A lack of funding caused Dunedin Timebank to dispense with its only staff member.
Steering group member Peter McDonald said co-ordinator Liz Carroll-Lowe had worked 14 hours a week for the past two years.
Dunedin Timebank, where knowledge, skills and resources are shared, applied for many grants to keep Ms Carroll-Lowe on but was unsuccessful.
The promotion of the organisation to attract more members would be difficult without a paid staff member, he said.
About 80 members were ''quietly'' exchanging skills and support, but Dunedin Timebank was struggling. .
''It's not blazing off into the stratosphere,'' Mr McDonald said.
Across New Zealand, some timebanks were close to folding, but others were thriving, he said.
He was pleased with the community interactions Dunedin Timebank had provoked.
''If the timebank were to fold, the connections with other members would continue - no doubt.''
Ms Carroll-Lowe had secured work in the commercial sector, he said.
