Your Organization’s Needs Don’t Go Away!
I’m not the first to notice a change in attitudes about people of wealth. Recently, USA Today published a top travel story called “Guilt trip” about luxury travelers toning it down or canceling vacations. The Associated Press identified a “stealth wealth” set that is hiding luxury purchases and shipping expensive items home rather than walking out of stores with them.
Recently, I solicited comments from many of my friends regarding an inspirational, nonprofit fundraising article I had written. I wanted to see if they agreed with me that this was the best time in our country’s history to raise money. Well, I received a lot of interesting responses, but what I noticed was a “wealth divide.” From my wealthy friends, it was doom and gloom, “retreat,” and “don’t talk about doing well.” They talked about fear, anxiety, and they worry about the country. At the same time, the vast majority of them are doing fine. Their businesses may be challenged, their investments may be soft, their foundations may have taken a hit, but they are all going to be players in the future. These are the men and women I have relied on for years to be my positive inspirational support and now I am theirs! So what is the issue? The responsibility has shifted.
