Why Are Donors More Generous with Time Than Money? The Role of Perceived Control over Donations on Charitable Giving

Solicitation of time and money donations are central to the success of nonprofit organizations like charities and political groups. Although nonprofits tend to prefer money, experimental and field data demonstrate that donors prefer to donate time, even when doing so does less good for the cause. However, despite the importance of this asymmetry, little is known about its psychological underpinnings. In the current investigation, we identify a previously unexplored difference between time and money, which we argue can explain the preference to donate time over money. Specifically, we propose that potential donors feel more personal control over their time (vs. money) donations, leading to greater interest in donating and donation amount. We test this framework across seven studies using incentive-compatible and hypothetical behaviors, utilizing both mediation and moderation approaches. Our results show that when donors’ sense of control is threatened, donations of time might be used as a compensatory strategy and that simple linguistic interventions can increase perceived control and donations for money, which we find to typically lag behind time. We conclude by discussing the implications of these results for marketing theory and practice