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Story: Anne Slepian had been thinking about ways to get to know the neighbors in her town of Arlington, Massachusetts, but like most busy women, the opportunities always seemed to slip away. Then one day, it occurred to her that the best way might be to share each other's hobbies, skills and talents through a neighborhood bartering system.

Slepian went door-to-door, sharing her brainstorm. "I took cues from what I saw," she says of her initial visits. "If there was a guitar in the background I asked them if they'd be willing to give lessons. Some people had tools they were willing to lend. Or they said, 'I have little kids and I would love to exchange babysitting with somebody.'"

Within days, Slepian had a four page list of names, phone numbers and items, but she soon realized nobody was willing to use it. "People weren't going to ask favors from people they didn't know personally."

Undeterred, she organized the first of what would be many neighborhood potluck dinners. Everyone who came wore a name tag indicating one thing they wanted to swap. "Once people got to know each other," Slepian said, "they were more inclined to call each other and say, 'Hey, I need help moving a couch.'"

Today, nearly 20 years later, Slepian's Neighborhood Exchange is still thriving. However, she says its true beauty is the close-knit, friendly community the Exchange helped to create. "It means a lot to people," she says. "It woos people out of the woodwork who want to interact in a neighborly way."

Become a Time Bank Coordinator

Are You a Community Weaver?

By now, you know that Time Banks are like members of a family—they come in different shapes and sizes, but at the same time, they share the same genes. Basic Time Banking is always the same: it’s about creating win-win exchanges using Time Dollars (or service credits) where every hour you contribute always equals one Time Dollar. All Time Banks also share the need to coordinate those exchanges. More than anything else, Time Bank Coordinators are community weavers and networkers. They know how to draw people together, recruit new members, and get them started on sharing their talents with your group!

There are six main leadership roles in a Time Bank—and it is usually the Coordinator’s role is to make sure they all work. Here they are:

Role I: Time Bank Ambassador

Member Recruitment

Role II. Membership Coordinator

Member Orientation
‘Keeping in Touch’
Making matches

Role III. Events Coordinator

Focuses on all group activities of the Time Bank

Role IV. Webmaster

Training New Members in On-Line Time Banking
Running the on-line community page

Role V. Administration

Collecting dues
Financials/Budgeting
Fundraising

Role VI. Team Leader

Makes sure that everyone is happily taking responsibility for their role.

If your Time Bank is really small or if it’s been designed to focus on a specific population or a narrow range of specific activities (like mentoring, for instance), then the chances are that these different leadership roles can be blended together. They may be taken on by two or three people. But as Time Banks get bigger and more multifaceted, the roles separate out and need to be taken care of separately.

Being a Team Leader

If you have individuals to take on the different leadership roles and tasks, the load becomes lighter for everyone. We all know that working together calls for trust, acceptance and willingness to take responsibility. The trick is to be very, very clear about each individual role and what is involved, so that people know exactly what they are responsible for, and don’t accidentally step on each other’s toes! Each of the roles is designed to be light and not require much coordination between them.

No matter how many people you have on your leadership team, it is a good idea to designate a support person or support team behind each leadership position. A person can be the leader in one role and the designated support person in another role. This way, if someone gets sick, busy or goes out of town, the work will still be covered. When it comes time to rotate the team roles, you will also have an understudy who is already familiar with your responsibilities.

A word about paid coordinators: there is often an expectation that paid coordinators will handle all the roles by themselves. The expectation may be unstated, or it may be explicit. Sometimes, the members have that expectation. Other times, the coordinator does. If it’s a Time Bank that’s been sponsored by an organization, it may be the management that puts pressure on the coordinator to do it all. But experience has taught us that even when Time Bank coordinators have a ton of enthusiasm and vision, it is best to create a leadership team to make sure that all the roles are done well. A coordinator is just one person, and the different roles call for many different skills and personality types.

In truth, Time Banking is all about mutual contribution, so creating a Time Bank where members are fully engaged and invested in its operations and management is vital to its success.

The Heart and Soul of a Time Bank

The Membership Coordinator is the heart and soul of a Time Bank. Membership Coordinators usually perform the team leader role as well. Here are some of the qualities a membership coordinator needs:
Above all, Membership Coordinators are warm, friendly and non-judgmental. You will also need:

Good listening skills
An ability to form accurate impressions of people
The ability to draw people out and help members discover what skills they have that are valuable to your community
To be very good at following up and making sure that everyone keeps their commitments

Knowing a lot of people in the community isn’t a core part of the membership coordinator role. What counts is that you know how to make people feel comfortable when you meet them. Coordinators are team players who know how to create an atmosphere that welcomes everyone—regardless of their race or background—into your Time Bank community.
More than anything else, though, membership coordinators know how to follow through and make sure that everyone keeps their commitments!

Make Sure You have a Full Team

When you look over the roles you’ll notice that many of them require quite different personalities.

The Time Bank Ambassador know lots of people and loves to meet new people all the time, but not necessarily in depth.
The Events Coordinator loves to throw parties.
The Web Master is the one person in your Time Bank who actually read the manual.
The Administrator loves to write and cross off lists.

No one is good at everything. Make sure you know your strengths and weaknesses. Strange to tell, but there is someone out there who loves to do the jobs that make you squirm. You’ll greatly increase the chance of success for your Time Bank if you can build a team of people who all love their role—and rotate them so they no one gets burned out.