We Keep Asking Our Communities for Money. What If We Gave Them Our Time Instead?

Fundraising will always matter. But are we underestimating what people can give when we stop asking only for their wallets?

After 18 years involved with the Wishlist Spring Carnival, I’ve seen just how generous the Sunshine Coast can be.

Sponsors back us year after year. Guests dig deep on the day. This year’s carnival raised more than $415,000 for women’s health equipment at Sunshine Coast University Hospital and Gympie Hospital. Across the 18 years I’ve been involved, we’ve raised more than $3.2 million for Wishlist alone.

I’m proud of that. And I’d never downplay what those dollars do.

Our theme for Wishlist is “Keep Growing Older, While Getting Younger.”

The carnival is growing older. Eighteen years of history, traditions and loyal supporters. But if it’s going to last another 18, it has to keep getting younger too. That means making room for the next generation, and recognising what they bring.

But I think we’re overlooking something fundamental. When we talk about giving back, we almost always talk about money. And in doing so, we quietly tell a lot of people that they have nothing to give.

There is no return on investment in giving back

I get asked the same question most years. “What do you actually get out of it?”

It’s a fair question in a business where we measure everything. But it’s the wrong one.

If you’re giving back for a return, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.

I was there at the very first Wishlist event, and I’ve chaired it since 2017. In all that time I’ve never calculated what it’s returned to my business. The moment you start counting, the work changes. You choose the cause that gets seen, not the one that needs you. You turn up for the photo and drift away when the cameras do.

Communities can tell the difference. They always can.

Community is the fabric we’re all part of

Think about what holds a place like the Sunshine Coast together.

It’s the surf club on a Sunday morning. The junior footy canteen. The P&C, the Rotary barbecue, the charity committee meeting in someone’s lounge room on a Tuesday night.

Community events, clubs, organisations and charities are the fabric of our society. They’re where we meet people we’d never otherwise cross paths with. Where a retiree and a 20-year-old end up on the same working bee. Where newcomers find their place.

And they all run on people choosing to turn up.

Many of those clubs and committees are growing older. The same faces have carried them for decades. The ones that thrive are the ones that keep getting younger, bringing new people in before they’re needed.

Being part of something greater than yourself is more profound than any financial win.

I’ve closed a lot of transactions  in 20 years. I can’t remember most of them. I remember every Wishlist carnival, and the people who stood beside me to make it happen.

Money is the easiest thing to give

That might sound strange coming from someone who chairs a fundraiser. But it’s true.

A donation takes a few seconds. Time takes commitment. Skills take something of yourself.

Think about what an event like Wishlist actually runs on. Someone has to build the run sheet, design the program, photograph the day, film the highlights, manage the socials, wrangle the volunteers and pack down at midnight. None of that shows up as a line on the donations report.

Yet without it, there is no money to report.

The dollars are the result. The people giving their time are the reason.

When we only celebrate the cheque, we miss the people who made it possible. And we send a message to everyone else that unless they can write one, there’s no place for them.

Getting younger starts with the next generation

This is the group I most want to reach.

Picture a 22-year-old on the Coast. Early in their career, rent to pay, no spare cash for a $400 gala ticket. They see a charity event advertised and assume it isn’t for them.

But that same person might edit video better than anyone on our committee. They might understand social media in a way most of us never will. They might be a natural organiser, a designer, a coder, or simply someone with energy and a few free Saturdays.

That is worth more to a cause than most people realise.

And the return flows both ways, just not in the way the ROI question means. Young people who give their time build networks, confidence and a real connection to the place they live. Charities get fresh ideas and the next generation of leaders.

Nobody needs to wait until they’re established to start giving back. The best time to start is when all you have to offer is yourself.

That’s what getting younger really means for a cause. Not a new logo or a younger crowd at the bar, but younger people with a genuine role and a voice in how things are done.

What would change if we asked differently?

I’d love to see our industry, and our community, change the question.

Instead of “Can you donate?”, ask “What are you good at, and would you lend it to us for a day?”

Instead of measuring giving only in dollars, recognise the hours, the ideas and the effort too.

We’re not perfect at this ourselves, and Wishlist is still a fundraising charity at heart. But the volunteers who give their time are the reason it has lasted 18 years.

So here’s my challenge, especially to the next generation:

What’s one skill you could give to a cause you care about this year?

You don’t need a chequebook to make a difference. You just need to show up.

That’s how a community keeps growing older, while getting younger.