European charities are still in the “dark ages” in relation to fundraising from Europe's wealthy philanthropists, fundraisers were told today.

While there is significant opportunity to solicit large donations from new philanthropists and wealthy people in Europe, Chris Carnie, director of Factary, told a group at the International Fundraising Congress in the Netherlands that charities are not putting enough resources into the field.

“We're still in the dark ages in this area in Europe,” he said.

Carnie called the level of underinvestment in major donor philanthropy in Europe, including the UK, “terrifying”.

He suggested that an aversion to risk, as well as a view – held particularly among continental organisations – that all donors should be treated equal regardless of donation size were holding back this investment.

Carnie also suggested that because major donors require in-depth information about and access to a charity's inner workings, working with major donors becomes a “very, very exposing process” for an organisation, and one which many would prefer to avoid.

But, Carnie was optimistic for growth in the area, pointing out that the most recent World Wealth Report found that the very wealthy have recovered from the downturn faster than the less well-off, with both the number of uber-wealthy people, and the size of the wealth, increasing over the 2008-2009 period.