The Circle of Giving

Neighbor-to-Neighbor Time Banks

Time Banking is about local individuals helping each other out, one-on-one or with group projects. They help rebuild neighborhood networks and strengthen communities.

Time Banking can be as simple as a group of moms getting together to share carpooling kids to activities. It can also include services like child care, grocery shopping, taking care of elderly parents, walking dogs, and helping out with homework. The kinds of services people share in a Time Bank depend entirely on what their group or community needs.

Many Time Banks start small and add services as they go along, but that’s not always the case. In some communities, people have started Time Banks with a particular aim in mind: to create networks of companionship and support for isolated and lonely members of the community—elderly or immigrant groups, for example.

One-on-One exchanges

The following cartoon shows how the exchanges among Time Bank members happen and the kinds of services the members of a Time Bank might exchange.

For a larger image, please click here (pdf)

Stanley and his friends are part of a Time Bank where members exchange services to help one another. The picture shows how members’ exchanges reweave community as they circle round.

How Do One-on-One Exchanges Take Place?

The way the exchanges happen is pretty simple. In a nutshell:

Let’s say you need someone to help out in the garden for two hours. If your Time Bank uses our web software, you can find another member and set up the exchange with email.

If your Time Bank is not online, all you have to do is call up your Time Bank and tell them what you need and when. Your Time Bank Coordinator will check the member records for a "match," call them up, and call you to confirm.

Your Time Bank friend comes by and helps out in the garden.

The time is reported and logged in the Time Bank. You’ve spent two Time Dollars for two hours of garden help. Your friend has two Time Dollars to spend.

Some day down the road, you’ll get a call from your Time Bank Coordinator or an email from another member asking you: would YOU like to help someone else or join a community project and earn some Time Dollars?

There are Time Banks like Stanley’s all over the world. To see where they are located, take a look at the TimeBanks USA member directory and map in the Where Do I Start? section of this site.