Time Dollars
How we can foster a sense of community and improve relationships by exchanging a resource more valuable than the almighty dollar: time.
Inflation currently sits at 7.9%, and a gallon of gas costs $4.14. Our ability to buy things with money is diminishing. We should look to time as a complimentary, measurable resource as a way to fill in the societal gaps where the USD fails.
Society Backdrop
In 2019, 10.5% of US households faced food insecurity. In 2020, that number doubled to 23%, and the trend continued into 2021. COVID-19 revealed an underlying economic rot in the US economy, and political inaction has exacerbated the struggle for many. Unfortunately, we also experienced a rise in anxiety, isolation, and deaths of despair while we were quarantined.
On top of that, political polarization is dividing Americans. It's all too common now to consider someone of a different political persuasion as “other,” and there's a widening gap between two political "tribes." Civil unrest is at its highest recorded levels since the Civil War.
One way to reduce political hostility and heal society is by encouraging and incentivizing collaboration. We need to remind one another that we can—and should—clean up our corner of the world together.
What could more directly illustrate the sort of togetherness we need than someone literally donating their time to help someone who needs it? Despite the dreary societal backdrop and our lingering economic uncertainty, many have risen to the occasion and provided help where possible.
Let’s look at the Boone County Unit of the Missouri Retired Teachers Association and School Personnel as an example. In 2020 (“year one” of Covid-19) members provided more than 25,000 hours of volunteer work to assist religious institutions, neighbors, and civic organizations.
The efforts of these volunteers injected an estimated monetary value of roughly $683,000 directly into their communities.
A Parallel Economy
These volunteers sought to address the void our traditional economic system has been unable to address: the need to provide every person a human-centered safety net. People need to know that others care about them. It’s human nature.
Helen Walker, CEO of TimeBank, stated, “Many ex-service men and women are in a state of crisis in their lives, with complex problems including financial hardship, homelessness, alcohol dependency and health issues. Volunteer mentoring can be a vital aid in their transition to sustainable, healthy and productive civilian lives.”
Timebanking is an idea that suggests we, our family, friends, and neighbors can exchange time instead of money to fill in the societal gaps that the USD economy misses. In this parallel, time-based economy, hours change hands instead of dollars. For clarity, we can just call these volunteering hours "Time Dollars."
The value of USD may be diminishing, but the value of time remains constant. One hour is always one hour. We can organize a system to exchange Time Dollars just like we already do with the banking system.
The goal of Timebanking is to synthesize the incentive structure of our financial system with an added priority to improve the lives of those participating in the system. It has the potential to revitalize relationships, liven up communities, and build one’s self-esteem through volunteerism in the process.
Do you think the retired teachers in Boone County, Missouri helped out at their local church for personal gain? The answer is likely no. Most volunteers donate their time to help those less fortunate, connect with others, and try to live a life of meaning. They see an opportunity to help and take simply take action.
Can Timebanking Work?
Edgar Cahn, dubbed "the father of Timebanking,” passed away in January 2022. His book, Time Dollars: The New Currency That Enables Americans to Turn Their Hidden Resource-Time-Into Personal Security & Community Renewal, paved the way to explore how time should be viewed as a resource capable of addressing poverty. He deemed Timebanking a solution to lifting up people and communities in need.
Just as a food bank operates, so too could a Timebank. Those who have extra food to give can look for and donate to a local organization that stores and distributes the inventory. This involves first buying food then traveling to the food bank to drop it off. Donated food sits as inventory at the bank, redeemable by anyone who needs it.
Time, however, doesn’t require storage. Timebanking could, and should, operate as simply as a mobile banking app or Venmo. Unfortunately, the current standard interface for Timebank management is somewhat cluttered; it leaves something to be desired. Modern software frequently looks and feels clean, smooth, and seamless... Timebanking deserves the same treatment.
There are currently 75 established timebanks recognized by Timebank USA. Membership and activity levels differ from timebank to timebank, though Community Weaver is generally the standard tool powering these timebanks. The experience appears bulky and remains without a mobile app. Municipal governments should always be working to improve community-building and collaboration, and prioritizing the creation and maintenance of a local timebank would be a step in the right direction.
The first focus of a municipal timebank should be sourcing input from the community on what volunteer services are top-of-mind for residents. The requests/offers categories and subcategories on Community Weaver are robust. However, too many options can cause something called “paralysis by analysis.” It’s that same feeling you get when you hop on Netflix or Hulu wanting to watch something, but you don’t know what to watch. You end up browsing and browsing before you eventually make a decision, or you leave because you’ve been scrolling for too long.
Engaging with a timebank would (and should) be as easy as simply donating food to a food bank or clothes to a homeless shelter. Timebanking needs a UI facelift to make its services intuitive and easy.
Moving Forward
To make Timebanking part of our day-to-day lives, any timebank coordinator needs to optimize for community adoption rate and total hours exchanged. Vital questions to ask throughout implementation include:
How many residents are members of the timebank?
What percentage of residents are members?
How many hours are being exchanged week over week?
What are the most common areas in which people are donating their time?
Can we measure the effect this local timebank is having on residents?
In our Digital Age economy, many feel little to no personal connection to their jobs, many are likely to look for meaning outside of traditional work. Timebanks have the power to help people find a sense of purpose and give back to others.
Local leaders should determine the most prescient areas of volunteering opportunities specific to their town or village. This way, Timebanking will become more targeted and more actionable. Some possible volunteer opportunities include daycare, gardening, cleaning, housework, and cleaning areas like business districts and parks in the community.
Watch the videos below to see how Timebanking is already helping people across the country. Not every initiative has to come with a dollar amount invested or include a target return on investment. Sometimes, all you need is time.
We can—and should—encourage togetherness however possible. Timebanking is one way we can work toward this goal at the community level. It serves as a prime example of thinking globally and acting locally.
Recognizing and addressing society-wide trends can improve the lives of our families, friends, and neighbors. Timebanking is a great place to start.