Mission Statement and History
Mission Statement
Welcome to the Bay Area Community Exchange! We are a network of individuals who share our skills, knowledge, and abilities with one another. We contribute hours of service to our community so that all of our lives become richer. BACE members believe in the values of trust, respect, and cooperation as the foundation for an new economy based more on relationships and care rather than profit and greed. We believe that there is no need for the scarcity that is artificially created by the centralized monetary system we have been using to facilitate most of our exchanges. In reality, we are only limited by our time and creativity, which is in much more abundant supply than US dollars. There is much work to be done to create a better world where everyone is taken care of, including the Earth. We can use the timebank to help us do this important work.
Instead of paying each other for services received with US dollars, we provide service to our community. The person we help one day returns the favor and helps someone else later on. The hours each person contributes to the community are logged on this website.
The timebank project is currently in a pilot phase and we’re rapidly growing the number of active members. Our goal is to test the system with 50 hours to develop a base of services on the site, gain experience with the system, and put together orientation materials for new members.
Future Growth
If the BACE TIMEBANK works the way we expect it to, we can make contributions as an organization to other worthy community projects such as food banks, free medical clinics, community educational opportunities, and much more.
Over time, the BACE Timebank might be involved in developing an alternative paper currency. This form of money could make it easier for small retail businesses to join the system.
Learn more:
- Visit the BACE wiki: http://wiki.sfbace.org/index.php?title=Timebank
- Attend an upcoming event or meeting. Our calendar is available on the right side of the homepage http://timebank.sfbace.org/
- Join our email listserve http://lists.sfbace.org/listinfo.cgi/timebank-sfbace.org
**Note**
We share our name, BACE, with an umbrella organization in the Bay Area that provides research and development support, incubation of alternative exchange projects, and education for the local community about economic issues. More information is available at http://www.sfbace.org
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http://timebank.sfbace.org/practice
