Thrivent Signs First-Ever Deal with the Twins
Another Minnesota-based Fortune 500 wants to play ball.
On Wednesday, Minneapolis-based Thrivent announced its first-ever partnership with the Minnesota Twins. As part of the deal, the financial services company gets naming rights to Target Field’s club level and the team’s season passes. The two entities are also launching a new program that will distribute $200,000 to about 20 nonprofits each year, and fans will get a say in where those funds go.
The Twins are billing the latter effort as “fan-directed philanthropy.” There will be four grant cycles throughout the 2024 season, and ballgame attendees will get a chance to vote for their favored nonprofit through Major League Baseball’s Ballpark mobile app. In each grant cycle, the Twins and Thrivent will award $40,000 in total.
Folks sitting in the newly renamed “Thrivent Club” will get “an exclusive voting opportunity” for the remaining $40,000, according to a news release issued Wednesday. The club spans 3,000 seats from first to third base along the infield.
The Twins haven’t yet revealed the names of this season’s nonprofit partners, but they expect to share the four eligible nonprofits in the first grant cycle sometime next week. The team and Thrivent handpicked the organizations, and there wasn’t an application process. Recipients were selected based on a theme; this year, that theme is “Active Minds and Active Bodies.”
“Part of this program’s impact is our ability to spotlight up to 20 nonprofits over the course of each season – increasing exposure for and, in some cases, introducing Twins fans to the unique programs and approaches of each featured nonprofit partner,” the Twins and Thrivent said in an email.
To be sure, corporate partnerships at Target Field aren’t exactly a new phenomenon. Take a look around the stadium during game time and find a host of company names emblazoned throughout. The stadium’s name itself, of course, originates from a well-known Minneapolis-based retailer.
Before Thrivent, Delta Air Lines had naming rights to Target Field’s club level seats. And most recently, Winnebago Industries Inc., the RV maker which officially became a Minnesota company in 2021, signed on for a high-profile partnership at Target Field that will see creation of a new boat-like seating section.
Still, there are a few notable details about Thrivent’s recent partnership. Until today, the Twins’ season pass program hadn’t had a sponsor, for one. It will now be known as “Twins Pass presented by Thrivent.” The “fan-directed” philanthropic program is new, too.
“We believe a partnership of this scale is unique in Major League Baseball, and we’re confident it will not only create a positive impact in our communities for years to come, but also inspire acts of service and generosity across Twins Territory,” said Twins President & CEO Dave St. Peter.
In 2023, Thrivent, which is itself a not-for-profit group, had $179 billion assets under management and raised and donated about $306 million in total, according to its annual report.
