The Problem with Not Knowing Rich People, and What You Can Do About It

14 Jul The Problem with Not Knowing Rich People, and What You Can Do About It

15 July 2025

By David Allen, Development for Conservation

I think we spend way too much time imagining finding “rich” people in our communities and approaching them to give. The chase becomes self-defeating. “I can’t help raise money because I don’t know any rich people.”

Half the households in the U.S make $80,000 or more – rich by almost any world standard. We don’t need to be looking for rich people – they are all around us.

We should be starting in a different place. We should be looking for people who care about conservation. And especially those who already give us money.

To give money, someone must first have money to give – that includes most everyone we know.

Second, s/he must see the organizational mission – land conservation – as something they want to see addressed. If they don’t believe in the mission, giving money at all is not very likely.

And third, s/he must see the land trust as one of their philanthropic priorities.

This last is the only factor in which we have any control. We can’t influence how much money someone has. They have what they have. Or, more accurately, they have what they take responsibility for having – some of it is a perception thing.

And we can’t really influence whether they believe conservation is a worthy cause. We can make the case that they should believe so – clean air and clean water, and so on – but it’s almost never worth arguing about. They believe what they believe.

So, we shouldn’t start by looking for rich people. We should start by looking for people who believe in the mission.

A donor once told me that the land trust was the most important charity in the area to him, but that it wouldn’t crack the top ten back in Chicago where he lived most of the year. He was “rich” by almost any definition. He supported conservation work both there locally and back home in Chicago. But this particular land trust did not make it very far up his philanthropic priority list.

Can we change our position on donors’ priority lists? I believe they change all the time. So perhaps we can exert some influence. But only if we understand that there IS a list, and we start getting clues about what else might be on it. Donors get disillusioned all the time by this charity or that, and their priorities can change with experience, threats, and opportunities. That can work both ways, of course. But it’s certainly possible for conservation to move up.

People care more about what they do with their money than they do about what we do with it. To be successful in the long run, we need to understand more about what they want to do with their money. And then talk to them about that.

How do we understand more about what they want to do with their money? By taking advantage of opportunities, and creating others, to get to know them. Inviting them to open houses (open preserves?), or coffees, or hikes. By greeting them at annual meetings and calling to say thank you for [coming, volunteering, giving, etc].

This process of getting to know people for who they are is a fundamental part of all successful fundraising. It’s not very efficient. It’s emotionally taxing. But it’s a discipline that we need to practice as a core function of how we raise money. There is certainly a time and place for digital approaches to fundraising, and AI is showing real promise. But neither one will ever substitute for building relationships.

Here’s what is concerning to me. I think that other charities are passing us by. Conservation isn’t rising on the priority lists. It’s staying the same at best, and it’s falling too often. Other organizations are hiring fundraising staff, or hiring staff, period. They are investing in donor research, small elegant events, CRM software and training, and personal attention. They are remembering birthdays. They are calling to leave thank you messages on voice mail and handwriting personal messages. And they are communicating often and clearly that gifts are making a difference. They are noticing donors.

Some of these other charities have done this for years – TNC, ACLU, universities, medical facilities – collectively “the big boys.” But some are local food banks, libraries, and homeless shelters that are simply “upping” their game. We need to do the same.

As a result, people who could give $1,000 to local land conservation are giving $100. People who could give $100,000 are giving $5,000. Not changing is setting us back.

This is not a time to be timid. Putting a strong vision on the table that will touch, move, and inspire your donorbase and then investing both time and money into building one-on-one relationships and engaging everyone in your organization in doing so – that’s what will build organizational resilience and fuel growth.

At the end of the day, the people who give now are telling you that they love supporting conservation – they love what they are doing with their money.

Start with them.

Cheers, and have a great week!

-da

PS: Your comments on these posts are welcomed and warmly requested. If you have not posted a comment before, or if you are using a new email address, please know that there may be a delay in seeing your posted comment. That’s my SPAM defense at work. I approve all comments as soon as I am able during the day.

Photo by Tibor Lezsófi courtesy Pixabay