When The Seven Faces of Philanthropy was first published in the 1990s, it was an instant classic. It helped a generation of gift officers understand the motivations and perspectives of seven different types or “faces” of donors. For many new gift officers, it is still a must read.
I have often wondered though, what a companion piece entitled, “The Seven Faces of Gift Officers,” might look like. In other words, are there traits, types, or “faces” of gift officers that speak to their motivations and how they can approach giving and donors with more efficacy?
My sense is that there probably are at least seven faces of gift officers. Here is a quick list:
- The Transactionalist – this is the gift officer who invites gifts quickly and (mostly) effectively, but doesn’t always pay attention to the deeper, underlying donor motivations and interests. Sometimes, the gifts received by the transactionalist are not the donor’s “best gift.”
- The Researcher – this is the gift officer who spends a great deal of time using various research tools to understand the donor’s background, financial circumstances, relationships, and business interests. Sometimes, the researcher is slow to engage with the donor personally.
- The Believer – this is the gift officer who is deeply driven by the mission of the organization and would only be a gift officer for that organization. Sometimes, the believer will not invite gifts as much as they receive gifts because they view the primary motivating factor to give as the goodness of the mission.
- The Steward – this is the gift officer who spends the bulk of their time thanking donors in various, personal ways. Sometimes, the steward confuses thanking donors for past giving with inviting new gifts because the donor may respond with an additional gift.
- The Listener – this is the gift officer who is adept at meeting with and understanding the donor’s motivations and “their story.” Sometimes, the listener can be so intent on understanding the donor’s backstory that they struggle to propose new gift options for the donor.
- The Strategist – this is the gift officer who is skilled at creating complex strategies that involve various people and multiple steps in order to invite the next best gift from a donor. Sometimes, the strategist can over-think the best, most achievable approach with a donor and the invitation to give can languish for months or even, years.
- The Visionary – this is the gift officer who paints a big, exciting picture for donors in an attempt to motivate their best gift. Sometimes, the visionary can be viewed by donors as earnest but unrealistic and donors will “wait and see” if the big plans show progress before giving.
Each of these gift officer faces have beneficial as well as unhelpful aspects to their donor engagement work. The point isn’t to become more of one or the other.
Much like with, “The Seven Faces of Philanthropy,” the key is to understand ourselves better so that we can balance our approaches and engage donors effectively no matter how they present.
Understanding the archetypes and motivations of donors is an important early step for all serious gift officers. But, an even earlier step that benefits all gift officers throughout their career is spending the time to understand our own tendencies and motivations.
