Understanding Personality Differences for More Effective Fundraising

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1 Understanding Personality Differences for More Effective Fundraising Planet Philanthropy 2015 By Consultant and Speaker Hardy Smith Hardy Smith Page 0

2 June 2015 Dear Planet Philanthropy Colleagues: Thank you for attending my session at Planet Philanthropy Understanding personality differences will help you be a more effective fundraiser. This handout was created as a resource to help your fundraising efforts. I welcome the opportunity to discuss enhancing the performance of your fundraising team. Please don t hesitate to contact me at hardy@hardysmith.com or (386) Wishing you all the best in your fundraising endeavors, Hardy Hardy Smith, Consultant and Speaker Evaluate and Take Action How can understanding personality differences help you to be a more effective fundraiser? What actions can you take to better understand personality differences of your donor targets and fundraising team members? Page 1

3 What changes are needed in your communications techniques to increase fundraising success? How can your presentation materials be improved to ensure connection with different personality types? How can your donor and volunteer recognition efforts be altered to best suit different personalities? What personality type are you and how do you need to adapt for relating to others? Page 2

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7 Do Your Volunteers Feel Appreciated? By Hardy Smith Have you ever considered the possibility that your well-intentioned recognition of volunteers might not be as well-received as you assumed? Because April is volunteer appreciation month, let s give this some thought. The importance of recognition is Volunteer 101, as everyone who leads volunteers knows. Of equal importance is being certain your appreciation is suited to the recipient. Individuals reactions to recognition of their volunteer activity depends on characteristics associated with their personality types. Different personalities naturally respond in different ways. Therefore, depending on the individual, your attempt to motivate could have the opposite effect. To take just two examples, if someone is a shy type, a public display of appreciation could be a source of embarrassment. On the other hand, for an outgoing personality, a lack of celebratory attention might be a huge disappointment. In both situations, the volunteer doesn t get the benefit of the all-important and appropriate recognition. And if a volunteer doesn t feel appreciated, he or she often heads for the door. Nonprofit leaders and volunteer coordinators: take the time to know your volunteers and their personalities. Customize your methods of showing gratitude. Interact personally to determine what type of recognition is not only the most effective but is actually preferred. You may further your insights into your volunteers with the use of personality assessments. Having the benefit of more in-depth knowledge of individuals traits will help you identify motivational methods that will produce positive responses. Retaining volunteers is a challenge; it is indeed ironic that action meant to show how much their service is valued could actually contribute to their departure. Before blindly handing out recognition or tokens of appreciation, first be certain that your efforts to praise and motivate will inspire continued and enthusiastic involvement. Page 6

8 Generational shift requires rethinking nonprofit communications By Hardy Smith Communicating successfully is extremely critical to nonprofits. There are donors to reach, volunteers to recruit, causes to publicize, and program participants to sign up. Basic to ensuring that outreach efforts are being executed with maximum effectiveness is making certain that important messages are clearly identified and, more importantly, understood. This is becoming increasingly difficult because lines that previously differentiated audience segments are becoming blurred. Recognizing and dealing successfully with the current generational transition greatly influences how effective an organization will be in reaching its communication objectives. The impact of this demographic shift will be even more dramatic in future years. This transformation means a one-size-fits-all approach that may have been effective in the past will no longer produce the same results. Likewise, methods previously utilized for message delivery can no longer be depended upon as single or even primary sources of information. Case in point: newspapers and other print media, once a main source of information, are facing declining circulation and are now working to establish a presence on the internet. Similarly, as viewership drops, television is using social media to build viewer connection. To help nonprofits gain a better understanding of this change and how to cope with it, I turned to Anne Loehr who has been called the Generational Guru by The Washington Post. According to Anne we are now a population that is made up of four generations and each has distinctly different personality characteristics that affect how information is received and responded to. The four groups are Traditionalists (born between ), Baby Boomers (born between ), Generation X (born between ), and Generation Y (born between ). Their values are different. How they choose to engage socially is different. How they communicate is different. How they process information is different. Anne warns, Communicating successfully with one message using one singular method of delivery to all four groups is nearly impossible. To overcome the challenge this generational distinctiveness presents, Anne offers these four suggestions. 1. Nonprofits will be well advised to spend more time crafting their message, she suggests. Go deep to understand your various audience targets. The more you know about who you are trying to reach, the better focused you can be. Page 7

9 2. If an organization s target is one that is large and diverse, successful outreach may require development of multiple forms of the same message for delivery through multiple communication channels, she says. This approach obviously takes more effort but will pay off with greater results. 3. Even though your focus presently may be on Traditionalists and Baby Boomers, Anne shares, It is important not to discount the younger groups. The personality traits of those in the engagement pipeline for replacing today s volunteers and donors indicate building relationships with these individuals takes time, even years. Since connecting with them takes much longer than previous generations, unless you reach them at an early age they are likely to be committed elsewhere and your chances for engaging them later will be lost. 4. Anne also counsels, It is a mistake to assume that younger generations will change their social engagement related behavior with age. Research shows they will carry their generational characteristics with them. Take these suggestions from Generational Guru Anne Loehr as thought starters for thinking strategically about your communications activity. Reaching different generational groups is more than just separating your contact lists. Message content makes a difference and that includes choice of words and how many are used. How graphics, video, colors, numbers, and photos are utilized also influences how effective a message is to each particular age group. When preparing annual appeals, annual reports, event invitations, newsletters, advertisements, developing websites, and organizing plans to publicize services, think about who your intended audience is and identify the best vehicle for reaching it. Dealing effectively with generational change is another significant challenge in the constantly evolving world of nonprofits. As the competition for resources intensifies, Anne s advice on understanding the dynamics of generational differences will become increasingly important. Page 8

10 Ready for more fundraising tips? On sign up for my e-newsletter and receive my free white paper, Why Don t Board Members Do What They re Supposed To Do? simply for signing up! About Hardy Smith Hardy Smith's drive for facing challenges head-on, and transforming them with effective, creative solutions, was shaped through his years of work with one of America's most successful and popular sports, NASCAR. There, in several management and leadership roles, Hardy represented the NASCAR family of businesses through a variety of leadership activities. With these experiences, Hardy has translated the business models of some of America's most prominent corporate management teams into forwardthinking, practical and timely applications any volunteer- and memberbased organization can and should adopt. Hardy's dedication to serving associations, nonprofits and other volunteerbased organizations is reflected in his professional affiliations as well. He has held numerous local, state and national volunteer leadership positions, while his professional relationships have included the AFP - Association of Fundraising Professionals; ASAE The Center for Association Leadership, the premier source of learning, knowledge and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession; FSAE Florida Society of Association Executives; National Speakers Association, the leading professional organization for speakers; and BoardSource, which is dedicated to advancing the public good by building exceptional nonprofit boards and inspiring board service. Hardy's work on creating effective board member relationships has been featured in leading publications, such as BoardSource, GuideStar, Nonprofit Business Advisor, Canadian Fundraising & Philanthropy, and Nonprofit World. Today, Hardy Smith is living his calling by channeling his experiences and insight into maximizing the success of nonprofits, associations and other volunteer-based organizations around the country; work that has earned him recognition from Florida's network of Small Business Development Centers. The group named Hardy Smith Consulting as one of its Small Business Success Stories. Book Hardy Smith today to speak to your nonprofit and association leadership teams! Call (386) or Hardy at hardy@hardysmith.com. Page 9

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