Turning Donors Into Partners - by Bradley Lee Layland & Brad Layland (Paperback)

About the Book

Fundraising can be one of the most stressful parts of ministry. Professional fundraiser Brad Layland transforms fundraising into a relational process where donors truly become partners in ministry. Fundraising is best done in community-this book will help you find a community of people who enjoy giving and want your organization to succeed.

Book Synopsis

Fundraising can be one of the most stressful parts of ministry. Budget needs are daunting, prospects seem limited, and the cycle is unending. How do we get off of the treadmill of crisis-driven fundraising to more sustainable ministry funding?

Professional fundraiser Brad Layland revolutionizes fundraising and transforms it into a relational process where donors truly become partners in ministry. With decades of expertise in leading multimillion-dollar capital campaigns and working with major donors, he offers a more strategic and personalized yet less labor-intensive approach. Practical insights include ten essential elements of a case and four key steps that lead up to making an ask. Ultimately, fundraising is best done in community, and this book will help you develop a community of people who enjoy giving and want your organization to succeed.

Fundraising can become a life-giving, energizing experience of developing partners who fuel your ministry's vision. Discover how you can become fully funded and accomplish the work that God has given you to do.

Review Quotes

"Brad gets that fundraising is ministry like no one else I know. He truly loves the sacred hopes that God has placed in the hearts of donors and organizations alike, and he wants to help everyone in the fundraising relationship fulfill them. If any of that sounds like an 'I want' that's beating in your heart, you're holding the right book. And you're ready to join Brad on this journey of appreciating donors, serving each other, and becoming joy-filled partners on mission together."

Tom Lin, president and CEO of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, from the foreword

"Brad has the amazing ability to bring together practical, applicable principles with thoughtful, people-focused counsel. I have never come away from a training with or reading by Brad where I have not learned something from him. Everything he writes is borne of experience, mistakes, and listening, and it builds on mission at the heart. I highly commend this book to you!"

Steve G. W. Moore, CEO and executive director of the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust

"Brad Layland offers practical steps and demystifies fundraising. Filled with concrete advice, case studies, and humor, his plan is perfect for both the new professional and seasoned executive. Readers will be encouraged and empowered, and the steps taken will result in significant transformation for the organization."

Kimberly Thornbury, senior program director with the Murdock Trust

"Given the whirlwind of ideas and advice out there about nonprofit fundraising, with Turning Donors into Partners Brad Layland has now cleared the air. Centered around a single principle--know your donors and maintain relationships with them--Brad offers some of the most powerful, practical, and concisely written advice I have ever found on partnership development. In his own life work and now through successfully coaching others, including the organization I lead, Brad seems to live these principles almost effortlessly. He knows what he is talking about."

Doug Gehman, president of Globe International and author of Before You Quit

"I'm excited about Brad Layland's new book Turning Donors into Partners, as it is timely for serious fundraising professionals. Donors aren't ATMs but are first and foremost friends, teammates, and partners. Brad's own development as a friend and partner-raiser is an exciting journey that will lift your hopes and vision sky high. Brad and his FOCUS Group have been friends and true partners with the incredible work of Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row, with life- and career-changing training provided to donor officers as well as completion of a $55 million capital campaign, allowing us to decentralize Skid Row services and regionalize them throughout LA County."

Andrew J. Bales, president and CEO of Union Rescue Mission inLos Angeles

"In a world where people don't quite grasp the difference between fundraising and fund development, I do not think you can find someone who is better equipped to help with this topic. I love Brad's commitment to not having transactional relationships but to building authentic relationships in the context of community. This book will be a great help to many."

Wiley Scott III, group senior vice president of US East Young Life

"It's hard to find anyone in the Christian nonprofit world with more experience and wisdom than Brad Layland. Fortunately, he has chosen to not keep it to himself. Leveraging his years of experience and his keen understanding of the biblical approach to raising kingdom resources, Brad has provided us with a treasure trove of practical guidance and proven techniques. He has counseled thousands of development professionals and organizations in these principles. Now it is your turn. Study them, apply them, and watch God bring the increase."

R. Scott Rodin, fundraising professional and author of The Steward Leader

"Look elsewhere if you want a book about fundraising gambits and gimmicks. Brad Layland's Turning Donors into Partners is about cultivating generosity that flows from donors to organizations because of relational integrity between the one asking and the one responding."

Kenneth G. Elzinga, professor of economics at the University of Virginia

"Our team at HOPE International has been privileged to work with Brad Layland to effectively engage our core supporters and do just what this book teaches: help grow donors into ministry partners. I'm grateful Brad has documented these powerful principles to be shared more broadly, drawing a road map for organizations to revamp and reenergize their approach to fundraising. Brad is a world-class leader, and in this book he generously provides practical, actionable, and applicable principles to actively care for supporters, raise more support, and see donors grow into partners and friends."

Peter Greer, president and CEO of HOPE International and author of Mission Drift

"The believers in Philippi partnered with Paul's ministry through financial giving, and it is clear from Paul's thank-you letter that it arose from a deep and joy-filled friendship between them. That is the biblical principle that weaves through Brad Layland's book. Brad shows, simply and clearly, how to turn the assumption that funding for Christian ministry is fundamentally relational into practical plans and respectful encounters. It might have been titled Turning Donors into Friends (or vice versa). Speaking from working with The FOCUS Group, I can simply say on behalf of Langham Partnership, 'It works!'"

Christopher J. H. Wright, Langham Partnership, author of The Shortfall: Owning the Challenge of Ministry Funding

About the Author

Brad Layland is the CEO of The FOCUS Group, which provides fundraising counsel to nonprofit organizations in major donor development, strategic planning, and capital campaigns. He is also the founder and owner of Endless Summer Realty, the largestresidential real estate brokerage in St. Augustine, Florida. Brad has a MA in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and has run fifty marathons and completed two Ironman triathlons. He and his wife, Dr. Wendy Layland, have four children.

Tom Lin is the director of the Urbana Student Missions Conference and vice president of missions for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. He has planted a student movement in Mongolia with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, helped plant sixteen campus fellowships in the U.S. and spoken to thousands about missions. He is the author of Losing Face Finding Grace, and he also serves as the vice chairman of the board for Wycliffe Bible Translators and as the Lausanne international deputy director for North America.