Tampa Bay Time's Mission: To promote equality and build a caring, just and sustainable community-based economy through inclusive exchange of time and talent

Tampa Bay Time (TBT) is a community service exchange, also known as a “time bank,” a network of people and groups who are creating an economy of abundance for all by connecting untapped resources with unmet needs. The concept is simple. Members help a member or partner for an hour, earn an hour of credit and spend that credit on services offered by another participant. They document exchanges in this online database. Each hour of helping earns one TBT Hour, regardless of the activity. In short, all work is valued, and valued equally.

Individuals and groups that join Tampa Bay Time weave community one hour at a time, extending trust and reciprocity across social, economic, ethnic and linguistic lines. In the process we rebuild what economist Neva Goodwin calls the “core economy,” the unpaid work on which the market economy depends. TBT accounts have significant value, so we all agree to manage them with integrity, to issue time credits only for completed and otherwise unpaid work, and to use the TBT mission (above) and time banking’s five core values to guide all participation.

The Five Core Values that Guide All Participation and Decision Making

● Assets: Everyone is an asset: We all have something to give. ● Redefining Work: We redefine work to value whatever it takes to raise healthy children, build
strong families, care for elders, revitalize neighborhoods, make democracy work, advance social justice and make the planet sustainable. ● Reciprocity: Helping works better as a two-way street. ● Community: We need each other; networks are stronger than individuals. When people help each other, they reweave communities of support, strength and trust. ● Respect: Every human being matters. Respect for all means accountability to all. Community Partnerships, TBT & the Co-creation of Beneficial Results

Tampa Bay Time invites groups that are aligned with our mission and values to become partners and exchange services. By partnering, groups support each other’s operations, share resources, and increase community resilience. In the process of rewarding otherwise unpaid tasks, they also create jobs for TBT members who want work.

By liberating untapped resources, Tampa Bay Time Bank exchanges kick-start multiplier effects that ripple through communities. Every trade makes a two-sided contribution to a growing web of interconnections that bind people together & make everyone more secure, building resilience while reducing expenses for all.

For those interested learning more about the how time banks connect untapped resources with personal and community needs, we recommend a book by Dr. Edgar Cahn, the Father of Time Banking. It's No More Throwaway People: The Co-Production Imperative, and a limited number of copies are available for check-out.