History
The Arroyo Sustainable Economies Community Organization (Arroyo SECO) was created out of the burgeoning Time Bank movement in Los Angeles started by co-founders Janine Christiano and Autumn Rooney. As their respective neighborhood Time Banks grew and fielded membership requests from people outside of their immediate areas, Janine and Autumn realized it was better to merge and cooperate, share and collaborate rather than compete for resources. Forming the Arroyo Seco Network of Time Banks (ASNTB), they expanded even further to eventually include a still-growing network of over 1,300 members in 21 neighborhoods.
Nurtured and mentored by Lois Arkin (of the LA Eco-Village/CRSP), who also served as the network’s fiscal agent for over 5 years, the ASTNB began organically evolving as members became empowered to organize, build community and develop programs. After receiving a series of grants from the Metabolic Studio that facilitated program development, the ASNTB effectively outgrew CRSP’s incubator. Janine and Autumn recognized that securing non profit status was the next inevitable step.
Consulting with the Sustainable Economies Legal Center was critical to our success in achieving 501c3 status in May 2014. We are so grateful to Janelle Orsi and her amazing team for helping us develop a compelling case for the educational value of Arroyo SECO. In return for their pro bono assistance, our 1023 paperwork is now available open source to hopefully provide a model for more Time Banks to follow.
ABOUT OUR NAME:
Our name, Arroyo Seco, comes from the dry creek bed and seasonal watershed that connects the San Gabriel Mountains to the Los Angeles River and that once served as a transportation corridor bringing LA's original tribe, the Tongva, and later communities together. An important piece of Los Angeles history, the Arroyo Seco both gave life and provided connection, much as we hope to do through our community building and revitalization. We chose the name as a way to honor the origins of our city and guide our development always with a deeply rooted sense of place and socioeconomic context.
Nurtured and mentored by Lois Arkin (of the LA Eco-Village/CRSP), who also served as the network’s fiscal agent for over 5 years, the ASTNB began organically evolving as members became empowered to organize, build community and develop programs. After receiving a series of grants from the Metabolic Studio that facilitated program development, the ASNTB effectively outgrew CRSP’s incubator. Janine and Autumn recognized that securing non profit status was the next inevitable step.
Consulting with the Sustainable Economies Legal Center was critical to our success in achieving 501c3 status in May 2014. We are so grateful to Janelle Orsi and her amazing team for helping us develop a compelling case for the educational value of Arroyo SECO. In return for their pro bono assistance, our 1023 paperwork is now available open source to hopefully provide a model for more Time Banks to follow.
ABOUT OUR NAME:
Our name, Arroyo Seco, comes from the dry creek bed and seasonal watershed that connects the San Gabriel Mountains to the Los Angeles River and that once served as a transportation corridor bringing LA's original tribe, the Tongva, and later communities together. An important piece of Los Angeles history, the Arroyo Seco both gave life and provided connection, much as we hope to do through our community building and revitalization. We chose the name as a way to honor the origins of our city and guide our development always with a deeply rooted sense of place and socioeconomic context.
