Contact: Jesse Medina, Seoul USA, 719-481-4408, jmedina@dotheword.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Jan. 17, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- In the midst of an economic recession, organizations reliant upon the generosity of donors are at particular risk of budget shortfalls and according to key findings from a late Fall 2011 study by Guidestar, the glass is only half full. But for the leaders of fourteen organizations who received training in Transformational Giving principles in 2011, an average of 18% increase in funds raised was reported; a feat accomplished without grant funds and by both Christian and non-Christian organizations.

The training workshops took place every other month in Memphis, TN during 2011 and were the result of a partnership between Memphis Leadership Foundation and Seoul USA. Eric Foley, Seoul USA's CEO, is the architect of the Transformational Giving philosophy and has trained more than 1,300 churches and Christian NGOs on how to build volunteer and giving programs grounded in distinctly Christian discipleship practices. Of the fourteen participating organizations, ten serve at-risk urban youth, and six are non-Christian. The average budget prior to the training was $230,000.

Most surprising, according to Foley, were the results from non-Christian organizations.

"Transformational Giving is a Biblically-based form of non-profit ministry, through and through," says Foley, "So, when we heard the news that the training had significant impact even for non-Christian organizations, we were ecstatic. It confirmed something we've suspected all along: Christian principles work, even in a secular context."

Foley expounds on Transformational Giving in his book, Coach Your Champions. Written as a nuts and bolts nonprofit fable, development professionals get an inside look into what it looks like to build volunteer and giving programs from a discipleship perspective.

"We are giving away free electronic copies of Coach Your Champions for iPad, Nook, Kindle and other devices. Our hope is that more Christian and secular nonprofits will 'taste and see' whether Transformational Giving is able to make an impact in their causes," says Foley.

Requests for copies of the Coach Your Champions eBook may be sent to cyc@dotheword.org. Organizations interested in participating in future Transformational Giving trainings may contact Jesse Medina at 719-481-4408 or by email at jmedina@dotheword.org.