Time Dollar Institute: Promoting A "Currency of Caring"
Living in a deeply distressed neighborhood can have devastating effects on residents' sense of personal efficacy and ties with the broader community. Resource exchange enterprises challenge these conditions by encouraging neighbor-to-neighbor help, which meets concrete needs, affirms the value of community members’ talents and contributions, and helps reweave the social fabric essential to community vitality. Most of these exchanges use an alternative currency called Time Dollars, an idea developed and promoted by Edgar Cahn and the Time Dollar Institute he founded. Elevating bartering to a community-wide basis, Time Dollars are earned by providing service to other network members and can be used, in turn, to "purchase" a variety of goods and services from network members and participating organizations.
This approach attracted Annie E. Casey Foundation interest during the design stage of Making Connections, offering a working model and tools to promote self-help and mutual support. Making a "bet" that Cahn and his ideas would be a valuable source of learning and guidance, the Foundation has provided about $1.6 million since 1998 to assure that a standing technical assistance capacity would be in place to help those interested in pursuing Time Dollar efforts.
- In January 2006, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that about 25,000 people in the United States and 60,000 internationally participate in Time Banks, strengthening the bonds among participants and increasing their effective purchasing power by the equivalent of millions of dollars.
- There are more than one hundred Time Bank programs in the United States, including two operated by Making Connections sites. Twenty-six other countries also have Time Banks. In November 2007, the International Time Banking Conference drew 238 leaders from thirty-one states and twelve countries. Other ideas developed by Cahn to allow clients of formal service systems to play a more active role in service provision are being adopted by organizations ranging from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association to England's National Health Service.
- After many years of substantial reliance on Annie E. Casey Foundation funding, the Time Dollar Institute, now renamed TimeBanks USA, presently also is receiving support from other foundations and donors. Further, the organization has adopted or is planning a number of strategies to generate income. Nonetheless, long-term sustainability remains a considerable challenge for both TimeBanks USA and local Time Banking programs.
For more information, view the full Time Dollar program profile, which Includes background on the program, why this was of interest to the Casey Foundation, and our return on investment.
Contact:
TimeBanks USA
5500 39th St NW
Washington DC 20015
202-686-5200
www.timebanks.org