The Nonprofit Myth of “We Don’t Know Any Rich People”
It’s one of the most common refrains that we hear in nonprofit fundraising: “We don’t know any rich people in our community.” It usually surfaces when organizations feel stuck, or are in a plateau. But in almost every case, this belief has far less to do with actual community capacity and far more to do with the self-fulfilling prophecy of how narrowly nonprofits define wealth as well as their access to it.
The truth is that nearly every community, regardless of size or geography, has greater philanthropic potential than its nonprofits assume. Wealth is often quieter than people realize. Connections to that wealth are also often overlooked. Once an organization challenges the idea of the ceiling of their capacity, entirely new opportunities begin to emerge.
Hidden Wealth Exists Everywhere
High-capacity donors rarely look like the stereotypes that many nonprofit leaders imagine. Many intentionally live modestly, avoiding public markers of affluence. Yet they hold significant assets through business ownership, real estate, investment portfolios, inheritance, long-term careers in steady industries, or many different combinations of those. Their vehicles, homes, and day-to-day lifestyle do not reflect their financial picture.
Nonprofits often miss these individuals not because they aren’t there, but because they’re searching only for visible wealth. A broader, more research-driven approach uncovers donors who have been part of the community for years but were simply never recognized as philanthropic prospects.
Connectors Can Be as Valuable as Wealth Holders
Nonprofits often fixate on who has money and overlook who has access. A connector may not be a major donor personally, but they could be a modest donor who knows the business owners, civic leaders, and high-capacity families nonprofits assume don’t exist or are out of reach. Their introductions can open doors that no amount of broad appeals or marketing will unlock.
Connectors often can be professionals, volunteers, passionate program participants, long-time board members, or individuals with deep community roots. When organizations fail to engage these connectors strategically, they inadvertently limit their entire prospect universe.
Most Nonprofits Have Never Actually Asked for Major Gifts
Perhaps the most overlooked truth behind the phrases “We don’t know any rich people” or “We don’t get any Major Gifts” is that many nonprofits have never truly asked for significant philanthropic investment. Our usual follow up question to this is “Well, how many people have you asked for Major Gifts so far?”
Nonprofits may have asked for annual gifts, sponsorships, event participation, or asked for an open-ended gift, but they’ve never sat across from someone and clearly articulated a specific, mission-driven opportunity at a major gift level.
Without that history, it’s impossible to accurately claim, “There’s no capacity here.”
Most nonprofits have never:
conducted structured major donor visits
shared a compelling case for support tied to a specific number and project
invited someone to give $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000
followed up after an initial “not right now”
provided individualized stewardship
invested in consistent, year-round major gift strategy
In other words, organizations haven’t truly tested the ceiling. You can’t know whether your community lacks major donors if you’ve never intentionally engaged people at a major donor level.
What often surprises organizations is how many donors are willing to consider transformational giving when they are presented with a very specific and compelling vision.
Untapped Networks Remain Largely Unexplored
Even beyond hidden wealth and underused connectors, communities are full of networks nonprofits never engage: small business owners, retirees, young professionals, alumni groups, industry associations, civic clubs, and families with generational assets. These networks become reachable only when organizations stop assuming scarcity and start looking outward with curiosity and confidence about creating relationships with some of these groups.
Often, a single conversation with the right connector is enough to spark an entirely new layer of philanthropic possibility.
Capacity Grows When Letting Go of Assumptions
When nonprofits stop accepting “we don’t know wealthy people” as a permanent truth, their behavior changes. They pursue relationships more often, tell their story with more confidence, ask for bigger gifts, and steward donors more personally. The simple act of believing that capacity exists changes the culture of an organization and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Communities with the strongest philanthropic outcomes are not always the wealthiest. They are the ones where nonprofits refuse to underestimate their neighbors. When organizations broaden their view of capacity and embrace the discipline of major gift fundraising, they consistently discover that the resources they need were closer than they ever thought.
Need help getting more Major Gifts for your nonprofit? We’ve helped hundreds of nonprofits scale up their fundraising revenue with a focus on Major Gifts. Reach out to us and we would love to learn more about your nonprofit!
