February 3, 1690, the first paper money in America was issued.  That means, as of the beginning of this month, we have lived with the stuff for 320 years, and that is not counting the monetary systems of people who preceded Europeans on this continent.  Yet, we still aren't comfortable talking about it.  We all have our hang-ups about people in a higher or lower economic bracket than us. 

Good news: you don't have to be cured of your discomfort about wealth before you can be a good fundraiser.  I have found that fundraising has teased me away from some of my prejudices.  What is a prejudice, after all, if it isn't the assumption that all people of a certain description are the same?  The time I have spent in the living rooms and offices of philanthropists for the past 20 years has taught me that no two families handle their money in the same way.

My conclusion after crafting fundraising strategies for many different kinds of organizations is that affluence acts as a magnifier of character.  If someone is predisposed to be an effective organizer, and happens to have resources, the get it done factor is magnified.  Social magnetism is amplified by wealth.  So is reclusiveness.  So is a free spirit.

At the first fundraising seminar I attended, I heard people earnestly say that asking someone for a gift is doing him or her a favor.  It sounded like self-rationalizing baloney to me.  Now, I have come to believe with all my heart that it is true: fundraising is a service to donors.  Affluence could come to someone through her own hard work, good fortune, or family relationships.  It gives people a big impact, whether they want it or not.  The power to making the world a sweeter, safer place is magnified for people of wealth.  Helping people use that power well, enjoy it, and learn from it, is indeed a favor.