Contact: Matt Baxter, 503-906-1622

PORTLAND, July 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- "We really needed the money but they denied our grant request." said Greg Stier, the energetic founder of Dare2Share. "Disappointing as this was, I came to realize being denied was a great gift for our ministry!"

Like all nonprofits Dare2Share, a national youth discipleship ministry in Colorado, needed to raise funds. Now Stier has a whole new outlook on fundraising.

Dare2Share's vision is to equip one million teenagers by the end of 2010 to grow in their faith in Jesus and be bold enough to share it with their friends. It is a vision that requires big thinking and funding.

With expectations receiving a grant, Dare2Share applied to Mission Increase Foundation for a grant in 2006. Surprisingly the request was denied and instead they were offered free training in fundraising.

"Instead of giving us money, they offered training to learn how to fundraise more effectively. I was skeptical, but the training was free, so what could we lose?" Stier confided. "Through the training, I began to understand fundraising isn't about money. It's about getting people involved to transform their own city."

"While Mission Increase Foundation gives grants, we also teach a transformational giving model that focuses less on meeting the budget, and more on empowering donors to take ownership." explains Eric Foley, Mission Increase Foundation vice president. "When that happens, budgets inevitably get met."

Stier applied the donor centered approach at a fundraising dinner in St. Louis. "We've stopped going to donors and saying 'we need money.' Instead we are offering them a way to make a difference." Stier said.

Dare2Share communicated its vision to a group of seventy individuals passionate to reach teenagers for Christ in their community. The St. Louis dinner was a success, raising $92,000

However, from Stier's perspective, the greater success was seeing donors embrace and own the vision. Through their donor's involvement, the St. Louis conference hosted almost 9,000 teenagers with 1,500 choosing to become Christians.

"Transformational giving is not a scheme to get money." Stier says. "It's a strategy to transform an entire city...and none of this might have happened if we wouldn't have been turned down for a grant."

For more about this type of training or transformational giving model, or to learn more about establishing your own foundation visit www.missionincrease.org and sign up for a free monthly newsletter.