"Time, talent, and treasure"

“Time, talent, and treasure” is a phrase that’s often mentioned in churches to promote sacrificial giving. The phrase is also used in philanthropy and in corporations (especially nonprofit corporations).

The origin of “time, talent, and treasure” is unknown, but it’s cited in print from at least 1852.

The three T’s are sometimes mentioned with the three G’s (“give, get, or get out”) and the three W’s (“wealth, wisdom, and work”).

CDS Funds - Creative Fundraising
The Three G’s versus the Three T’s
“Which method do you subscribe to?”
By: Darrell G. Edwards
(...)
#1. The Three G’s (Give! Get! Or Get Off!) Approach
What this simply means is that all board members must contribute (Give) at the highest level they can afford and/or they must solicit (Get) their friends, acquaintances and peers to contribute. If unwilling or unable to accomplish one of these two tasks, then the only option left to them is to get off the board. No questions asked, you would be ostracized. “You are the weakest link.” This is hardcore fundraising!

Or

#2. The Three T’s (Time, Talent and Treasure) Approach
This “kinder and gentler” approach maximizes the use of the word “and,” while, totally ignoring the word “or.” Board members are not only required to contribute their precious time to become fully involved with all aspects of the board’s fundraising, they are also required to contribute their considerable talents, when and where needed. This includes, but is not limited to, their own personal skills and expertise as well as those of the corporations they represent. In addition, they are required to make a personal donation (Treasure) and where appropriate a corporate one as well.

Google Books
August 1852, New England Farmer, pg. 373, col. 2
Time, talent and treasure have been devoted with liberal generosity to develop new resources in the earth and air, to propagate new fruits and flowers and perfect these that are indigenous.

Google Books
Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sen., Governor of Connecticut
By Isaac William Stuart
Boston, MA: Crocker and Brewster
1859
Pg. 239:
Thoughtful only of the good of the people over whom he presided, we find him heartily and at once flinging himself on their side—and with a contempt of all the allurements or menaces of royal power, and an almost unparallelled assiduity, devoting his time, talent, and treasure to the support of colonial rights.

Google Books
8 September 1860,

, pg. 254, col. 1:
Chartered corporations expend time, talent, and treasure to fighting for their special rights, and display a sordid ingenuity in devising, and then monopolizing, means for their special aggrandizement.

Google Books
Miscellaneous Poems
By Asa H. Stoddard
Kalamazoo, MI: Published by the author
1880
Pg. 120:
Time, talent and treasure, no numbers can tell,
All, all swallowed up in this vortex of Hell!

5 August 1894, Charlotte (NC) Observer, pg. 2:
He (Henry B. Adams—ed.) has always been a zealous Democrat and has contributed freely of his time, talent and treasure, to the legitmiate advancement of the cause;...

11 October 1894, Daily Iowa State Press (Iowa City, Iowa), pg. 3, col. 2:
But whatever may be the explanation, nothing is more certain, than that the whole of Christendom, is devoting time, talent, treasure, in the destructive arts, twenty-fold as lavishly and more, to what they spend to promote industry, education, arts, and spread the Gospel of that Christ who came to save, not to stay.

9 February 1896, Grand Forks (ND) Herald, “An Eloquent Talk,” pg. 7:
It is my hope and prayer this morning that I may awaken in your hearts an interest in this work, and, as a result, the local association will receive some portion of your time, talent and treasure—or possibly a tithe of all three.

7 December 1902, New York (NY) Times, pg. 32, col. 3:
In this way, you made me appear in the role of a presumptuous critic of all the generous men and women, without discrimination, who have devoted time, talent, and treasure to the uplifting of the unfortunate victims of Russian and Roumanian persecution living in the congested districts of your east side.

OCLC WorldCat record
Parochial District of Mangaweka : time, talent, treasure.
Author: Wells Organisation.; Parochial District of Mangaweka.
Publisher: [Mangaweka, N.Z. : Parochial District of Mangaweka, 1957]
Edition/Format: Book : English

Google Books
The Catholic Encyclopedia
By Robert C. Broderick
Nashville, TN: T. Nelson
1976
Pg. 564:
Page 564
It is sacrificial giving, which has been translated into a formula of the three T’s: time, talent, and treasure. (Some add a fourth, tenacity or perseverance.) All form the methodology of the Christian’s response to the fulfilling of the mission of the Church.

OCLC WorldCat record
Stewardship : time, talent, treasure, an annotated catalog of denominational resources 1978-79
Author: W Gilbert Dent
Publisher: Cambridge, Mass. : The Author, 1978.
Edition/Format: Book : English

OCLC WorldCat record
Sharing gifts : a spirituality of time, talent, and treasure
Author: Joseph M Champlin
Publisher: Collegeville, Minn. : Liturgical Press, ©1991.
Edition/Format: Book : English

OCLC WorldCat record
Time, talent, and treasure : reflections on the U.S. Bishops’ model for parish stewardship
Author: C Justin Clements
Publisher: Liguori, Mo. : Liguori Publications, ©2006.
Edition/Format: Book : English : 1st ed

Google Books
Flip:
How to find, fix, and sell houses for profit
By Rick Villani and Clay Davis
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
2007
Pg. 12:
Think of time, talent, and treasure as the three legs on which your real estate investment platform is built.

Google Books
The Nonprofit Board Answer Book:
A practical guide for board members and chief executives
By Robert C. Andringa
San Francisco, CA: BoardSource
2007
Pg. 316:
Staff members yearn for the triumvirates of W’s and T’s — “wealth, wisdom, and work” and “time, talent, and treasure.”

Google Books
Title The Faith-Based Investor: Investing Time, Talent, and Treasure for the Kingdom
Author Jay Peroni
Publisher Faith-Based Millionaire, LLC, 2008

(Trademark)
Word Mark TTT TIME TALENT TREASURE
Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 016. US 038. G & S: RELIGIOUS BOOKS, BROCHURES, NEWSLETTERS, AND TABLOIDS. FIRST USE: 19750100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19750100
Mark Drawing Code (3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS
Design Search Code 07.03.02 - Cathedral; Churches
26.01.27 - Circles containing irregular exterior lining or elements not amounting to a decorative border
26.01.28 - Circles with irregular circumferences; Miscellaneous circular designs with an irregular circumference
Serial Number 73116454
Filing Date February 22, 1977
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Registration Number 1102102
Registration Date September 12, 1978
Owner (REGISTRANT) NATIONAL CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL, INC. CORPORATION D.C. 1234 MASSACHUSETTS AVE. NW. WASHINGTON D.C. 20005
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE THE REPRESENTATION OF THE CHURCH APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Cancellation Date May 7, 1985

(Trademark)
Word Mark 3TS TIME, TALENT, AND TREASURE
Goods and Services (ABANDONED) IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Board Game based on a philanthropy and fund raising theme
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 78603466
Filing Date April 6, 2005
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Published for Opposition January 3, 2006
Owner (APPLICANT) Phoenix Phund, Inc. CORPORATION FLORIDA Philanthropy Plaza P.O. Box 54-6257 Bal Harbour FLORIDA 331546257
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Abandonment Date September 29, 2006