The Purposeful Donor and the Spontaneous Donor (Type 1 and 7)

In this article on Donor Personalities, we based the Purposeful Donor and the Spontaneous Donor on the Enneagram Types One and Seven. If you are a lead pastor, communications pastor, or non-profit director, you may have one or a few of these types in your church and community.

In order to grow your giving and meet your mission goals, you must understand what makes your donors unique. See them as individuals with very different needs, responses, even dreams, and hopes. Get to know their personality so that you can give them practical solutions and guidance. If you don’t know your donor personalities yet, take this easy test to find out.

Ones and Sevens are very different; Ones or Purposeful Donors, are big on organization and order. On the other hand, Sevens enjoy being spontaneous and relaxed. While Ones are driven by a desire for justice, the motivation that moves Sevens is a desire for satisfaction.

Before we get into more details on both types, here is a quick recap of their personality traits.

Type One: The Purposeful Donor

These strong personalities are principled and purposeful. They live to make the world a better place and want to leave this earth with a positive legacy. They need to know you care about their deep desire for change and their commitment to making that change happen.

You might recognize these common traits in your congregation of Purposeful Donors:

Most Notable Traits:

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

Type Seven: The Spontaneous Donor

Type Seven personalities are known best for being spontaneous and versatile. The wise pastor and leader knows the secrets to communicate with this type of person. They also understand that this type is very giving, on the spot, with little prodding. These are the type of donors who take patience. Work on building an authentic relationship with them, rather than focusing on their donations from the start.

Here are some common words used to describe the Type Seven Spontaneous Donor:

• Spontaneous
• Emotional
• Life of the party
• Joyful
• Giving spontaneously
• Moody
• Led by their feelings
• Extroverted
• Optimistic
• Versatile
• Playful
• High-spirited
• Practical

Understanding The Purposeful Donor and the Spontaneous Donor (Type 1 and 7)

Are there any potential trouble spots or issues leaders should know when working with these opposite types? The issues are likely to arise when you have a Type One and Type Seven together on the same outreach project, or even in attendance at church together.

In a stressful situation, Ones have the tendency to become quite critical, judgmental, and inflexible. They might be the vocal church members who insist that their ideas for the church are the one true and right way. And this can come across as judgemental or self-righteous to the more subdued Sevens. The Type Sevens could shrug off the suggestions of the Type Ones.

A good leader should plan for these types of confrontations and acknowledge that no one party is “right,” they both have different ways of tackling a challenge. If the Type Ones also feel that Sevens are unfocused and scattered while Sevens view Ones as too perfectionistic, you must be able to help both sides come to an agreement and maintain balance.

Appealing to The Purposeful Donor and the Spontaneous Donor (Types 1 and 7)

Despite their differences, both donor types will be committed and loyal donors. You must give them a chance to succeed and prove their worth. Good topics to introduce during outreach sessions and Bible studies for both Types are:

• How to resolve conflict in a community
• Peace and Faith (Teach both types to relax more)
• Creative thinking (Both the Purposeful Donors and Spontaneous Donors are good at coming up with creative ideas and these should be given ample space to grow)

Enneagram Ones and Sevens, despite their differences, can have complementary relationships within the church. As opposites, they are vital in helping the church to achieve fresh growth and understand many sides to a situation.

Appeal to them by maintaining a high standard for your church, presenting you goals and visions for growth in a way that is logical with practical solutions. Offer digital giving options that keep financial transactions transparent and eliminate the emotions that may hinder them from giving.

Encourage both to use their skills in the church as initiators and planners. You will see the benefits of having Ones (more methodical) and Sevens (good at focusing when determined).

How DonorWerx Can Help

Both the Purposeful Donors and the Spontaneous Donors bring a sense of excitement and life. For you as a pastor, this can be inspiring and invigorating. Help your donors grow with the right tools and resources to highlight their strengths.

At DonorWerx, we focus on creating systematic tools, intended for your church members and donor growth. Contact us today to discover more.