Capital Campaign and Annual Fund Success

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning
Hands holding young plant

How to Maximize Capital Campaign Success

There are several key factors that make a huge impact on whether a capital campaign achieves its goal, and within the desired timeframe. If a capital campaign is in your school’s future, then you can begin to lay the groundwork for success right now. This presentation will discuss those factors and share some helpful tips for preparing for your campaign. Time will be made available for questions during this session.

The Ideal Annual Fund Strategy

If your school’s approach to fundraising relies heavily on events and mass communication, you may not be raising as much as you could for your annual fund. What if you could have most of your annual goal committed at the beginning of your new fiscal year, and spend most of the year thanking your partners and showing them the impact of their investments? This presentation will lay out some key principles and a framework to help you do just that. Time will be made available for questions during this session.

How to Develop a Sustainable Annual Fund

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

Many schools’ annual fundraising efforts resemble running on a hamster wheel, with a lot of time and energy spent on fundraising activities, but not a lot of forward progress. They involve going from one event and “ask” to another all year long – creating donor, staff and volunteer fatigue. There is a better way! If you’d like to build a sustainable and predictable annual fund, come learn a more strategic and relational approach that minimizes fatigue and maximizes results. Time will be available to discuss attendees’ specific questions.

Brad Layland

Our presenter, Brad Layland is the CEO of The FOCUS Group. He lives in St. Augustine, Florida, where he is a founding parent and serves on the board of trustees for Veritas Classical School. In addition, he serves on the boards of directors for Young Life St. Augustine, Christian Surfers US, the Reid Saunders Association, and Young Life of Greater New York, and is an elder at Good News Church. Brad received his BA in Communications from the University of Florida and his MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary. For over 35 years, The FOCUS Group has helped nonprofits raise money more effectively through capital campaign counsel, major donor strategies, planned and estate gifts, and training. It currently serves over a dozen classical Christian schools across the United States.

The Keys to a Successful Capital Campaign

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

As the classical Christian education movement continues to flourish, many growing schools are ready to go to the next level by acquiring property, expanding their facilities or funding key strategic initiatives. If you are considering a capital campaign to fund these important projects, join us to learn when it’s appropriate to launch a capital campaign, and the key factors that will help your campaign to succeed. Time will be available to discuss attendees’ specific questions.

Brad Layland

Our presenter, Brad Layland is the CEO of The FOCUS Group. He lives in St. Augustine, Florida, where he is a founding parent and serves on the board of trustees for Veritas Classical School. In addition, he serves on the boards of directors for Young Life St. Augustine, Christian Surfers US, the Reid Saunders Association, and Young Life of Greater New York, and is an elder at Good News Church. Brad received his BA in Communications from the University of Florida and his MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary. For over 35 years, The FOCUS Group has helped nonprofits raise money more effectively through capital campaign counsel, major donor strategies, planned and estate gifts, and training. It currently serves over a dozen classical Christian schools across the United States.

Raising the Annual Fund Without Being Able to Have Events

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

During this breakout session you will learn about how to pivot away from events as the primary way to raise money for your school. We will discuss how to raise money with less effort through identifying five specific things to focus on during these unusual times.

Brad Layland

Brad Layland is the CEO of The FOCUS Group. The FOCUS Group’s mission is to build the Kingdom of God through helping ministries and nonprofits have the financial resources they needs to fulfill their mission. The FOCUS Group is currently serving over 100 ministries and non-profits around the world including twelve classical Christian schools. Brad lives in St. Augustine, Florida, where he is a founding parent and serves on the board of trustees for Veritas Classical School. In addition, he serves as the board chair for Young Life St. Augustine and Christian Surfers USA. He also serves as an elder at Good News Presbyterian Church (PCA). Brad received his BA in Communications from the University of Florida and his MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary.

Fear, Faithfulness, and Fatigue with Fundraising During Covid-19

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

During the pandemic the need for fundraising dollars has increased but our ability to raise funds in the “typical” event driven way has been eliminated causing fear within the leadership of our schools. During this presentation evidence of God’s faithfulness with respect to fundraising will be presented in a way that will offer hope to many leaders who are feeling fatigued.

Brad Layland

Brad Layland is the CEO of The FOCUS Group. The FOCUS Group’s mission is to build the Kingdom of God through helping ministries and nonprofits have the financial resources they needs to fulfill their mission. The FOCUS Group is currently serving over 100 ministries and non-profits around the world including twelve classical Christian schools. Brad lives in St. Augustine, Florida, where he is a founding parent and serves on the board of trustees for Veritas Classical School. In addition, he serves as the board chair for Young Life St. Augustine and Christian Surfers USA. He also serves as an elder at Good News Presbyterian Church (PCA). Brad received his BA in Communications from the University of Florida and his MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary.

Fundraising During and After COVID-19

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted how you carry out your mission as a school, and it also impacts your fundraising. If you have been overly-dependent on events, you may be re-thinking your approach. Learn a more strategic, relational and sustainable framework for raising your annual fund, and transform donors into lifelong partners. Time will be available for Q&A.

Brad Layland

Brad Layland is the CEO of The FOCUS Group. He lives in St. Augustine, Florida, where he is a founding parent and serves on the board of trustees for Veritas Classical School. In addition, he serves on the boards of directors for Young Life St. Augustine, Christian Surfers US, the Reid Saunders Association, and Young Life of Greater New York, and is an elder at Good News Church. Brad received his BA in Communications from the University of Florida and his MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary. For over 35 years, The FOCUS Group has helped nonprofits raise money more effectively through capital campaign counsel, major donor strategies, planned and estate gifts, and training. It currently serves twelve classical Christian schools across the United States.

The Seven Secrets of Successful Capital Campaigns

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

Enrollment and Re-Recruitment: Why do students come to your school? More importantly, why do they stay? Do you know? Are you sure? If not, you are quite possibly jeopardizing your ability to deliver on your mission. Building on the data of the preceding session, we will explore management and teacher strategies that will make a difference in a family’s decision for classical Christian education.

Brad Layland

Brad Layland is the CEO of The FOCUS Group. He lives in St. Augustine, Florida, where he serves on the board of trustees for Veritas Classical School. In addition, he serves on the boards of Young Life St. Augustine, Christian Surfers US, the Reid Saunders Association and Young Life of Greater New York. Brad is an elder at Good News Church. He received his bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida and his master’s degee in theology from Fuller Seminary. For over 35 years, The FOCUS Group has helped nonpro ts raise money more effectively through capital campaign counsel, major donor strategies, planned and estate gifts and training. It currently serves seven classical Christian schools across the United States.

How To Grow The Annual Fund at Your Classical Christian School

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

Do you feel like you are on a fundraising treadmill, always behind and searching for the next silver bullet? Come learn about the “fundraising trivium” and learn about how you can move from a reactive to proactive fundraising model.

Brad Layland

Brad had a distinguished career at Young Life from 1992-2009 serving in various roles within the organization including Field Development Director, Gi Planning Associate, and ultimately the Director of Development. His expertise includes providing fundraising counsel to nonprofit organizations, including workshops, marketing and major donor strategies, planned gift marketing and capital campaign counsel. Brad is highly experienced in our rm’s training program, Taking Donors Seriously® and FOCUS on Research. A 1994 graduate of the University of Florida in Gainesville, he earned a B.A. degree in Communications Studies. He completed his M.A. in Theology from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA in 2004.

Steve Godfrey

Steve has worked in high-trust positions serving wealthy individuals, corporate executives and business owners for nearly two decades. His experience is diverse but the common thread is his ability to understand the needs of the people he’s serving and develop creative solutions to help them succeed. In the nonpro t sector he has served on the board of a local preschool for at-risk children, and has many years of experience serving on YoungLife area commi ees, and assisting in their support-raising e orts using Taking Donors Seriously®.

Six Keys to a Successful Capital Campaign

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

Are you thinking of launching a capital campaign? Is your current campaign stalled? Come and learn about the six best practices in successful capital campaigns.

Brad Layland

Brad had a distinguished career at Young Life from 1992-2009 serving in various roles within the organization including Field Development Director, Gi Planning Associate, and ultimately the Director of Development. His expertise includes providing fundraising counsel to nonprofit organizations, including workshops, marketing and major donor strategies, planned marketing and capital campaign counsel. Brad is highly experienced in our firm’s training program, Taking Donors Seriously® and FOCUS on Research. A 1994 graduate of the University of Florida in Gainesville, he earned a B.A. degree in Communications Studies. He completed his M.A. in Theology from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA in 2004.

Steve Godfrey

Steve has worked in high-trust positions serving wealthy individuals, corporate executives and business owners for nearly two decades. His experience is diverse but the common thread is his ability to understand the needs of the people he’s serving and develop creative solutions to help them succeed. In the nonpro t sector he has served on the board of a local preschool for at-risk children, and has many years of experience serving on YoungLife area committees, and assisting in their support-raising efforts using Taking Donors Seriously®.