Want Bigger Gifts? Ask People to Volunteer Before Asking for Money

Asking people to volunteer their time at a charity before asking for their money increases the amount they ultimately give to an organization, a new study has found.

Conducted by two university researchers and published by the Center for Responsible Business based at the University of California’s Berkeley campus, this month, the new study examined how people react in varying situations in which they are asked to give and volunteer.

In one part of the study, 199 participants got a description of a charity that fights lung cancer. One hundred of those people were asked how much of their time they would give to the organization and then asked how much they would be willing to donate. The remaining participants were only asked how much they would donate to the charity.

People who were asked about volunteering pledged an average gift of $36.44, while those only asked to give money said they would give $24.46 on average.

In another part of the study, 193 undergraduates were given information on a charity that helps children with a chronic illness. A third of the students were asked to volunteer and to give money to the charity, a third got the same two questions in reverse order, and the remaining students were asked no questions. All three groups were then given the opportunity to make a donation.

Students who were asked to volunteer first gave more than those in the other two groups, while those who were initially asked to make a donation gave the least.

Questions about giving time and donating money provoke different mindsets in potential donors, the researchers concluded. Compared with monetary considerations, asking people to volunteer, they write, leads to bigger gifts because it triggers emotional associations related to empathy, interacting with others, and identification with a cause.