It's not enough simply to be a nonprofit group with a good reputation that also happens to be in a booming high-tech region filled with the newly rich. A number of such groups in the Washington, D.C., area are finding that if they don't quickly connect into the "dot-com" community, they could miss out on the first wave of financial support, the Washington Post reports.

A case in point is the Washington Ballet, which has revitalized itself with a new executive director and new artistic director, new programs, a revamped image and a more aggressive fundraising and marketing plan.

Will it be enough to attract deep-pocketed high-tech patrons? Perhaps, but a number of other local groups -- including the Boys & Girls Clubs, Make-A-Wish Foundation, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington Opera -- already have landed some of the biggest names from such companies as AOL, MicroStrategy and Proxicom.

"The money is new, but the rules of the charity game are as old as time: What matters most is who you know and when you know them," Post reporter Roxanne Roberts declares.

Ballet leaders haven't turned their backs on their traditional supporters, such as attorneys, bankers, real-estate tycoons and others. In fact, the Washington Ballet is relying on them to meet fundraising goals this year because they've made few serious inroads into the local high-tech community.

It's a problem facing many groups: holding on to supporters who have helped year after year, yet trying to develop the resources and contacts to bring in the newly wealthy leaders of a sector that has little background in the arts or philanthropic support.

"Everybody's talking about it and everybody's trying to figure it out. Ultimately, it comes down to what I think fundraising is all about: developing a relationship with an individual," Martin Cohen, the ballet's executive director, told the Post.

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