Giving away money is harder than it looks, a liberal church group from Ventura learned Tuesday night.

Seven members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura tried to hand out about $220 in $1 bills to motorists waiting at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Ralston Street in Ventura. Coming from a church known for its activism and bringing together people of different faiths, they weren't selling anything or recruiting anyone. They were just giving out money.

The Rev. Jan Christian, the group's leader, said they were motivated by a concept called pronoia — opposite of paranoia — and defined as the belief that the world will shower people with kindness and generosity. She carried a cardboard sign that read, "We all need to give. Please take my $$$$."

"I think it's a basic instinct of human beings to share and give away," said 85-year-old Phyllis Luyken of Ventura, who came with $38 that she received in an insurance check. "I know a lot of people we're going to give to probably don't need $1, but it's kind of symbolic."

Many people didn't want the symbolism or the money. A few wouldn't roll down their car windows. Most declined politely or asked that the money be given to the homeless.

"It's not easy to take money from someone you don't know, because you think there's a gimmick," said Vera Carbaugh of Ojai, who was approached at a nearby parking lot and asked that her $1 be contributed to a woman taking donations for Teen Challenge.

"Can I give it back?" asked another man, pushing the bill back out his car window but finding no takers.

The givers kept at it. They waved their bills at cars and, if the window cracked, talked quickly about how they were giving money to encourage generosity in others, to "pay it forward." Two givers even ventured out to the median and offered money to a long line of rush-hour traffic waiting at a red light.

And then the police came. A Ventura officer told the church members that he was worried about their safety and a potential traffic problem and said they needed to stay off the street and the median. He directed them to a nearby parking lot. There, the giving continued.

Some people took the money with huge grins and repeated thanks.

"I think it's great," Dorothy Lee of Ventura said as she waited for a green light. "I always think sharing and giving is wonderful because I think it comes back tenfold."

Others offered more theories on why it was hard to accept something for free.

"It's a good sociological experiment because you see how people react," said Dave Raines of Ventura, who took $2, then pawned it off on a reporter who convinced him to take it back. "Instead of being in favor of receiving money, I think people would be hostile because they're suspicious. They think someone wants something."

But the givers said all they wanted was the joy of giving and the chance to shower people with kind thoughts. It took them about an hour to give away all but about $8 of their $220.

Afterward, they proclaimed the effort exhausting but a success and started to talk about another possible mission: giving out free hugs.