Posted: 11/4/24
When I sat down to begin writing this post, my focus was going to include more thoughts on extroverts and introverts in fundraising, but as I was writing, a related topic surfaced. In my experience, it appears that most nonprofit organizations and even businesses look for extroverts to “find new business or attract new donors.” It makes sense because extroverts are typically outgoing, energetic and assertive, thus drawing attention to themselves and the organization. There is nothing wrong with this practice when it comes to finding new prospects / donors (it also works in sales), however there might be other options to consider.
Here is the problem I have seen and heard regarding utilizing mostly extroverts in a fundraising capacity. Introverts can also play a role in donor acquisition, including major gifts, and more importantly, donor retention. Introverts by definition tend to be great listeners, more observant and somewhat independent, but that does not mean they are ineffective. Because introverts typically listen well, observe how things work, and make the effort to get to know others on a deeper level, they can also create a significant level of engagement leading to donor contributions and more importantly longer-term retention.
I have seen and heard about many organizational leaders who emphasize the need for new business / “new money” so they look for extroverted personalities, which is a viable option. However, this strategy may not be the whole story, it can be susceptible to donor attrition. While most extroverts can attract new donors, they are often not as well equipped to retain those same donors over time, hence donor attrition. New people might donate but existing donors can easily fade out if neglected, also known as “Churning.” New money comes in but money from regular donors fades. It becomes a “zero sum game” and back to square one.
With all things being equal in the hiring process, especially in fundraising (or sales), not all positions call for a high energy extrovert, which is a common practice. For positions that involve stewardship and donor retention, grant writing, database management and others that require either deeper relationships, concentration, or communication, sometimes it pays to be aware that introverts can provide balance to extroverted dominant fundraising teams.
Photo by: Andrea Piacquadio (www.pexels.com)