I recently signed up for a Gift Officer Masterclass offered online by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. As a member of the AHP, I have taken similar classes in the past, and they always offer something new and inspiring.

In the third of five sessions that I listened to, the presenter and philanthropy consultant Randall Hallett referenced a book, “The Seven Faces of Philanthropy: A New Approach to Cultivating Major Donors.” It’s not new—it was published in 1994—yet when I heard it again and applied it to our Walsh County community, I realized it is still quite accurate in describing Unity Medical Center Foundation donors and why they give. I thought I’d share it with you, our newsletter readers, in case you were interested in learning which persona fits your own giving motivations.

Giving is very personal and changes over time, meaning one person could fall under more than one of the seven categories at any time. They are:

1. Communitarians—the most common donor— who want to do something good, especially if it benefits their community. They are also often volunteers, serving on boards.

2. Devout, who give because their religion encourages it or they feel a moral obligation.

3. Investors, who give so that they might benefit from it later. That could mean tax savings, or in our case, the availability of health care services. They also appreciate seeing the data that proves their gifts are making a difference.

4. Socialites. This group can be found at our annual Harvest Auctions, luncheons and open houses, along with family and friends.

5. Altruists, who simply want to do good. They may give in times of crisis, especially after a natural disaster.

6. Repayers, which in our case are typically grateful patients or family members of grateful patients who were satisfied with their health care experience.

7. Dynasts, who give because their past generations of family members gave before them.

So what do you think? Is there one persona that resonates with you more than others? As a fundraiser, it’s my job to tailor our messaging as best we can to each of these personas so that they are getting the information they want in the way they want it. So these personas are helpful to us, even though at times they can seem overwhelming.

We also want to make sure that we are communicating with our donors in the way that they would prefer to be contacted. That’s why we created a communication preference survey at https://bit.ly/commpref. You can also scan the QR code to access the brief survey. We can’t guarantee hitting your preferences at all times, but it will certainly help us tailor our messaging when possible. Thank you in advance for submitting your preferences!