable health outcomes, the program addresses social determinants of health by connecting the family to social supports in their community to access healthy nutrition, employment, housing, financial planning, and transportation.

“When you consider that nearly three million Ohioans receive health care coverage through the Ohio Department of Medicaid – and combine this with how over 840,000 people served by Medicaid received behavioral health services last year alone – you see the necessity of developing and expanding initiatives to help lower-income families,” said Maureen Pero, an executive with Aetna Medicaid. “Given the results we’re seeing from Genacross’s work with at-risk children, youth and families here in Ohio, we felt they were a natural fit to team with in our efforts to strengthen more families in Ohio.”

Increasingly, Lutheran Services in America is attracting notice for its groundbreaking programs and collaborations that promote the inherent value of helping all people grow, thrive, and live independent, productive lives — regardless of where they were born, their income, gender, faith, skin color or ZIP code. The Washington, DC-based organization works alongside trusted organizations such as Genacross Lutheran Services to improve the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.

“The PTPP initiative with Aetna is a tremendous opportunity to design a family preservation model to meet the needs of families in Ohio – one that can scale not only throughout Ohio, but elsewhere,” noted Charlotte Haberaecker, president and CEO of Lutheran Services in America. “The fact that our national network of 300 health and human services organizations is deeply embedded in the fabric of over 1,400 communities throughout the U.S. gives us an up-close understanding of the efforts that actually work and why.”

About Lutheran Services in America
Lutheran Services in America is the national network of Lutheran social ministry organizations — connecting over 300 health and human services nonprofit service providers located throughout the country. Recognized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Forbes as one of the nation’s largest nonprofits, the Lutheran Services in America network operates with more than $22 billion in annual revenue and over 250,000 member employees. Together, the network lifts up the nation’s most vulnerable people from children to seniors — making a difference in the lives of one in 50 Americans every year. To learn more, please visit www.lutheranservices.org.

About Genacross Lutheran Services
Genacross Lutheran Services has been serving and inspiring people in need since 1860. Today, nearly 3,800 people of all ages throughout northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan benefit from Genacross programs and services that foster compassionate care and wellness in many areas of life. Genacross Lutheran Services is a nonprofit, Christian organization that employs more than 700 people and is supported by nearly 170 Lutheran congregations across the region. For more information, please visit GenacrossLutheranServices.org.

About Aetna Medicaid
Aetna Medicaid Administrators LLC (Aetna Medicaid), a CVS Health business, has over 30 years of experience managing the care of the most medically vulnerable, using innovative approaches and a local presence in each market to achieve both successful health care results and effective cost outcomes. Aetna Medicaid has particular expertise serving high-need Medicaid members, including those who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. Currently, Aetna Medicaid owns and/or administers Medicaid managed health care plans under the names of Aetna Better Health and other affiliate names. Together, these plans serve approximately 2 million people in 16 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Texas. For more information, see www.aetnabetterhealth.com.

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Contact:

Christopher Findlay
Lutheran Services in America
202-499-5833
cfindlay@lutheranservices.org

Kari Bucher
Genacross Lutheran Services
419-861-4970
KBucher@Genacross.org

The Aging and Disability Business Institute and National Council on Aging announced the selection of Lutheran Services in America and 10 other community-based organizations (CBOs) and networks to participate in the 2020 Medicare Advantage Learning Collaborative. Participants selected:

• Alleghenies United Cerebral Palsy, PA
• Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens, VA
• Atlanta Regional Commission AAA, GA
• ElderSource, FL
• Hospice of the Bluegrass, Inc. dba Bluegrass Care Navigators, KY
• Lutheran Services in America, DC
• MAG Aging & Family Services, UT
• Meals on Wheels California, CA
• NC Center for Health and Wellness at UNC Asheville, NC
• Resource Center for Independent Living, Inc., NY
• Washington Association of Area Agencies on Aging, WA

Over the next six months, these participants will be engaged in a curriculum focused on building the knowledge and skills needed to successfully pursue contracts with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans for home and community-based services. Supported by targeted technical assistance, a peer learning network and a platform to share learnings, participants will come away from the learning collaborative with increased knowledge of MA plans, a broader understanding of MA plans’ quality and performance drivers, knowledge of promising practices for MA plan contracting and a customized value proposition.

Statement from Charlotte Haberaecker,
President and CEO of Lutheran Services in America

in response to today’s Senate passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748)

March 25, 2020

“While we are eager to fully review the entire legislation just passed, the U.S. Senate did the right thing in today’s vote on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act when they ensured that many nonprofits receiving Medicaid funding will be eligible for SBA loans with loan forgiveness to support their work helping so many people in need during this pandemic. This is a crucial part of this third Congressional relief package, given how many nonprofits like our 300 health and human services organizations are on the frontlines fighting COVID-19. These dedicated Lutheran social ministry organizations are working around the clock caring for one in 50 Americans in need, in over 1,400 communities in 46 states across the country – a charge made all the more difficult given the ongoing pandemic dramatically affecting the people our organizations care for.

“Additional funding resources will be absolutely critical in the months to come. This is particularly vital when considering many of our Lutheran social ministry organizations are helping people affected by the pandemic while in crisis mode; they are lacking personal protective equipment, incurring additional expenses, and struggling with limited cash reserves and already-tight margins.

“We are eager to learn the outcome of the upcoming, related coronavirus relief package vote in the House, and ask that in future legislation lawmakers ensure that nonprofits with over 500 employees who currently are not eligible for SBA zero-interest loans and other funds also are provided with speedy alternative funding sources. We are seeing firsthand how people’s lives throughout America are depending on needed measures like these during this difficult time.”

For further information or additional comment from Charlotte Haberaecker, contact Jen Beltz at (202) 499-5846.

About Lutheran Services in America
Lutheran Services in America is the national network of Lutheran social ministry organizations — connecting over 300 health and human services nonprofit service providers located throughout the country. Recognized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Forbes as one of the nation’s largest nonprofits, the Lutheran Services in America network operates with more than $22 billion in annual revenue and over 250,000 member employees. Together, the network lifts up the nation’s most vulnerable people from children to seniors — making a difference in the lives of one in 50 Americans every year. To learn more, please visit www.lutheranservices.org.

From Charlotte Haberaecker, President and CEO of Lutheran Services in America

Our conviction that diversity is our strength, unity our biggest hope, and equity for all people throughout America must be demanded and achieved has never been more true — nor more deeply felt — than over this past week. George Floyd’s senseless death, like the countless people before him struck down by systemic racism, must be more than yet another wake-up call.

Damyn Kelly, President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of New York, is correct when he emphasizes the obligation we all have to “not only act in ways that enhance quality of life for those we serve, but also to speak out against injustice when we see or experience it… We must continue to explore our personal biases against those who are different.”

As a faith-based community, we honor, respect and heed the voices in America crying out in pain, frustration and anger. In lifting high and responding to those voices, we not only have the collective opportunity to fix as a nation what has been so wrong for so long, but the imperative to do so. Doing so will require not only listening carefully and personal commitments to battle inequity and racism at every turn, but creating related policy improvements that so directly impact communities nationwide.

As people of faith, we pray and speak for hope, healing, justice and peace. As Lutheran social ministry, God’s grace and care for our neighbor — central tenets of our heritage — inform our commitment to dismantling inequity. Acting to build a stronger future — one that is fair, just and will deliver meaningful change for us all — will make our communities and nation immeasurably stronger.

About Lutheran Services in America
Lutheran Services in America is the national network of Lutheran social ministry organizations — connecting over 300 nonprofit health and human service providers located throughout the country. Recognized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Forbes as one of the nation’s largest nonprofits, the Lutheran Services in America network operates with more than $22 billion in annual revenue and over 250,000 member employees. Together, the network lifts up the nation’s most vulnerable people from children to seniors — making a difference in the lives of one in 50 Americans every year. To learn more, please visit www.lutheranservices.org.