Kingdom-minded coaching
for gift officers.
We are dedicated to remarkable mid and major gift programs for ministries like yours.
Our mission is to come alongside your organization and co-manage your mid and major gifts program, ensuring transformative impact and long-term sustainability. Our coaches are equipped with a deep understanding of the marketplace and a proven track record of enhancing mid and major donor programs.
Upward Leadership
Our team has a deep understanding of the marketplace and a proven track record of helping organizations like yours increase the effectiveness of mid and major donor programs.
Scott Rodin
Dr. Scott Rodin, Senior Consultant & Chief Strategy Officer, has helped hundreds of organizations over the past thirty-eight years improve their effectiveness in leadership, fund development, strategic planning and board development.
He currently serves as a Senior Fellow of the Association of Biblical Higher Education and as board chair for ChinaSource. In addition, Dr. Rodin is past president of Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Christian Stewardship Association.
Dr. Rodin holds Master of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Systematic Theology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He’s written fourteen books on stewardship and generosity, and speaks regularly at conferences, retreats and professional development events.
Steve Woodworth
Steve provides a unique blend of marketing, management, and organizational development experience. As a former vice president at World Vision, Steve led all marketing programs, in addition to church and volunteer programs and donor services. During his 12 years at World Vision, media income grew from $40 million to $130 million annually. Before joining Masterworks, Steve was a partner in The Thomas Group, a management consulting firm helping Fortune 500 companies boost productivity and profitability through process reengineering.
Steve has also served as chair of the Communications Working Group for the Lausanne Movement since 2007. For the Cape Town 2010 Congress, he assembled a team of 150 communications professionals from 27 countries. He spent a quarter of his time for four years in this volunteer leadership role.
Brad Layland
Brad Layland, Chief Executive Officer & Senior Consultant, first learned how to raise money as a college student in 1993, while seeking to raise personal support as a part-time staff member for Young Life. Over the course of 20 years at Young Life, he developed his passion for and expertise in relational fundraising, to the point where he was asked to train other area directors around the country, and eventually became the Chief Development Officer for the entire organization.
Brad’s expertise providing high level fundraising counsel to nonprofit organizations incorporates major donor strategies, training workshops, planned gift marketing, and capital campaign counsel. In recent years he has led capital campaigns for Dallas Theological Seminary ($160M), Intervarsity Christian Fellowship ($89 million), Union Rescue Mission ($83 million), The Bowery Mission ($27 million) and Veritas School ($5.3 million). He serves on the board of the Society for Classical Learning.
Bryan Brown
Bryan serves as president of Masterworks, providing strategic leadership and overseeing day-to-day operations. He has served as CMO, CTO, and executive creative director for for-profit companies and Christian non-profits in all phases of growth. Bryan also holds an M.Div from Trinity Anglican Seminary and sees his work in developing effective, beautiful, and integrated marketing solutions as a holy calling.
Prior to joining Masterworks, Bryan led the digital division and ad network of one of America’s largest, cross-screen media companies, supporting national brands in the building and executing of large scale, omni-channel marketing campaigns that included premium and programmatic digital media, influencer marketing, native advertising, social media, search engine marketing, technology solutions, and digital design.