Lutheran Services in America

Criterion is working with Lutheran Services in America (LSA), one of America’s leading social entrepreneurs, to innovate and deliver social services more successfully across LSA’s vast network.  LSA is an alliance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and their nearly 300 diverse health and human services organizations.  The membership reflects great diversity in terms of size, geography and types of services they deliver.  LSA seeks to serve as the needed catalyst to exchange and accumulate knowledge within the Lutheran network and have called on Criterion to help identify and build forward looking, sustainable programs, initiatives and enterprises and to spread them throughout the LSA network. 

The vast majority of LSA's members provide services to support people as they age, and LSA seeks to leverage this unique position to shape the future of aging in America. We begin our efforts in aging.  Once developed, this capacity to scale good ideas will be expanded to include other populations and services as well. 

Throughout, Criterion is helping LSA tackle several complex issues: model efficiency and sustainability; market identification and adaptability; infrastructure, particularly in terms of congregational involvement; local versus institutional control; and areas of risk and liability.    Criterion’s team has a deep and unique background in helping social entrepreneurs launch mission-driven ventures.  We work alongside clients such as LSA to resolve the difficult issues that can prevent innovation.  And, we can leverage our network of experienced social entrepreneurs to help understand and overcome any hurdles to replication.

To learn more, please contact Joy Anderson at anderson[at]criterionventures.com.