When leading a fundraising workshop, I often use the following two-minute exercise.

“I want to try a thought experiment,” I might say, “and this experiment is about you.”

That gets everyone’s attention.

“I’m starting with two assumptions: you don’t have enough time and you don’t have enough money. I could be totally wrong – in which case, good for you! – but let’s all begin with these two assumptions: not enough time, not enough money.

“Assuming that you don’t have enough of either, which is more precious to you: your time or your money?”

You might be surprised

I’ll give them a moment to consider the question, then the voting begins.

“If your time is more precious than your money,” I say, “raise your hand.” At least 90% of participants raise their hands.

“OK, if your money is more precious than your time, raise your hand.” No more than 10% of the hands go up – often a lot fewer.

We pause to consider the results.

We’re asking for the wrong thing

“Let’s think about this,” I say. “We’re shameless about asking for time. Volunteer! Volunteer! Nobody has any stress about doing this.

“But when we talk about asking for money, people freak out. ‘We can’t do that! It’s awkward! Besides, nobody has any money.’

“We have this exactly backwards,” I continue. “We should be way more careful about asking people for their time, and much more assertive about asking for their money. Because that’s the resource they tell us – and you tell us! – they have more of.”

Another pause. Heads start nodding. Somebody giggles. A few people look shocked or embarrassed.

I’m not a sociologist, but…

Over the last 25 years, I’ve led fundraising workshops in 47 states and across Canada. Since the pandemic began, I’ve facilitated more than one hundred webinars and virtual meetings.

I’ve run this exercise a couple hundred times with really diverse groups of participants: diverse in terms of the mission and size of their nonprofits, but also social class, race, gender, geography, politics, and so forth.

The results are consistently the same: at least 90% of participants, regardless of their background, will indicate that their time is more precious than their money.

Is this actual data? In a scientific sense, probably not. Regardless, it tells a compelling story about missed opportunities.

Why we get this wrong

As a trainer and consultant, I consistently face two big barriers in helping people embrace fundraising.

● Scarcity mentality: The belief that there’s not enough money available. (Here’s a post that addresses this misconception: Dream Big, Raise More Money.)

● The money taboo: Because many of us were taught, at a young age, not to talk about it. (Another post: Tearing Up Money (and Other Tricks for Addressing the Money Taboo).)

Most people assume that it’s hard to raise money. Therefore, asking for anything else – including volunteer time – must be easier and less stressful. Sadly, this misinformation ignores what you just learned from this simple exercise.

Until we unpack and remove these barriers, the fear of fundraising will continue to defeat rational thought and rational action.

How to use the time-money question

First, if you have the opportunity to help your organization (or others) raise money, try this exercise with the group.

Use this moment to address the barriers head-on by discussing who gives, where nonprofit money comes from, income options, and so on. When you demystify fundraising, you empower people to ask.

Second, don’t assume that the gift of time or money precludes the other. There’s a strong correlation between volunteerism and philanthropy. Donors can be recruited to volunteer and many volunteers also contribute financially.

In a future post, we’ll discuss how to transform your volunteers into donors and encourage your donors to contribute their time.