Wealth is subjective
It's not what you have, it's how you feel
by Caroline Danks
I know a few people with six figure plus sums in the bank.
They live mortgage free and do not have day to day caring responsibilities.
They don’t have especially extravagant lifestyles and their day to day costs are more than covered by the monthly income they receive (which is unrelated to their savings).
This means that their savings are free to grow and build, without any effort required from the account holder (which goes against the ‘I worked hard for this’ narrative…).
But they are not philanthropists.
I’m not sure exactly why – of course it’s personal and very different for everyone and we can never know everything that’s going on behind the scenes of someone’s life.
Each of us has a different relationship to money, informed by our upbringing, our life experiences, our current commitments and perceived future commitments (rainy day anyone?).
My point is, that it’s possible to be comparatively wealthy, but to feel poor (and, vice versa).
How can I tell if someone is likely to be a major donor?
Major Gifts fundraising requires research in the first instance.
We need to understand three thing about a person before we can ask confidently for a gift:
1. How interested a person is in a specific cause / sector
2. Whether there are any personal connections between donor and charity staff
3. How wealthy a person is
Our research often begins with assumptions. Great Major Gifts fundraisers never act directly upon assumptions. Rather we seek over time to change assumptions to fact through building relationships.
When we make a call on how “wealthly” someone is, most of us rely on our assessment.
This person is X on the Rich List
This person sold their company for Y
This person is a majority shareholder in Z company
This person has no kids / a platinum David Lloyd membership / a black Amex card
These indicators lead us to one place…
THEY MUST BE FRICKIN’ LOADED!
But consider this:
It is possible to have significant wealth but to feel poor
It is also possible to have modest wealth and to feel like the richest person in the world
It is not our assessment about someone else’s wealth which matters.
It is theirs.
Wealth is subjective
After a certain point (i.e. when one’s day to day needs are mostly met) actual cash in the bank / assets is only a part of what leads someone to feel wealthy.
Quality of relationships, free time, access to nature and good health are arguably better markers of wealth, once you’re able to buy everything you need.
I’m a member of a Facebook group called ‘View from my window’.
Members post pictures of the place they live, from a window in their home.
It’s a fascinating group where a literal window on the world has surprised, saddened and inspired me. I now know that as well as colourful and crowded cityscapes, Pakistan is also host to lush mountainous places.
The Australian and Floridian views compete for ‘enormous creatures you really don’t want staring at you as you do the dishes’).
There are views from Ukraine of buildings reduced to rubble and fabulous beaches in Sierra Leone.
One of the most commented on posts was of a simple hut, red in colour with a thatched roof.
The caption explained that the hut belonged to the poster’s grandmother and was located in a small rural village in an African country (and I apologise that despite having searched for the post, I can’t find it so am remembering the gist of it as best as I can).
Immediately, people in the comments expressed their sadness and their concern.
Many asked where they could send donations and how they could help.
After being inundated with such remarks, the poster updated their original caption to include the following.
‘Thank you for your offers of gifts and donations, but my grandmother has everything she needs and lives a contented life. There is nothing she needs.’
For those people blessed to have the majority of their day to day needs met, wealth is very much a state of mind.
The owner of the home pictured in the Facebook group had all of her needs met. It’s just that her measure of wealth didn’t match up to the Western ideal.
So, in summary, when considering who may or may not be a promising prospective donor, we should always think first about those who are interested in our work.
After which, we can see to understand a potential donors’ feelings about their financial capacity.
Not our feelings about their financial capacity.
And this is something we can only truly know when we have a relationship with a person.