GODOLPHIN CROSS, England — The town’s Anglican church had closed, as had the local shop, post office and village pub, so it was always going to take something special to save the Methodist chapel in Godolphin Cross, the village’s last meeting place.

But when told of a historical link to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Dubai, one of the world’s richest men, Richard McKie, chairman of the Godolphin Cross Community Association, dismissed the idea of seeking a donation as too far-fetched.

Then, in an idle moment, he changed his mind.

“Part of me thought, ‘No, this doesn’t happen,’” said Mr. McKie, reflecting on what turned into a highly lucrative few minutes online. “But a couple of days later I had a spare half-hour, I googled the Maktoum royal family website, found a drop-down box and I just put down 100 words along the lines of: ‘Can you help us? We have links that go back.’”