Charities spend considerable time pursuing foundation grants and searching for non-traditional gifts through planned and corporate giving.

But Sean Stannard-Stockton, who works for an investment management company in Burlingame, Calif., says charities often ignore the low-hanging fruit — donations from individuals.

If charities can be more effective in reaching out to individuals, he argues they would probably be able to raise substantially more money with very little extra effort.

To illustrate the point, Mr. Stannard-Stockton points to a recent blog post by the marketing expert Seth Godin.

“As marketers, we’re tempted to tweak the already tweaked, to turn the 100 to 101, to optimize for the peak performances,” Mr. Godin writes. “That long tail is very long, though, and if there’s a way you can raise the floor (instead of just focusing on the ceiling) you may be surprised to discover that it can have a huge impact.”

Nonprofit groups should follow the same advice, Mr. Stannard-Stockton writes on his blog, Tactical Philanthropy.

“Frankly I think that philanthropy is such a deeply inefficient market that we can make great headway as a field by simply working on the basics,” Mr. Stannard-Stockton writes.

How can charities accomplish this goal? Are there ways to become more effective in reaching people who have money to give? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.