Dusty Rhodes “Find Your Unique Asking Style and Boost Your Fundraising Success”
Find Your Unique Asking Style and Boost Your Fundraising Success
On-Air Talent to Fundraising Staff – Take the Test and Ask with More Confidence
Part 2 of the Fundraising Red Zone series
Giving season begins this month! If all your fundraising plans are in place, there is time to discover something about yourself which can help you have even more success raising funds! If you are part of the on-air team asking for gifts during an event or if you are a fundraising staff person who will be calling or visiting your top donors, each of you can gain more confidence and become more effective by tapping into your unique fundraising strengths.
This assessment tool can help any person working for your mission and having fundraising conversations with donors – on-air teams, development pros, volunteers, CEOs and board members. They discover how God has wired them with their unique asking style, resulting in more confidence and greater effectiveness.
I have heard some staff and even board members of donor-supported ministries sound apprehensive about helping with fundraising, as ironic as that sounds. But I can understand why if they were requested to ask people for money. Those who work on staff as fundraisers know that, in essence, this part of our work is so much more significant than asking people for money. I view it more like an honor or privilege that we get to invite others to be part of what God is doing through our ministry or, as author and theologian Henri Nouwen said, Fundraising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our mission and vision.[1]
Once we see this task of asking as an honorable privilege to help our mission get stronger, what can we do to increase our own confidence and be more effective while doing it?
If you are an on-air talent or office staff person who invites donors to give, you want to succeed with as many donors as possible and especially with major gift donors. There is a tool I believe may help you feel more confident and be more effective when communicating on-air, on the phone or in person face-to-face with donors.
The tool is a 5-minute quiz called the Asking Style Assessment. It’s a free survey by my friend Brian Saber, founder and president of Asking Matters. This assessment tool analyzes your personality and unique set of strengths and then reveals your unique asking style from among 4 main asking styles: Rainmaker, Go-Getter, Mission Control and Kindred Spirit. You simply answer a few questions and it will immediately send your results. The free version identifies your primary and secondary styles, explains each style, and highlights the strengths and challenges specific to your style. And if you want to go deeper they have training materials you can choose to invest in.
Take the Asking Style Assessment here: Asking Matters – Asking Style Assessment
When you get your results, an important and immediate takeaway is, despite the stereotype that an energetic and talkative and outgoing person makes the ideal fundraiser (like a Rainmaker or Go-getter), there is not one ideal type of fundraiser! Even introverts can be effective fundraisers (such as a Kindred Spirit or Mission Controller). To help illustrate anyone can be an effective fundraiser:
- If you test as a Rainmaker (leans extrovert) results may reveal strengths you have such as analyzing information (making you good at preparing for donor conversations or on-air breaks), energized when interacting with others (helps you engage with other talent on-air or with donors during visits), are strategic and keeps overall goals in mind (makes you good at guiding others on-air or keeping donor communications in sync).
It also identifies challenges such as maybe you talk too much or listen too little (so be more self-aware during donor visits so you listen more, allowing them to talk more).
- If you test as a Kindred Spirit (leans introvert) you can still excel at fundraising because results may reveal strengths such as you easily connect donors to the mission due to your warmth (you could be the best storyteller on-air using heart-felt emotion), are a great listener who easily thinks of others (can serve you well during conversations with donors).
It also identifies challenges such as you may shy away from meeting new people (when contacting donors someone else could contact new donors while you focus on current or lapsed donors being most effective keeping them engaged and well-served because you already know them).
To be clear, the Asking Style Assessment can help any person working for your mission and having fundraising conversations with donors – on-air teams, development pros, volunteers, CEOs and board members. They discover how God has wired them with their unique asking style, resulting in more confidence and greater effectiveness.
In ministry work we often declare “It’s all about relationships!” At a time when most ministries are seeing fewer donors give to their cause, here is a timely opportunity to help improve how we personally relate with donors. We can discover our strengths and unique asking styles and learn how to use them to invite as many donors as possible to join us in our mission at this critical time of year!
[1] The Spirituality of Fundraising, Henri J.M. Nouwen, 1992
Dusty Rhodes is a strategic executive helping nonprofit leaders grow revenues to fulfill their missions for wider and deeper impact! He works alongside leadership creating visionary strategic plans and the revenue strategies to fund them for sustainable growth. His accomplishments span 30+ years serving in Christian media and ministry as an award-winning radio morning show talent, Program Director, General Manager, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Development Officer and Senior Vice President.
Contact Dusty: DustyRhodes777@Outlook.com and at www.LinkedIn.com/in/DustyRhodes777
