TimeBucks.org - To Donate, Trade, or Find Services

Community-focused TimeBucks.org is an innovative online forum for donating, trading, or finding services. According to TimeBucks.org, most of its participants “just want to share a talent or support an organization they care about,” which should tell you something about this site’s laid-back, not-for-profit mentality. TimeBucks.org functions around its own currency, called “time-bucks.” All services are valued at a standard rate of 15 time-bucks per hour. To earn time-bucks, you can donate services you’re able to provide, or purchase them for $1 USD per time-buck. Once you have time-bucks, you can trade them for services you need (searchable by category, keyword, and/or zip code) or donate the time-bucks to a participating nonprofit or community group. Participating charities receive 85 cents for every time-buck donated on their behalf ($12.75 per hour), with the remainder covering overhead for the website.

The services traded on TimeBucks.org span dozens of categories, such as Health & Beauty, Education/Mentoring, Fixing Up, Music/Drama/Dance, and Outdoor Work/Gardening.

“Use this site to share your skills and find services you need. Posted services are usually less formal and less profit-oriented than other directories. Most people who provide services just want to share a talent or support an organization they care about… We encourage the non-commercial nature of our community by setting a one-price-for-everybody policy: 15 ‘time-bucks’ is equal to one hour of service.”

TimeBucks.org will appeal to busy people who still want to make a difference and get involved in their communities, since there is such a minimal time requirement. And if you could get an hour-long professional massage in exchange for, say, an hour of dog-walking… wouldn’t you go for it? Timebucks.org makes these sorts of trades possible, without any cash changing hands.

Can this site get enough traffic and donations of services to gain the initial momentum it needs? Should it focus on certain geographic areas until the site picks up a bit more, since so many of the services – like babysitting, yard work, massage, guitar lessons, etc. – require geographic proximity for the trades to work?