*** NEXT NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION: SUNDAY, May 12TH, 2012*** 4PM sharp – 5pm) at SOMA VIDA – 1210 Rosewood Ave. 78702
This year holds some exciting opportunities for the Austin Time Exchange Network to grow and flourish, and it may be the right time for you to get involved!
Leadership Within the next 4 months, we would like to fill at least one seat on the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is a consensus-based group and it’s purpose is to keep the organization focused on its mission, which is to “[provide] a complementary currency that enables members to build community through the exchange of services.” In addition, Board members are actively engaged in the various tasks of running the organization. Ideal candidates for the board will be active in the network and/or exquisitely suited to ATEN’s purpose, and have skills in one or more of these areas: public relations, event coordination, outreach, technology, grant-writing, or their own unique contribution.
Running and growing this organization requires help, which can roughly be divided up into these categories, or committees:
Recruiting – Talk up ATEN to your friends and associates, neighborhood or activity groups, to other organizations you’re a part of, to service providers you go to, etc. This could also involve disseminating literature (a.k.a. “fliers”).
Outreach/Organizational Liaising – To function at our top capacity, ATEN needs to have regular opportunities for many people to earn hours at once. This can be achieved through partnerships with organizations and projects which need lots of volunteers. Liaisons would help make those connections with the organizations needing help and organizing the opportunities to earn hours, as well as working with the org to plan how they can even out their ATEN balance.
Orientations – Learning to lead an orientation is pretty simple, and very needed! Just show up to an orientation to observe, then become empowered to activate new members. You could start a regular orientation in your part of town, or within another group you are a part of, etc.
Event organizing – Think up ways of rallying community spirit, or even just getting people together socially, all in the interest of encouraging exchanges… the sky’s the limit!
Content - Writing, researching and documenting are all skills that we are need of for blog and newsletter content. Let’s be a team!
Our membership is in the hundreds, but our organization is teeny-tiny… let’s work together to support ATEN’s growth. Contact the board members at info@austintimeexchange.org to get involved.
*** NEXT NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION: SUNDAY, APRIL 15TH, 2012*** 4PM- 5PM (please be on time…) at SOMA VIDA – 1210 Rosewood Ave. 78702
followed by our 6th-year Celebration, a Tax-Free! Potluck + Soiree from 5-7pm!
This year holds some exciting opportunities for the Austin Time Exchange Network to grow and flourish, and it may be the right time for you to get involved. Running and growing this organization requires help, which can roughly be divided up into these categories, or committees:
Recruiting – Talk up ATEN to your friends and associates, neighborhood or activity groups, to other organizations you’re a part of, to service providers you go to, etc. This could also involve disseminating literature (a.k.a. “fliers”).
Outreach/Organizational Liaising – To function at our top capacity, ATEN needs to have regular opportunities for many people to earn hours at once. This can be achieved through partnerships with organizations and projects which need lots of volunteers. Liaisons would help make those connections with the organizations needing help and organizing the opportunities to earn hours, as well as working with the org to plan how they can even out their ATEN balance.
Orientations – Learning to lead an orientation is pretty simple, and very needed! Just show up to an orientation to observe, then become empowered to activate new members. You could start a regular orientation in your part of town, or within another group you are a part of, etc.
Event organizing – Think up ways of rallying community spirit, or even just getting people together socially, all in the interest of encouraging exchanges… the sky’s the limit!
Content - Writing, researching and documenting are all skills that we are need of for blog and newsletter content. Let’s be a team!
Leadership
Within the next 4 months, we would like to fill at least one seat on the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is a consensus-based group and it’s purpose is to keep the organization focused on its mission, which is to “[provide] a complementary currency that enables members to build community through the exchange of services.” In addition, Board members are actively engaged in the various tasks of running the organization. Ideal candidates for the board will be active in the network and/or exquisitely suited to ATEN’s purpose, and have skills in one or more of these areas: public relations, event coordination, outreach, technology, grant-writing, or their own unique contribution.
** (Next new member gathering: Sunday, March 11th – 4pm @ Soma Vida – 1210 Rosewood Ave.)**
Bridging the Gap
by Bill Crumley
When I was a youngster with a dollar bill I could get a school lunch, a haircut, a bus ride, and a candy bar. And I still had twenty cents left. Several persons have told me: “We were poor then but we didn’t know it. In terms of the amount of money they had, they were poor. In terms of their ability to obtain necessary goods and services they were not poor. That is the truth that “time banks” recognize. One of these “time banks” is the Austin Time Exchange Network (ATEN) in Austin, Texas. The stated goal of ATEN is “to serve as a bridge between people from different economic, social, and ethnic backgrounds by providing the opportunity for interaction through the exchanging of services. All of this aims to encourage systemic social change, economic equality, and community empowerment in Austin.”
The goal of ATEN is not to increase the money supply. The goal is to serve as a BRIDGE between people from different economic, social and ethnic backgrounds. The reason for building the bridge is not simply exchanging services. The Network is founded to help bring about social change. This change is to help create economic equality. The basic unit of exchange is a not a dollar which is a debt. The basic unit is an hour of service which is an asset, not a liability. Rather than a dollar which is created by a central bank, the hour of service is created in the local community by the members of the community. The members create their own currency. This greatly empowers the community.
ATEN and other “time banks” are possible because of rising costs and lower income. In addition to these obvious difficulties people were also aware that they were taking less care of one another. There was a breakdown of families and of neighborhoods. There was less personal contact. Truly they are more than barter networks. They are “time banks”. The time we invest in bettering ourselves and our community is the real wealth of any community.
Next Orientation for new members = 4pm Sunday, Feb. 12th
(& Membership Potluck =5pm!)
@ Soma Vida, 1210 Rosewood Ave. 78702
Our last new member gathering, at Peaceful Village Acupuncture, went fantastically. So many interesting people ready to build community through trading services! The Creating Commerce Circle afterward was a chance for folks to talk a little more in-depth about what they are involved with, what they are passionate about, and how they spend their time. Thao Photography was also there, and she captured these photos:
The next gathering of the Austin Time Exchange Network is January 22nd @ Peaceful Village Acupuncture (2919 Manchaca Rd., Suite 104-A 78704).
New member orientation is from 2pm to 3.
From 3 until 4, join us for a Creating Commerce Circle – - this is an opportunity to talk briefly (5 minutes) about something you do that you want others to know about! We all have services that we want to offer for time exchange; it can be this that you choose to talk about, or your business that could use more exposure, a social cause you are working for, or anything else that could benefit from more word-of-mouth promotion. This is a low-stress environment, so it’s a great opportunity to practice talking about why you are excited about what you do (if self-promoting is not your forté).
Thanks to Mary Kraemer of Rosa Milagrosa for starting the Commerce nights in early 2010…
P.S. There is a link to a map on the calendar to the right.
For all of my adult life, I’ve been on a tight month-to-month budget. Combine this with having a big family and an aversion to shopping, and you can see why the Christmas season always leaves me feeling pretty inadequate. HOWEVER… all is not hopeless, even if I have very little money to spend! I can still offer hand-made gifts, vouchers for my own services, AND vouchers for services that are being offered on the Austin Time Exchange Network!
Did I hear design changes are on the way for this blog?
I did.
Did someone say that many new members are joining and becoming volunteers for A.T.E.N. these days?
Why, yes!
That means more engagement for your web-weary eyes, more orientations, more presence at events in our community, and more helpful interactions for us all. Trust people, not dollars! (Or… at least as much as dollars?) You, too, can help these things happen and more, just ask info@austintimeexchange.org.
NEXT ORIENTATION+POTLUCK = Sunday, November 13th, 2011 : : Soma Vida,
1210 Rosewood Ave. 78702 …. 4pm (orientation), 5pm (potluck).
Check for updates frequently, as we are definitely feeling a rumbling.
The Austin Time Exchange Network Board members work to keep ATEN’s mission focused. You can build groups or make exchanges for a variety of purposes, but if you feel you need any support, please feel free to reach out to one of us, or email the entire board at info@austintimeexchange.org.
Sheila is a working mom of two and 15 year resident of Austin. Her interests include gardening/farming, and child development and sewing. She runs several businesses that keep her busy including Urban Explorer Camp and Sheilasewing. Sheila believes that everyone should get what they need regardless of the amount of legal US currency they have or don’t have.
Sheila Gordy Community Outreach sheila@austintimeexchange.org
Amanda Jones has been in Austin since 2005, striving to manifest artistic impulses and engage communities with creativity. She joined ATEN in the summer of 2009. Prior to putting down roots in Austin, Amanda studied Arts and Social Change at Hampshire College (Massachusetts) and briefly in South Africa.
Amanda Jones Community Outreach amanda@austintimeexchange.org
Rich is a software developer who works with many nonprofit and community groups in the interests of empowering them through technology. He is one of the co-founders and current Board President of Lights. Camera. Help. He is also on the Board of EFF-Austin and is webmaster for Cine Las Americas. His current causes include promoting open source software, creative commons and computer security. @drapetomaniac
The Austin Time Exchange Network (ATEN) provides a complementary currency that enables members to build community through the exchange of services.
In Practice
Typically, exchanges within ATEN can include nearly any skill or trade: computer or office assistance, minor home repair, painting, cooking, running errands, yoga classes, massage, tutoring, yard services, moving help, haircutting, housecleaning, language translating, etc. any service that one would generally pay for in the day to day.
When an Austin Time Exchange member offers a trade or skill to another member, the individual providing the service earns Exchange Shares, the unit of credit exchanged within the Austin Time Exchange. Each time a member performs one hour of work, regardless of the type of skill offered, one Exchange Share is earned by that person. A member will be given one Exchange Share for every hour of service performed for another in the network, whether they are providing acupuncture, gardening, house painting, tutoring, piano teaching, or any other service. Each member's hour of service is seen as being of equal value.
There is no physical trading of Exchange Shares. Rather, an online account keeps track of the Exchange Shares earned and spent between members. The member receiving a service from another member is the entity responsible for recording or paying through using the online system. Exchange Shares can be saved indefinitely or spent on any service that another member of the ATEN community has to offer.
Most exchanges will be coordinated through the web-based LETS (Local Exchange Trading System) software specifically developed for Time Banking programs. Through using this online program, members can develop a profile, list their services, review the requests and offers of other members, and record exchanges. The program allows members to observe activity on their account in a similar manner that one could view on a bank's online checking account register.
Steps to Membership
Attend an orientation
While exchanges are now coordinated more easily through the use of the internet, there is still a great need in Time Exchanging to maintain contact with the Austin Time Exchange community and the coordinator of the Time Exchange to foster new connections and maintain accountability. Attending an orientation session is a requirement before you can be accepted as a member. This ensures that all members have a shared understanding of Time Exchange. Check the calendar on the right side of the homepage for details on the time and place of the next orientation.
Become a part of the on-line Time Exchange
Once you attend an orientation meeting with a coordinator, you will be granted access to the online system so that you can develop your profile.
Begin exchanging services
Create a posting asking for a service you would like to receive or respond to another members request.
Attend Time Exchanging potlucks and events
Part of the mission of the Time Exchange is to build community, as friends, neighbors, and acquaintances will come together to form the core of the Time Exchange. Through one-on-one exchanges as well as Time Exchange gatherings, the Time Exchange creates constant opportunities to rebuild community. Usually, there is a monthly potluck held @ 5pm on the Second Sunday after the orientation at SomaVida, but be sure to check the calendar for the most up-to-date information.
Sheila is a working mom of two and 15 year resident of Austin. Her interests include gardening/farming, and child development and sewing. She runs several businesses that keep her busy including Urban Explorer Camp and Sheilasewing. Sheila believes that everyone should get what they need regardless of the amount of legal US currency they have or don’t have.
Rich is a software developer who works with many nonprofit and community groups in the interests of empowering them through technology. He is one of the co-founders and current Board President of Lights. Camera. Help. He is also on the Board of EFF-Austin and is webmaster for Cine Las Americas. His current causes include promoting open source software, creative commons and computer security. @drapetomaniac
