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8/17 National Nonprofit Day

Aug 16th, 2020
by Monica.
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At BACE, we kick-off NND (#NationalNonprofitDay) by thanking you, Timebank members, for your membership and participation in community building through making requests/offers. We express our gratitude to our all-volunteer staff who operate the Timebank so that people can meet their needs regardless of income.  We encourage other nonprofit organizations to do more than just say “thank you” by becoming an organization member of the Timebank and showing gratitude for service (#GratitudeForService)  by giving your volunteers hours of credit.  

If you know of a nonprofit that supports itself with volunteers, please reach us here and provide the name of the organization and a contact so we can invite them to join the Timebank…and send you some time to spend.

A Call for Resources

Jul 30th, 2020
by Monica.
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At a time when many people are expressing lack–lack of work, sundries, hand sanitizer, or a good haircut–I’m surprised to hear people say “….timebanking is a nice idea, but that’s not how the real world works.”  Why not? Maybe social distancing rules prevent you from your job at a salon, but you can build your clientele by offering pointers on how to trim those mops in exchange for hours of credit.  When you go back to work who will they come to for a proper cut? Earn hours:  Do you know of someone offering free resources in the Bay Area?  Email us the contact information so we can list it on our Resources page, and you’ll receive 0.5 hour time credit for each resource you identify.

Timebanking During S-I-P

Jun 12th, 2020
by Monica.
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How can you timebank while sheltering-in-place? Think “services”.  Earn/spend hours engaging in education:  teach/learn to interpret art from a diversity of communities, to read music, to speak Spanish, to communicate with American Sign Language, or to sharpen your cooking skills. On the home front, give/receive support with grocery runs, Internet searches (for scholarships, an apartment, etc.), or home, bike & car repair. On the job front, give/receive support on developing a LinkedIn profile, creating a website to launch a member’s products, or hunting for jobs.  You can even earn hours promoting the Timebank this summer.

Timebanking Amidst Crises

Mar 28th, 2020
by Monica.
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Crises bring stress and impact your well-being–health, financial, emotional, social, spiritual–and can extend to impact your immediate and global communities. There are many ways to use your Timebank to cope when you are in a crisis. First, update your profile with your skills and needs, and reduce your “area” list to just one neighborhood if you’ve received too much email over the past year. Second, post requests and offers. Timebankers who have had their hours or their job(s) cut may be seeking help updating and proofreading their resumes.  Some may be seeking help from online researchers to access needed resources. Some Timebankers may need help developing a business plan for their new online business. Some may need advice on building remote working skills. Some may just need someone to listen to their concerns. Some may be students (or have kids) who are “in school”, but they are being homeschooled and learning online. There are a number of Timebankers who have extraordinary experience homeschooling and learning online, as I recently reached out to three of them. Your Timebank is a huge resource for you to use!

2020 New Year Potluck

Jan 4th, 2020
by Monica.
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Our first potluck this year is in Walnut Creek at Office Evolution, Sat. Jan 11, 6-8p! Join us and earn 2 hours. Potlucks build that community you want and facilitate exchanges. Bringing a dish is optional. RSVP at Meetup.com or at email us support at bace.org.

Member Survey Results

Jan 1st, 2020
by Monica.
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In 2019, we held our first membership survey, and Timebank volunteer Co-Directors responded swiftly to address key concerns mentioned by survey respondents. We learned that members joined the Timebank for ideological reasons of building community and an equitable economy but indicated that the Timebank has little relevance in their daily lives. Members cited lack of diversity of requests and offers, not knowing other members, and not knowing how to use the Timebank as barriers to using the Timebank. However, the majority of respondents said they would increase or maintain their frequency of use. Members asked for weekly digest of emails, a greater diversity of requests and offers, and more face-to-face events. Some expressed interest in leadership roles. 

In the first six months of 2019, Co-Directors responded with 

  • Regular, monthly remote meetings
  • More potlucks
  • Skills building seminar
  • Improved communication through Meetup.com
  • More frequent website blogs
  • How-to videos on using the Timebank
  • Diversifying membership by outreach to Sonoma & Alameda Counties
  • More events in Sonoma County
  • Adding two people to the email support team

Our Co-Directors are exploring ways to bunch or deliver only relevant requests/offers. For more information, please direct questions to Monica at support@bace.org.

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