Well, it's time to get moving on the Time Bank. I have some talking points worked out, have refreshed myself on the research, and now I just need to start scheduling time to talk with various people about the project. I figure I will start with the people I know best so that I have more leeway in my presentation (not that I'll be terribly formal, honestly), and then go from there. My plan is to ask for more contacts from each person I talk with, so as to widen the number of people I contact and get feedback from.
So I just need to pick up the phone and start calling. Yep, that easy.
And yet, I am hesitant. I am worried about what I have not thought of, what I may have failed to take into consideration. What have I missed? Is there some flaw, some piece of information that I have not seen or am missing that would explain why there isn't something like this already? I have no way of knowing that. The reasonable action plan is to just get started. If there is something that makes this a bad or unsustainable idea, it will come out in the conversations. That's why the groundwork is there in the first place.
I'm still worried. Perhaps instead of picking up the phone now, I should wait until Full Moon and make an announcement or talk to people in person to get things set up. Or maybe I should quit waiting all the time and just do it.
The benefits of a Time Bank are fabulous, I love what it could do for us as a community. I love the fact that it builds wealth, and does it in a way that we are already doing informally. It just takes our natural inclinations and systematizes them, making them more accessible and ramping up the wealth-building effects.
Perhaps I am just having pre-commitment jitters. I think I will go talk with G first. She and I have had several conversations about money and the local pagan community, and she is quite a long-standing leader here. That way, if I'm just way off base, she can go ahead and shoot me down without me doing a lot of legwork with people who like me enough to agree with me. That sounds like a good plan.
Whew! Feeling less nervous now. She will tell it to me straight.
Showing posts with label talking points. Show all posts
Showing posts with label talking points. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
(Rough) Time Bank Talking Points
Time Bank Talking Points
BASIC 5 STEPS:
1. People list the skills and experience they can offer and what they need.
2. Everyone's skills are valued equally: one hour always equals one time credit
3. Everyone agrees to both give and receive, to earn and spend time credits
4. A record is kept of all time credits spent and earned, ideally on open source software on an accessible website
5. Everyone is encouraged to spend their time credits to allow others the chance to earn and to keep flow in the system.
Wealth in the Community:
I have had several discussions about wealth and prosperity in our local pagan community. I have talked with clergy and leaders about issues around being paid, why it is unacceptable to many, and the problems that can create. I have talked with pagan artists who travel the festival circuit who assure me that Southern pagans are the poorest pagans in the country. And I have noticed that the pagans around me tend to be poorer than the Christians around me.
There are many pagans in this community that I do not know. I feel like we are a fractured community, divided geographically, ideologically, and interpersonally, and that it is easy to focus on our differences if there is no easy commonality to work from. I hope that a Time Bank can create a common sense of community, healthier interpersonal relationships, and most importantly, help build wealth for all of us.
Definition of a Time Bank: Exchanging hours of labor, Non-taxable, All hours valued equally, Values traditionally un- or under-valued work
Benefits of a Time Bank: Builds wealth in the community (Money as water metaphor), Builds connections in the community
Logistics of a running Time Bank: Need a software to run it (researching for open source software), Need an administrator to a lesser degree (I volunteer), May need a few cash dollars for website fees, etc. (Dues?)
Set up of Time Bank: Founding Committee (to decide things like: Name?, Dues for cash purposes?, Owed/Acquired limits, References required for child care, etc., Crafts policy (time plus cash for materials?), Transportation policy (gas money paid by whom?), Donations of hours voluntary? Required?, How pay administrator, etc.), Acquire software and set up website, Recruit and sign people up
Your Input: Initial reaction?, Concerns? Questions?, Level of interest (No thanks, Maybe, Sign me up, I’ll be on the committee)
Yes, many of us are already involved in exchanging know-how and energy with others in our immediate circles. Think about how much that may have helped you. A friend loaning a truck to help move, someone who can help repair a roof, the joy of playing with someone else’s kids while they take the night off. Think about how much richer our lives will be if we expand those circles of people to include more time, more energy, and more skills.
BASIC 5 STEPS:
1. People list the skills and experience they can offer and what they need.
2. Everyone's skills are valued equally: one hour always equals one time credit
3. Everyone agrees to both give and receive, to earn and spend time credits
4. A record is kept of all time credits spent and earned, ideally on open source software on an accessible website
5. Everyone is encouraged to spend their time credits to allow others the chance to earn and to keep flow in the system.
Wealth in the Community:
I have had several discussions about wealth and prosperity in our local pagan community. I have talked with clergy and leaders about issues around being paid, why it is unacceptable to many, and the problems that can create. I have talked with pagan artists who travel the festival circuit who assure me that Southern pagans are the poorest pagans in the country. And I have noticed that the pagans around me tend to be poorer than the Christians around me.
There are many pagans in this community that I do not know. I feel like we are a fractured community, divided geographically, ideologically, and interpersonally, and that it is easy to focus on our differences if there is no easy commonality to work from. I hope that a Time Bank can create a common sense of community, healthier interpersonal relationships, and most importantly, help build wealth for all of us.
Definition of a Time Bank: Exchanging hours of labor, Non-taxable, All hours valued equally, Values traditionally un- or under-valued work
Benefits of a Time Bank: Builds wealth in the community (Money as water metaphor), Builds connections in the community
Logistics of a running Time Bank: Need a software to run it (researching for open source software), Need an administrator to a lesser degree (I volunteer), May need a few cash dollars for website fees, etc. (Dues?)
Set up of Time Bank: Founding Committee (to decide things like: Name?, Dues for cash purposes?, Owed/Acquired limits, References required for child care, etc., Crafts policy (time plus cash for materials?), Transportation policy (gas money paid by whom?), Donations of hours voluntary? Required?, How pay administrator, etc.), Acquire software and set up website, Recruit and sign people up
Your Input: Initial reaction?, Concerns? Questions?, Level of interest (No thanks, Maybe, Sign me up, I’ll be on the committee)
Yes, many of us are already involved in exchanging know-how and energy with others in our immediate circles. Think about how much that may have helped you. A friend loaning a truck to help move, someone who can help repair a roof, the joy of playing with someone else’s kids while they take the night off. Think about how much richer our lives will be if we expand those circles of people to include more time, more energy, and more skills.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Case for a Pagan Time Bank
I did a good bit of research on Time Banks early last year as I was developing a plan for an alternative currency in my neighborhood. I preferred a fiat currency for that plan, but read up on everything before I chose that option. (FYI, it didn't go anywhere, but it might someday...sing along, now: Sooomme-daaaay....)
A Time Bank is basically a way to trade hours of labor where all hours of labor are valued exactly the same. It is non-taxable and by its nature values labor that has been un- or under-valued by the market. It builds wealth and interpersonal connections in the community, and functions best with 50-150 people.
I have recently been pondering the fact that pagans in this part of the country are poorer than pagans elsewhere, and that we are also poorer than the surrounding community. I think a big part of this is the fact that we do not have a culture of financial support, largely because we are small and scattered. We are factional based on geography, ideology, and interpersonal conflicts. I think that if we can shortcut these divisions by focusing not on how we are all different (and we are all quite individuals in our pagan practice), but on how we can support each other economically, then we can build community spirit and wealth.
My first step is to develop talking points in order to best explain what a Time Bank is and how and why I think it will be of benefit. The next step will be to initiate conversations with the members of the pagan community closest to me, see how they go, and ask them for referrals to other contacts. I will also make sure to survey their level of commitment/excitement.
Now to go refresh myself on the salient facts.
A Time Bank is basically a way to trade hours of labor where all hours of labor are valued exactly the same. It is non-taxable and by its nature values labor that has been un- or under-valued by the market. It builds wealth and interpersonal connections in the community, and functions best with 50-150 people.
I have recently been pondering the fact that pagans in this part of the country are poorer than pagans elsewhere, and that we are also poorer than the surrounding community. I think a big part of this is the fact that we do not have a culture of financial support, largely because we are small and scattered. We are factional based on geography, ideology, and interpersonal conflicts. I think that if we can shortcut these divisions by focusing not on how we are all different (and we are all quite individuals in our pagan practice), but on how we can support each other economically, then we can build community spirit and wealth.
My first step is to develop talking points in order to best explain what a Time Bank is and how and why I think it will be of benefit. The next step will be to initiate conversations with the members of the pagan community closest to me, see how they go, and ask them for referrals to other contacts. I will also make sure to survey their level of commitment/excitement.
Now to go refresh myself on the salient facts.
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