The Purposeful Donor and the Motivated Donor (Type 1 and Type 8)

Many personality tests can help pastors understand donors better. In this series, we base our Nine Donor personalities on the Enneagram personality test, one of the most commonly used tests today.

The Enneagram name comes from a nine-sided star polygon, and each of its points represents one of nine different personalities.

Understanding your donors also helps you when planning fundraising programs, because you can foresee their actions and reactions to almost any circumstances. You can decide how to approach them for giving, which tools to use, and which approaches work best, according to their particular personality.

Check out our resources for leaders who want to learn better strategies in the church.

What Each Type Brings to the Relationship

The Purposeful Donor and the Motivated Donor are known as Enneagram Ones and Eights. They both have a common concern in making things right in the world. They will both also stand up against prejudice and falseness. Your church leaders must do all they can to encourage equality, right the wrongs, and be as authentic as possible.

Both types are also very action-oriented. They like to get involved with missions where they can turn their energy outward. If you have a focus on community and offer practical solutions, they are more likely to support and give to your church.

Both Ones and Eights also bring a certain nobility of vision, practicality, and perseverance in supporting whichever church they believe in. If you have a good mission, but no practical solutions to achieve them, don’t expect them to get on board with donations—whether big or small gifts.

For both, fairness is essential. As partners and fellow donors on a team in your church, they also are decisive and direct. Eights, or Motivated Types, bring a passion and personality that balances Ones’ tendency to be more restrained.

Both have strong wills, both are action-oriented, and of course, both require strong church leaders to guide them. If you want to know more about type, read our in-depth guide to donor personalities or take the personality test here.

Let’s now recap some of their more obvious personality traits.

Type One: The Purposeful Donor

Principled as well as purposeful, they live to make the world a better place and look for ways to leave a positive legacy. Here are some ways you might be able to recognize the Purposeful Donors within your church fellowship:

Most Notable Traits:

• Self-controlled
• Perfectionist
• Always looking for reform
• Constantly improving their surroundings
• Advocates for change
• Humanitarian
• Known for always showing up

Example Character: The outstanding leader in the Bible, Moses, can be considered a Type One. He was always on some kind of mission, whether as prince of Egypt, a shepherd, or a leader of the Children of Israel.

Tips for Appealing to the Purposeful Donor

When appealing to the Purposeful Donor, be direct, keep them updated, and don’t be afraid to let them know exactly what you need, how and when. At DonorWerx, we provide online coaching, tools, and resources to help you do this efficiently.

Type Eight: The Motivated Donor

We know these unique personalities to be self-confident and decisive. However, be aware that they can also be willful and a little confrontational. You can recognize them easiest by the following traits:

• Often look at the bigger picture of a society’s needs
• A strong heritage and foundation of giving
• Meet significant challenges
• Like to associate with foundations and nonprofits that are influential
• Donate to causes
• Improve the lives of those less fortunate
• Assertive
• A good leader
• Confrontational
• Self-confident

There is often confusion between Eights and Ones, but this may be because they can be similar in ideals. It is best to realize that no donor is exactly like another, and no one personality can be judged.

We must take each at the point in their journey where they are. If some people seem slower to learn about giving to a church or more cautious with their finances, give them time. Train them with foundational principles of the faith. Reach out with a good giving strategy and online tools. Learn how you can cater to unique personalities by understanding their need to be appreciated and accepted as individuals.

How DonorWerx Can Help

At DonorWerx, we focus on helping churches that need to upgrade their technology to manage their donors and put a plan in place for long-term support. Before developing donors and increasing giving, it is essential to first focus on leadership development. The DonorWerx Framework provides this plan for church leadership and offers proven strategies to better accomplish this.

To know more about how we can support your church with specific tools, check out our blog posts or call us for an introduction. We’d love to help you and your church work toward successful missions and long-term donors.