All Types of Ways
- inwankwo
- Feb 25
- 4 min read
As a reminder, my schedule’s always pretty hectic between my 9–5 job and running this nonprofit, so I usually end up writing these blog posts while I’m traveling. On my last trip out to Long Island to donate a system to a nonprofit, I found myself thinking, “What’s more valuable — time or money?” Or maybe a better way to ask it is, “Which would you rather give away — your time or your money?”
To try and figure out the real answer, I started asking a few people around me what they thought.
A woman in the row behind me on my flight to NYC said, “Time.” When I asked if the comparison was close, she replied, “No.”
A lady sitting next to me on my flight home stated, “For me personally, money. Money can buy you conveniences.”
Since it was a tie, I asked one more person, who said “Time.” Because her response started a discussion, she then stated, “I was thinking of it in terms of age and longevity of life.” That comment turned into us having an interesting conversation about family, age, and more.
Please remember, this is the Cardz For Kidz Founder, Ike, writing here. I know for work I’d have to interview more people, get a broader sample size, and collect an array of demographics, but these questions were asked just for fun, and to have something to think/talk about.
Giving time vs. giving money. Yes, I personally understand the difference. For example, my parents love Cardz For Kidz, and my family is the reason why we’re sending cards to Ronald McDonald House Charities worldwide. Additionally, my dad has been one of our key sponsors these past few years. And, my mom is not only on the Cardz For Kidz Board, but she is always at our global headquarters (aka my condo), counting cards whenever she’s in town.
We connected with an advisor once about our strategy to raise more funds. The idea was to require groups to donate to be recognized on our Card Making Groups page. We were advised that everyone should be recognized for making cards, and those two factors—donating their time (making cards) and donating their funds—should be 100% independent. Since we’re still growing, and I love to learn the optimal way to grow, we followed that recommendation. That’s one of the reasons you’ll see many more logos on our Card Making Groups page.
With SignUpGenius, it’s completely different. Although we’ve told you about them before, we’ll summarize. That post is all about how, although we’re simply a small nonprofit without much recognition, SignUpGenius (formerly known as Lumaverse) is dedicated to raising
funds on a consistent basis, as well as contributing handmade cards.
They are one of the few partners on both the Card Making Groups page and the Sponsors page. While many groups look to compare time vs. money, SignUpGenius has been willing to donate both consistently—without me pleading for it! So, I’ve been able to focus on expanding our mission, e.g., sending designed lunch bags; increasing our number of scholarships (we went from one applicant the first year to over 400 applicants and three winners last year (2025)); and sending portable entertainment systems worldwide. In addition, although they’re based in Charlotte, NC, they regularly support our local events held here in Chicago, IL. For our Hearts & Crafts Mixer, they donated a giveaway to attendees.
Although we definitely appreciate and value the time our artists donate, while making
cards (#everycardcounts), that’s only the beginning process. For example, UPS and USPS do not accept time as a form of payment to ship the cards/bags/bookmarks we receive to our partners globally. We can’t use time to pay for the mobile entertainment systems that our nonprofit partners have requested and appreciate.
And finally, although it takes a lot of time
to review the scholarship applications, we can’t use that time spent to pay for the students’ tuition. With that in mind, we think it’s smart to say that all of us at Cardz For Kidz are forever thankful for how SignUpGenius has consistently stepped in and donated in ALL TYPES OF WAYS, so we can better support our partners, students, and volunteers. Thank you!
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