Have You Heard of Google?
I once walked into a Volvo dealership. The salesman greeted me in worn-out leather shoes.
Not the kind that suggests years of loyal service. The kind that screams, “I don’t respect this job enough to invest $40 in shoes that fit.”
That’s how you welcome a luxury buyer? That’s how you signal respect for someone about to drop six figures on metal and engineering?
The truth hurts—and it can’t be delivered with Novocain.
This is one of those articles.
The Business You’re Actually In
Let’s be direct: if you’re in fundraising, you’re in two businesses, whether you admit it or not.
First, you’re in the people business. (Another rant for another day.) Second, you’re in the money business.
And here’s what most don’t understand: money has rules, patterns, and a language of its own. It is brutally indifferent to your nonprofit’s mission statement.
Too many of us approach donor cultivation like that Volvo salesman—negligent, underprepared, and wrapped in professional ignorance.
The Test
Answer these questions honestly. If you can, you’re ahead of 80% of your peers. If you can’t, that explains your leaky donor pipeline.
Do You Know How the Wealthy Actually Think?
Not how you think they should think. Not how your values suggest they think.
Do you know what they read, watch, and believe? Do you know their politics—or do you just assume?
Here’s the harsh truth: Most fundraisers have never studied donor wealth psychology—yet understanding it is a vital component of donor cultivation. Over half can’t steward donors across ideological lines. If you believe donors should give because your cause is righteous, you’ve already lost the money.
Donors have money. You have feelings. Good luck with that exchange rate.
Do You Actually Understand Money?
Not theoretically—practically.
Do you know how high-net-worth income is structured? The difference between a millionaire and a billionaire?
You’re closer to a millionaire than a millionaire is to a billionaire—1,000 times closer, in fact. Yet fundraisers still treat them as if they live in the same financial universe because they don’t understand money and have a blind spot when it comes to wealth.
That misunderstanding costs nonprofits millions every year.
Do You Check LinkedIn Before Meeting a Donor?
This isn’t optional. It’s the new baseline for major donor cultivation.
A fundraiser once mocked cigar smoking during a meeting. The donor? CEO of a cigar company.
She didn’t just lose the gift—she vaporized it.
Fundraising Tip: Cigar smoke ≠ moral outrage.
Do You Know the Price per Square Foot in Your Donor’s Neighborhood?
Zillow isn’t just for daydreaming.
If your donor lives in a $3.2 million neighborhood, their financial sophistication—and tax exposure—are different from someone in a $425,000 zip code. Yet most fundraisers show up curious about that wealth, but unprepared—like tourists at a museum.
Do You Read More Than One News Outlet?
Or do you live in an algorithmic echo chamber that confirms everything you already believe?
Your donor might read The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, or follow podcasts and Substacks you’ve never heard of. Have you asked? Or do you assume they share your worldview because you both got the same email about tax reform?
Do You Track Economic Indicators?
Inflation, interest rates, unemployment, tax changes, real estate, capital markets—these shape every donor conversation.
Your true competition isn’t another nonprofit. It’s the IRS, the S&P 500, or a market correction that just cost your donor $3 million in paper wealth.
If you don’t understand money and financial forces, you’re not ready for the conversation.
The Car Dealership Lesson
All of this knowledge is a Google search away.
Five minutes on LinkedIn. Ten minutes on Zillow. Fifteen minutes on your donor’s industry.
An hour on their company’s investor relations page.
This isn’t hard. It’s not expensive. And it’s not time-consuming—unless you’re still working like it’s 1998.
Many fundraisers still lead with feelings instead of facts. They still rely on charisma to cover their ignorance. They still act surprised when “passion” doesn’t close the deal.
That salesman probably cared deeply about selling cars. He probably believed in his product. But he was utterly unprepared for the moment that mattered most. He didn’t even know how many cylinders the car had..
The Uncomfortable Reality
Donors don’t owe you their time—or their money.
They have options, advisors, and family priorities. They have tax lawyers optimizing portfolios and financial planners managing liquidity. They don’t need your nonprofit.
Your nonprofit needs them. It needs them to share a portion of that wealth. Donor cultivation is a necessity, not a luxury.
- So show up with value, not vibes.
- With evidence, not assumptions.
- With understanding, not ignorance.
Respect the donor. Show up like the interaction matters enough that you took the time to prepare.
The Hard Truth
Your nonprofit’s mission is not permission to be ignorant. Your passion is not an excuse for sloppiness. Your good intentions do not exempt you from doing the basic work.
Google is free. LinkedIn is free. Zillow is free. Your local business journal is probably in your library system—free.
There’s no longer an excuse for showing up unprepared.
The only question left is: will you?
