Living Generously with Board Member Dave Ritter

“Spend less than you make, be wise with debt, have a short-term and a long-term plan, prepare for the setbacks, and live generously.” These helpful words of advice are the five pillars that guide the work of Thrivent, a Fortune 500 not-for-profit financial organization. Dave Ritter, who is in his seventeenth year as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER? with Thrivent and his seventh month as a member of the NC4K Board of Directors, makes it clear that he lives by that last phrase, “live generously,” every day.

Seven years ago, a friend reportedly said to Dave something along the lines of: “I know what Thrivent is like— you need to come to this Gala.” He was talking about the annual NC4K Gala: A Night at the Safari, which Dave attended for the first time in 2017. He experienced everything the Gala has to offer— a compelling program, words from our families, conversations with fellow supporters in the community— and Dave was touched. During this time, Dave and his team were inviting local nonprofits to pitch their programming needs for a chance to receive funding from Thrivent through an initiative called Thrivent Community, and Dave wanted to see more from NC4K. Becky, an NC4K Hero Mom, gave a presentation which included some of the first promotional videos NC4K created.

Dave says, “[Those videos were] very touching. I can’t watch ‘em ‘cause it still makes me choke up…there was a connection there. I knew that there was something there…I was just looking for something, or something was looking for me to get involved with, and that’s where NC4K came in.”

In the years since that first meeting, Dave has led Thrivent to become a steadfast supporter of NC4K, and they are now recognized as one of our Champion Partners. Dave says that as a fraternal not-for-profit, Thrivent is thoroughly invested in giving back to the community. Not only is the organization a regular sponsor of the NC4K Gala, but Dave and his team make personal connections with their clients to introduce them to the ways they can make a difference in the lives of NC4K Families.

Through a program called Thrivent Choice, Thrivent members can direct fraternal dollars to any nonprofit Thrivent has in their internal catalog, including NC4K. When Thrivent Employees and Financial Representatives make an individual donation to NC4K, Thrivent will match the dollars given. Thrivent members also have the opportunity to apply for Action Teams, which provides them with a sum of seed money they can use to fund their designated project. Dave says that several Thrivent members in the NC4K community have utilized their Action Teams to get involved with the Back-to-School Bash and Reindeer Games Holiday Party, two of our signature events for play, as well as the Fashion Show and Reindeer Run, two of our annual fundraising events.

Across all of the nonprofits they partner with, Thrivent gives back between 200 to 300 million dollars every year. Dave says: “That’s what our company does. We’re about being generous, so we lead by that generosity, and we don’t hide it.”

After several years of being a dedicated supporter of NC4K by sponsoring events, facilitating donations, and connecting new people to the NC4K community, Dave was asked to be on the Board of Directors at the start of this year.

“That’s been a true blessing…I’m really honored to be part of that so that I can help lead, or at least help give direction, on how to grow and get NC4K’s name out there a little bit more and get more connections to continue [our] mission.”

We are thankful that Dave was introduced to NC4K and has in turn invited so many more people to join our team of Champions, creating positive ripples of impact throughout our community. Now, we encourage you to share this story with someone you know who might be inspired to make sure No Kid Fights Cancer Alone— and watch your own ripple of impact grow.