Timebank Toolkit: a working guide for Timebank Coordinators
Keeping the core values of reciprocity and community – and the people who bring it to life – at heart.
Who is this toolkit for?
We aim to benefit:
- the coordinators, steering committees, and admins, of Aotearoa / New Zealand’s timebanks
- new or old, big or small, rural or urban
- the practice of timebanking, in its many flavours
Introduction
During the second half of 2021 Wellington Timebank funded a research project which was tasked with developing a toolkit for Timebank coordinators and administrators. The broad purpose of the research was to document our collective experience and to use the findings to provide administrators with this toolkit.
We have added links to the most useful documents generated by the project in a single page which you may want to bookmark.
After talking with numerous timebank staff and coordinators, we want to share with you what we found to be the best tools, tech, and processes you can use to help your timebank flourish (and share it onwards!)
Setting up a Timebank
Section one: Setting up a Timebank
This section looks at everything needed in setting up a timebank. How do you form a core group? How do you secure funding for your group? How do you build your community? While we mostly point to other’s resources (such as, “How to Build a Timebank”) to respond to these questions, this toolkit includes a wealth of knowledge we’ve gathered about choosing a platform for Timebanking, running activities, and considerations for managing a website.
Membership and Administration
Section two: Membership and Administration
This section helps you with the nuts and bolts of things like sign-up, membership administration, and onboarding. Getting people to join your Timebank and managing the processes involved is not as simple as it appears. It can be time-consuming, especially when you are assisting several people at once. It will cover reference checks, process management, police checks, and orientation sessions.
Running a Timebank
Section three: Running a Timebank
This section deals with communications, networking, and engagement. Find help with newsletters, social media engagement, content creation, and what apps and software to use; you’ll also find tips and tools regarding monthly meetings and organisation guidelines.
Contribute
This work was started with the generous support of Lotto NZ, but has, and will always be, a labour of love, grown out of soil tilled by many hands. If you would like to make suggestions, add links, etc., please get in touch or go ahead and make suggestions by visiting github.com/fyodorovich/Timebank-Toolkit.