Time Banking

This is my summary from the Time Banking USA website. My intention is to start a discussion about the Pros and Cons of this concept.

• For participants to offer creative ideas on to the platform of Time Banking.
• How it could be implemented in Manhattan (who, what and where).
• How TB can do more than just provide a means of exchange.
• Compare it with other types of exchange methods and/or currencies.
• Explore the possibilities and the far reaching affects for the future.

TIME BANKING:

What it is:
At its most basic level, Time Banking is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community. That hour goes into the Time Bank as a Time Dollar. Then you have a Time dollar to spend on having someone doing something for you. It's a simple idea, but it has powerful ripple effects in building community connections.
Each Time Bank has a website where you list what you would like to do for other members. You look up Time Bank services online or call a community coordinator to do it for you. You earn Time Dollars after each service you perform and then you get to spend it on whatever you want from the listings.

What it does, the benefits and the values:

The Mission: Strengthening communities through reciprocity
Time Banking is a system that connects unmet needs with untapped resources.
Builds community and networks. Opens doors to new opportunities.

Puts the unemployed back to work, addressing hopelessness and despair.

It’s a quick start up. Example: Madison, WI grew to 400+ members in 17 months.
A Start-up Kit provides a step-by-step guidance for explaining Time Banking, finding members, running orientation meetings, dividing up leadership roles, and more.

The program is web based for easy access that includes many categories of services as well as a business category on professional services and goods the list of possibilities is endless. From walking a neighbor's dog, oiling a squeaky door, raking leaves, stuffing envelopes, braiding hair, cooking meals, giving music lessons, running errands to lending professional advice, everyone in a Time Bank has a valuable skill to share. Please visit the Types of Services page to see more examples of what you can do to earn Time Dollars. There are Group Time Bank exchanges that happen when people get together for a specific project, event, performance, or celebration. And Time Banking can help social service agencies engage with clients and the community in a whole new way.
The kinds of goods and services people share in a Time Bank depend entirely on what their group or community needs. Memberships that can include individuals, groups and local organizations; it can be as narrow or as broad as you desire. Every Time Bank is a reflection of its members—who they are, the dreams they have, and the choices and decisions they make.

There is a full sense of ownership by Time Bank members (including pitching in to help support the infrastructure) that builds over time.

You may be wondering about taxes, exchanges are tax exempt! TBUSA has an IRS private letter ruling that Time Dollar exchanges are tax-exempt. There is a document on their website that explains how to sell things and still be tax exempt.

There are many advantages of going with an existing plan. The company, Time Banking USA, (TBUSA) provides a sequenced series of four half-day training/planning sessions to give you the knowledge, insights, how-to information, and hands-on experiences you need so you can build success from the start. And TBUSA has a track record of success with an Existing Logo and worldwide recognition.

Support - TBUSA offers access to the experience and expertise of a wide range of Time Banking professionals with a front row seat to the latest developments in the movement, from the growth of new Time Banks to the exciting new ventures of existing Time Banks. And as a member there’s an opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors, contribute to the Strategic Plan, help plan and lead conferences, and propel new initiatives. For more support there’s a “Super Time Bank,” through which members are able to earn Time Dollars by sharing expertise and ideas. Consultancy, whereby experienced Time Bankers can provide more advanced training to new Time Banks for a fee is also possible.

TBUSA Newsletter - Issued two or three times per year, the TBUSA Newsletter connects all of the membership to the wider support network of TimeBanks USA. Donors, potential funders, media sources, and others learn about new developments in the movement through the newsletter.

TBUSA is a national voice for your local programs - In our role as a clearinghouse for information about Time Banking, TBUSA can help promote your Time Bank by publishing your contact information in our online directory, sharing your news in our print and electronic media, and connecting you with local and national news outlets looking for a good story on Time Banking.

TBUSA connects you to valuable resources - In our role as a resource provider, TBUSA offers materials that you can customize for your Time Bank, trainings, fundraising manuals, and more to help you get off on the right foot. In addition, TBUSA member Time Banks located in the mid-Atlantic region qualify for an AmeriCorps VISTA corps member.

TBUSA helps you develop your professional network - In our role as a connector of Time Banks, TBUSA facilitates discussion forums, a Super Time Bank for the exchange of ideas and expertise, a national conference, and the formation of special interest groups.

Coordinators Only Forum – Forums for software support and for peer coaching in community raising – for TBUSA member Time Banks only

Monthly E-Bulletin – Venue for stakeholders in the TBUSA network to share developments, news, and ideas, and to raise issues for feedback.

DVD of inspirational videos - (10 videos)
Actual Time Banks provide a window into Time Banking’s possibilities
A great tool for recruiting members and supporters.

Start-up Handbook for Member-led Time Banks – (46 pages). Step-by-step instructions for starting a Member-Led Time Bank – useful for all start-up Time Banks.

Community Weaver Software Subscription – Online software that allows Time Banks to track members’ listings and Time Dollar accounts.

Time Banks Grant Writing Notebook - (131 pages in Word format)
"Best of" paragraphs from past grant applications organized in six applications areas that are part of every grant application. Available as a Word document so you can cut and paste directly into your grant applications.
Seven full grant applications to give you a sense of how all the pieces of a grant application fit together
Three grant application forms to familiarize yourself with the language and typical questions used by grant making organizations.
29 pages of state-by-state listings of funding sources, plus where you can access databases listing more funding sources.

Time Banks Fund Raising Sourcebook - (85 pages in Word format)
Reprints of selected best practices in grassroots fundraising from the Grassroots Fundraising Journal
Over 50 fundraising event ideas to help you raise money for your Time Bank! Step-by-Step instructions, best practices and timelines save you time in planning.

Values - TB is about working together for a strong community and more effective social services. Recipients become partners and participants in building successful outcomes. Time Banks build grassroots, community-based social networks that value and reward the contributions of individuals who are working together with professional social service agencies to eliminate the sources of social injustice and inequity.

Work has to be redefined to value whatever it takes to raise healthy children, build strong families, revitalize neighborhoods, make democracy work, advance social justice, and make the planet sustainable. That kind of work needs to be honored, recorded and rewarded. The question: “How can I help you?” needs to change so we ask: “How can we help each other build the world we both will live in?”

Time Banking helps build a healthier relationship between the Core Economy, the economy of home, family, neighborhood and community. Price and the money economy does not value the kind of work it takes to create healthy homes, families and communities. Price is unable to mirror the social value of the work that we do in the Core Economy. In the Core Economy, exchanges are built on a sense of obligation and reciprocity, not price or supply and demand. Acts of pitching in, sharing, loyalty and love—not price—are the driving forces behind a healthy Core Economy. Time Banking values the contributions of individuals who have been overlooked by the monetary economy and can be used to provide new entry points for them into the monetary economy.