What IS an Hour Exchange? What IS Time Banking?
An Hour Exchange and Time Banking are just two different terms for the same idea. The idea is… “a member provides a service to another member.
And it’s a lot like volunteering, but, in return, they earn one time dollar, which is not a piece of paper. People write it down, but eventually they enter it into a computer program.
And the time dollar they earn, they can then spend on the service of another member who’s in the whole time banking system. A time dollar is an hour.
So, an hour earns you a time dollar, no matter what the service, so that right away is a radical departure from the formal economy, where different services are worth different things, depending on scarcity and supply and demand.
In this case, in a community, everybody’s time is equal. So, economists, for that reason, often find this completely foolhardy and incomprehensible. And, fortunately, so does the IRS, because that is considered a noncommercial transaction, and therefore nontaxable.” ~RICHARD ROCKEFELLER, founder, Hour Exchange Portland
How much does it cost to be a member?
Nada! Membership is absolutely free!
What services can I get?
Anything! Everything! …that is anything and everything that our members offer. So, if there is a service that you need, but there’s not a member that offers it, find a person that offers it and tell them about our group. Invite them to join!
Who can join?
Anyone! Everyone!
How do I keep track of my hours?
With this amazing, free software. Hours are submitted and tracked online… kind of like a bank account.
What services are offered?
The list is constantly growing as new members join and add their talents. Here is a list of our current offers.
I think that it would be helpful, when considering joining, to see what kinds of services are available: what kind of community I’m joining. I would be more likely to join if I saw some services that I could make use of and can offer other things; for example, I wouldn’t want to join only to find out that most of the services are for babysitting, horse care or tattooing- none of which I can make use of! Thanks!
Good point! We do have that option. I thought I had added it to the site, but it looks like I haven’t. I need help with the website. It’s not my thing! Here’s a link… https://hourworld.org/bank/Services.php?hw=1089 I hope it helps some. 😉