A SHORT DESCRIPTION
Time banking is a pay it forward system. When you spend an hour doing something for your neighbor you earn a Time Dollar. Then, you can spend that Time Dollar to have someone in your community do something for you. The person who does something for you also earns a Time Dollar, and the cycle continues. It's important to understand that everyone's time is equal. For example, a doctor's hour is worth a weed puller's hour.

In Portland, ME-not Portland, OR-600 people are exchanging 800 different types of services such as walking dogs, tutoring children, taking seniors to the hospital, massages, and health care.

There are approximately 65 time banks in communities around the US and 300 around the world. These timebanks are in countries ranging from Japan to England and Kenya to Spain.

FAQ

Q: Isn’t it a kind of bartering?
A: Yes, but you don’t have to pay back the person that does you the favor. It’s a pay it forward system where you return the favor to someone else. That’s one of the reasons people find it so much easier to do things for others in a time banking system. You don’t have to figure out what to give back to the person who helped you. You can choose how to pay it forward doing what you want, when you want. It is also different than bartering because an hour is always the same, regardless of the help you give or receive. And it is not taxable. In normal bartering, you have to declare the value of the goods and service you receive to the IRS. There’s an IRS private letter ruling that Time Dollar exchanges are tax-exempt.

Q. Why would a doctor be willing to accept the same amount for their time as someone who’s pulling weeds?
A: It’s an easy way for professionals who are ready to give back to do volunteering without having to go someplace on someone else’s schedule. They can just set aside 10% of their appointment calendar for timebank members.


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