Two prominent financial advisers say the nonprofit world is doing a poor job of reaching out to “main street millionaires” who have significant wealth but who do not own securities or other publicly tradeable wealth.

Randy Fox, a legacy planner, writes on InKnowVision that most of the wealthy clients he advises rely on their small businesses or real estate as their prime source of wealth.

But, for many of those clients are not offered options for using those assets for charity.

“Few advisers are having deep conversations about philanthropy or legacy. In fact, very few gain great clarity on family goals and objectives,” Mr. Fox writes. “Not a criticism per se, just an observation for now. Though, I continue to wonder what might happen if the clients ever got fully engaged in their own planning.”

Phil Cubeta another prominent financial and charitable-giving adviser, says that lack of engagement stems from a misunderstanding among charities of the type of wealth many Americans have accrued.

Mr. Cubeta, writing on GiftHub, says nonprofits and foundations need to learn how to bridge that gap if they want to reach their full potential.

“If you truly want to uplift the sector, get out on Main Street, folks,” Mr. Cubeta writes. “The blue collar, bricks-and-mortar money is almost completely untapped, except sometimes by their religious organization.”

Are nonprofit groups doing enough to reach out to the “main street” donors? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.

For more on how nonprofit groups can connect with such donors, check out The Chronicle’s “past coverage of the book The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Women Next Door.