What is SkillShare?
SkillShare on Channel 7
SkillShare is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that provides an easy way for residents of Boulder County to share time, skills, and resources — just as our grandparents once did — within a cooperative system in which members earn and bank Time Dollars for every hour of service they give to someone else.
SkillShare members provide a wide variety of services, such as computer consulting, home repair, career counseling, cooking, gardening, massage, home and pet care, tutoring, music and art instruction, and life and sports coaching. Read more about services SkillShare members currently offer and services SkillShare members currently are requesting.
SkillShare members are diverse in age, interests, and background; they live in such places as Boulder, Erie, Gunbarrel, Hygiene, Longmont, Louisville, Lyons, Nederland, Niwot, and Superior.
Our Mission Statement
“Build community by facilitating networks of people helping each other”
Reconnecting Neighbors and Community Organizations
Neighbors have been helping neighbors for years, yet in the hustle and bustle of modern life, we are losing touch with the pleasures of being in community. SkillShare uses the Internet to reintroduce neighbors to each other and the joys of doing things for others in reciprocal relationships.
In addition, SkillShare supports local neighborhoods and community organizations in developing their own neighbor-to-neighbor exchanges within our larger network.
SkillShare also supports collaboration with local nonprofits to develop Time Dollar projects that can address needs in our community, such as affordable housing and medical care, unemployment and underemployment, building community between recent immigrants and the larger community, educational programs, and access to services and skills for impoverished elders, single parents, and their families. Read more about community building programs supported by SkillShare’s partners.
Part of Time Banking Movement
SkillShare is a member of Time Banks USA, part of the international Time Banking movement, now in 22 countries and six continents, which is creating new ways of sharing resources based on cooperation and mutual aid.
Time Banks run on a “no-cash economy,” recognizing the importance of every individual and creating systems where everyone benefits and everyone’s skills are equally valued.
SkillShare is based on the four core values of Time Banking:
- Assets. Every person is an asset and has something to give, regardless of whether they are paid or not.
- Reciprocity, Individuals, families, and communities are empowered when everyone gives and everyone receives. We all need each other.
- Redefining Work. Work needs to be redefined to include all the efforts and skills that contribute to a society, including such unpaid work as care giving and childrearing. Time Banks recognize and reward that work.
- Social Capital. People are the strength and foundation of society. Individuals and families who are actively engaged in networks of caring and support build strong and sustainable communities.
SkillShare History
The beginnings of SkillShare were in 2001 at the KidFest in Boulder as part of The Renaissance Projects. At that time, SkillShare was a small, informal hour-to-hour exchange, which did not endure. It reopened in early 2003 with the support of the Commons Community Center and founder Octavia Allis at the Boulder Food Coop.
Octavia worked very hard the first three years to create the infrastructure for a more enduring Time Bank. Back then there was no ready-made software to easily run a Time Bank, so Octavia used her own software to keep track of things. She obtained SkillShare’s nonprofit status within Colorado, set up the bank account, acted as the Time Bank broker to facilitate exchanges between members, and pulled together a “kitchen cabinet” of committees and a board of directors.
In 2005, SkillShare began using Time Bank USA’s Community Weaver software program, which allows members to conduct all their Time Banking business via the Internet on the SkillShare website. In the spring of 2007, SkillShare allowed members of Time-Exchange Network to transfer their membership to SkillShare. SkillShare is now experiencing unprecedented growth, and currently has over 100 members.
More Information
For details about SkillShare and how it works, read the frequently asked questions about SkillShare.