Recipe for a Member-Led Time Bank

What is it like to run a Member-led Time Bank? Well in some ways, I am writing from inside a fish bowl. I know how we've been approaching the challenge of getting the Cape Ann Time Bank up and running, but I don't have direct experience of a coordinator-led time bank to compare it to. I imagine that a lot of questions and issues that we bump into here are the same as other start-up time banks. How much should we charge for membership? What is the best time and place to offer orientations? Once people join, how do we get them to be active members?

Having said all that, I believe that what makes our effort different from a coordinator-led time bank lies in the structure and function of our leadership team. The Cape Ann Time Bank is now 7 months into active trading of services. We had decided that we would begin trading once we had 60 members signed up. Since then our membership has almost doubled (114 as of mid-April). But the origins of member leadership go back 6 months prior to the start of trading, a little over a year ago.

We began with passion , the #1 ingredient. It's the excitement projected into the future of what a successful time bank could look like - how it will weave neighbors into community, how it will provide services to area residents who might not be getting their needs met, how it will empower those who are currently only the recipients of services. This passion for what we are building has carried me and others on the leadership team (LT) through the inevitable setbacks any project like this brings with it.

Ingredient #2 is strong relationships. As I considered making a commitment to starting a local time bank, I was clear that I wanted a buddy to bounce ideas around with, to share the experience and to make it more fun. So I approached a longtime friend to ask if she would want to partner with me to create a local time bank. She and I had hosted a really enjoyable New Year's Eve party a few months before, and I knew we worked well together. Luckily for me (and for Cape Ann), I called at a moment when she was looking for a way to connect more deeply with the community, and a time bank fit perfectly for her. Along with her own strong sense of the vision to pull through tough moments, having her as a sounding board and moral support system has proven invaluable.

My friend and I brainstormed names of people we thought might join us as leaders and invited them to an information night. Which brings me to Ingredient #3 diversityof membership on the LT as well as among the membership. We were successful in drawing a range of ages, and income levels, both genders and a bit of racial diversity to the initial meeting. But as the LT has evolved over the year, we have lost some of the richness that the initial group represented. But the moral and practical support system that began between just two of us has expanded, and this has been a welcome development.

Picture 8 or 9 over-50s (age diversity is one of the things lacking) sitting around various kitchen and dining tables making decisions about how to make the time bank run successfully. Our age has rewarded us with experience, and our experience led us to want to build a system that was based on rotating leadership , Ingredient #4. In spite of our passion, we knew that over time, a diminishing core group of volunteer leaders would burn out and put the whole enterprise at risk.

Since January 2006 anyone can gather the essential ingredients of a member-led time bank and hold them in a bowl of support calledTimeBanks USA. One of the main purposed of TimeBanks USA is to support and nurture a network of member Time Banks located across the United States. Knowing that TimeBanks USA is there, eager to share the experience of local time banks around the country has provided both moral and practical support to our small enterprise.

For a small initial investment, $49, any local group can purchase TimeBanks USA start-up kit. Especially at the beginning, we used the Member-Led Handbook for guidance. Our plan was to take on the 6 leadership roles: Member Coordinator, Events Coordinator, Webmaster, Ambassador, Admin and Team Leader. Each leader agreed to hold the position for 6 months while working with an apprentice who would rotate into the Coordinator position after the 6 months had passed. So an expanded description of Ingredient #4 is an ever-replenished pool of people who are willing to take on leadership roles.

It is too soon to judge whether the rotating leadership plan is going to work. We were still just getting our sea legs at the six-month at the home of Mark, and all the Coordinators agreed to stay in their positions for a second six months. Each Coordinator is responsible for identifying the person who will become his or her apprentice. With early August as our transfer date, the Events Coordinator is the only one who has identified someone willing to take her place. The LT does have several members who contribute to the work of shaping the time bank but do not intend to become full Coordinators.

Ingredient #5 is money . To get the word out around town, we have printed large numbers of brochures, flyers and invitation cards. Someone with a computer printer will need a supply of ink cartrid and paper. The start-up kit as mentioned above will help any new group avoid reinventing the wheel. And the Community Weaver software which is also essential to the succgesess of member-led time banks is free for a 3-month trial and well worth the annual fee to participate fully.

I think that's about it. Hopefully as other member-led time banks join the TimeBanks USA network and contribute their experiences, we can add to and refine this recipe. ---by Nancy Goodman