AARP The Magazine - February/March 2012

Community Exchange, an initiative of
the Lehigh Valley Health Network, runs
on a simple concept: For each hour of
service that members give, they earn
an hour’s worth of alternative cur-
rency known as time dollars, which
can be traded for services from other
members. Arendt joined the time
bank four years ago, earning time
dollars by driving other members to
medical appointments. When she
recently needed housepainting done,
she withdrew 36 hours of credits
to hire a 12-member work crew for
three hours. At an estimated $15 an
hour for labor, the paint job would
have otherwise cost $540, Arendt
says. Minus the time investment, the
project “only cost me for the paint.”
Time banking is the brainchild of
law professor Edgar Cahn, whose
books Time Dollars and No More
Throw-Away People describe how
trading services—everything from
haircuts and dance lessons to weath-
erization and health care—can
strengthen communities. About 270
time exchanges exist nationwide;
memberships range from a few
dozen to several thousand. Models
vary, but all time banks rely on the
collective power of members who
deposit and withdraw hours from a
central account, often managed with
increasingly sophisticated software
tools. Unlike bartering, which places
a cash value on goods and services
(and is taxed accordingly), time bank
services are considered charitable
acts informally traded among mem-
bers of a group. This reciprocity gives
time banks an impact beyond the
pocketbook, says Cahn: They free
members from “feeling trapped and
powerless to make a change upward
in their quality of life.”
Time dollars earn no interest
and have no equivalent monetary
value. Each hour of one member’s
service equals an hour of another’s,
Bank On It
How to join a time bank—or launch your own

Whether you are interest-
ed in joining a time bank
or starting one, the go-to
authority is TimeBanks
USA, a Washington, D.C.,
nonprofit with a deep
bench of expertise in
cash-free currency. On its
website (timebanks
.org) you’ll find links to
time banks nationwide,
related resources and ar-
ticles, and Community
Weaver 2.0, an open-
source software tool for
recording time credit bal-
ances. To flourish, says
TimeBanks USA founder
Edgar Cahn, a fledgling
time bank must have
both an online hub and
a quid pro quo spirit:
“You’ve got to use the ca-
pacity of the Internet and
allow each member to
help carry the burden.”
Here are a few other tips
for prospective bankers:

Identify your goals,
potential member-
ship, and resources for
support. It takes real cash,
not time dollars, to man-
age a time bank. Those
that succeed typically
have part-time paid staff.
Get advice from
other time banks
and decide on an organi-
zational structure. Many
banks are affiliated with a
sponsor such as a
community nonprofit.
Limit your bank’s
boundaries. Time
banks generally organize
around neighborhood
clusters of about 150 to
300 people.
Engage new
members quickly.

The sooner fledgling
members make their first
transaction, the more
likely they’ll forge a com-
mitment, says Kim
Hodge, founder of the
Michigan Alliance of
TimeBanks. —S.S.
regardless of market value. Stuffing
envelopes is worth exactly as much
as preparing a tax return, mending
a pair of socks, or rewiring a lamp.
By placing the same value on all ser-
vices, time banks not only avoid tax
issues; they encourage members to
share abilities that might not have
much cash value but can do much to
help neighbors. At Partners in Care,
a Maryland time bank started in 1993
to provide transportation for seniors,
members such as Helen Carter, 83,
can earn credits volunteering in the
organization’s thrift shop. Carter uses
her earnings for plumbing, electri-
cal, and flooring work in her Severna
Park, Maryland, home. Turning to
Partners in Care’s registry of trades-
people has saved her thousands of
dollars, Carter says: “You know what
a plumber costs, don’t you?”
Partners in Care CEO Barbara
Huston says the organization’s 400
volunteer drivers gave 9,000 rides
last year, saving members about
$150,000 in taxi fares. The savings
are meaningful, but just as important

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