Wendy Liu, Assistant Professor of Marketing at UCLA Anderson School of Management, and Jennifer Lynn Aaker, General Atlantic Professor of Marketing at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, co-authored “The Happiness of Giving: The Time-Ask Effect,” which was published in the Journal of Consumer Research; October 2008, Vol. 35 Issue 3, pp.543-557. Those interested in the full text can read it here. The abstract summarizes the paper:
This research examines how a focus on time versus money can lead to two distinct mindsets that impact consumers’ willingness to donate to charitable causes. The results of three experiments, conducted both in the lab and in the field, reveal that asking individuals to think about “how much time they would like to donate” (versus “how much money they would like to donate”) to a charity increases the amount that they ultimately donate to the charity.
A separate research summary explains:
In the first of the study’s three experiments, participants in an online survey read a brief statement about the mission of a fictitious cancer research foundation. Those who were asked first how much time they would be willing to volunteer to the organization––and then how much money they would donate––offered to give nearly twice as much money as those who were asked only about money.
In the second test, participants read about HopeLab, a real nonprofit organization that serves children with cancer. Members of one group were asked first how interested they were in donating time to the organization, and then how interested they were in giving money, while another group was asked the questions in reverse. A third group was not asked either question. Participants were given ten $1 bills as payment. On their way out they passed a donation box for the organization, and were handed a “volunteer for HopeLab” flyer on which they could leave their email addresses. The following week, HopeLab contacted those who left their addresses and helped monitor the number of hours those volunteers actually worked for the organization over the next month. Once again, individuals who were asked first for their time gave twice as much money to the donation box as those who were asked first to make a financial donation. Moreover, those who were asked first for money gave less than both those who were asked first about their time as well as those who were asked neither question. . . What’s particularly interesting is that participants who were asked first about their time not only gave the most money of all, but also they donated the most time to the organization.
So What?
According to the same research summary quoted above:
In short, the new study suggests that asking for people’s time connects them with the deep mission of the organization, which makes them more inspired to be involved in that endeavor in every way. Conversely, asking people for money may well cause them to disengage.
Local churches handle fundraising in different ways, but many have an organized multi-week appeal asking those involved (members and active participants) to pledge a set amount toward the annual budget. In some cases, the sermons focus on time, talent and treasure but the pledge cards only ask people to commit money.
- What percentage of your congregation’s members and active participants volunteer their time in one or more ministry? Is raising that percentage a priority?
- In your congregation’s most recent stewardship campaign how much time was devoted to talk of time/talent compared to treasure/finances?
- Have you ever participated in a stewardship campaign that featured two commitment Sundays (one asking for pledges of time/talent and another asking for financial pledges)? If so, what was this experience like? If not, how might this model (time/talent first and treasure second) effectively leverage the findings of this research within the framework of teaching holistic stewardship?