Why do rich people give? And how can you keep them engaged? Beth Breeze and Theresa Lloyd share findings from their new book Richer Lives: why rich people give.

As far as charities and fundraisers are concerned, all donors are not created equal. Major donors are the most sought-after because, as Ernest Hemingway noted in response to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s comment that the rich are different from the rest of us: ‘Yes, they have more money’.

In times when ordinary donors are feeling the pinch, public sector spending is being cut and charitable foundations are inundated with applications, rich individual donors may feel like the last, best hope for funding an exciting new project – or even just keeping a charity afloat.

So giving this most precious type of supporter the best possible experience seems a good idea. But what exactly is it that major donors want?

Well, Hemingway’s riposte was also intended to strip away some of the mystique that can attach to the rich. They are simply people – as diverse, complex and normal as any other group of people – they just happen to have more money in the bank. But that observation is not much use to those tasked with identifying and looking after rich supporters, so what can we say about the outlook and demands of major donors?

We have spent the past year surveying and interviewing very wealthy people who are also generous donors. Most people we spoke to have a net worth of at least £10m, and on average they gave away £300,000 a year, though many gave substantially more. We also spoke to experts working in this field, including many successful major donor fundraisers, philanthropy advisers and other specialists who work with very wealthy people.

So what did we learn about the attitudes and expectations of contemporary major donors in the UK? The full findings, analysis and recommendations can be found in our book, Richer Lives: why rich people give, and here we share three key tips to keeping major donors happy. We end by sharing some good news about rich donors’ views of the fundraising profession.