Good Money Alliance

The GOOD MONEY ALLIANCE is organizing to have Chicago become a Good Money City in 2028 

  • We are building that Alliance right now. In Stage 1, we will be 100 individuals and 12 founding organizations, each ready to record at least one exchange a month on TimeExchanges.com. 
  • When I help you for 10 minutes and record the transaction, your obligation is to help someone, who then helps someone, who helps someone… Each time one of us helps someone, it ripples out through our connections, strengthening our community and well-being. 
  • Founding organizations: Northwest Austin Council & Community conversation show on Westside issues, Westside Rising, Welcome to Fatherhood, Community meals at rotating places, Life in Community Solutions Association, Covenant Outreach Services, Diondai's Place Breast Cancer Support Group, Advocates for Community Wellness, National Women Veterans United 
  • Founding members: Barry Koren, Steve Robinson, Dale Cain, Raheem Young, Felice Bassuk, Cornelius Rogers, Diana Mireles, Maurice Todd, Tevon Deveaux, Diondai Brown-Whitfield, Ella Houston, Tiny Evans, Rochelle Crump

 

Vision

By 2028, most Chicagoans carry two cards — one for dollars, one for time credits.
Every hour of labor is valuable. This dual-currency system keeps people working, services running, and communities connected—even when federal dollars dry up. Time currency replaces lost federal dollars. 

Impact: Hospitals stay staffed, nonprofits stay open, and city programs continue delivering for residents. Caring and doing good become currency. Hope and opportunity spread.

 

The context 

  • Crisis: Trump-era budget cuts strip funding from safety-net hospitals, nonprofits, universities, and city programs.
  • Scarcity: Dollar supply tightens, prices rise, layoffs loom.
  • Solution: TimeExchanges.com enables secure time-credit transactions—valuing work in hours instead of just dollars.
  • Opportunity: A resilient economy built on trust networks, cooperation, and mutual aid.

 

Implementation roadmap

Steps to our goal: Good Money Chicago 2028 

  • Tasks: People do tasks helping one another. Eg, when I mow my lawn, I mow my neighbor Mary's lawn as well. Then I record on TimeExchanges.com the time I spent helping her. Mary, in turn, pays forward to her friends the help she gets from me, helping one friend with her computer and another by watching her kids.
  • Projects. Mary's parent-teacher organization uses TimeExchanges to teach kids how to play chess. The kids' parents credit Mary with time for helping their kids and pay that time forward by helping others.  
  • Joint projects by groups of organizations. Example: churches from four faiths are taking turns hosting community meals open to all. Word is spreading about new possibilities. Can community gardens grow some of the food needed? Can the PeaceBrook Healthy Living Council provide programming support at the meals?
  • Viral growth. This continuous giving and getting adds people and organizations, and expands the market using TimeExchanges. Problems become the fuel for new, meaningful tasks and projects. Signs of progress appear, and ripple out hope and optimism. People feel a new vibe. The Chicago Westside economy expands. Life on the block feels different. You see people smiling and chatting with one another. Life is good. 
     

Phase 1 — 2025 & 2026 

  • Launch Founders Circle of 12 key organizations.
  • Each commits to recording one-time transactions per month and recruiting partner organizations.

Phase 2 — 2026 & 2027 

  • Grow to 72–84 organizations.
  • Local governments begin partial recognition of time credits for volunteer and service programs.

Phase 3 — 2027 & 2028:

  • Expand to 120+ organizations citywide.
  • State-level hearings on official time currency recognition and protections.

 

Political & social impact 

Job Preservation: Staff remain employed through partial time-credit pay instead of layoffs.
Service Continuity: Programs sustain operations without federal dollars.
Economic Equality: All work hours have equal worth across roles and sectors.
Leverage & Independence: Local governments gain credible bargaining power against federal overreach.

 

Cultural shift 

Chicagoans use and trust TimeExchanges. Communities exchange skills, helping each other thrive and connect, despite the hard times.

  • “We didn’t lay anyone off.”
  • “I paid part of my doctor's bill with TimeExchanges.”
  • “We all keep Chicago working.”

 

Outcome: Chicago 2028 

  • 120+ participating organizations across healthcare, food, education, housing, and public services.
  • Dual-currency acceptance standard for most essential services.
  • Chicago is recognized nationally as America’s first Good Money City.

 

Check us out at our 3rd-Friday meetings,

10:00 AM to noon (Central Time).

Meet some PeaceBrook people. Sense how good life feels when you are among caring people who are growing a better tomorrow. 

The purpose of our meetings is to connect through our conversations, so that between meetings, we can explore ways to support one another with our work. Thus, during the first 30 minutes, people briefly introduce themselves, respond to an icebreaker, and begin connecting on a personal level. 

All are welcome. To receive the Zoom link, please send me your name, zip code, and email address.   
Barry, (708) 655-8833, barry@timeexchanges.com

 

Repairing the world 

Step by step, we repair the world by bringing people together to help one another.