International Journal of

Community Currency Research

Volume 15 (2011) Section A 42-55
THE BURLINGTON CURRENCY PROJECT:
A HISTORY
Amy Kirschner*
Vermont Sustainable Exchange
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Builington Cuiiency Pioject (BCP) existeu foi 1u yeais in Builington, veimont, 0SA (1997 to
2uu7) anu auministeieu the community cuiiency, Builington Bieau. Theie weie many uistinct
phases uuiing the life of BCP. It staiteu out as an auhoc gioup of volunteeis anu eventually
founu a level of institutional anu city suppoit befoie closing uue to a numbei of factois. This
histoiy attempts to outline the thoughts anu choices of the people involveu in the pioject anu
iesults they achieveu.
Piimaiy souices weie examineu, incluuing meeting minutes, newsletteis, uiiectoiies, peisonal
communications, newspapei aiticles, inteiviews, action ieseaich anu pievious classwoik uone
by Amy Kiischnei at the 0niveisity of veimont.
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Poitions of this aiticle oiiginateu in a thesis foi a N.S. In Natuial Resouices at the 0niveisity of veimont
supeiviseu by Piofessoi Stephanie Kaza. The authoi woulu like to extenu giatituue anu acknowleugment to
Piofessoi Kaza foi hei peisonal anu euitoiial suppoit uuiing this piocess.
* Email: amy.kiischneigmail.com
!" $%&' &(%) *+&%$,'- Kiischnei, A. (2u11) 'The Builington Cuiiency Pioject: A Bistoiy' !"#$%"&#'("&) +(,%"&)
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The histoiy of the Builington Cuiiency Pioject (BCP) is
examineu in this case stuuy. Foi context, Builington, vei-
mont is a small city locateu in the noithwestein coinei of
the State of veimont. veimont is a iuial state with a popu-
lation of about 62u,uuu in New Englanu. Bistoiically, vei-
mont has been a place wheie self-sufficiency anu commu-
nity aie impoitant. "Fieeuom anu 0nity" is the state motto
suggesting the balance between inuiviuual iights anu
community that can chaiacteiize the population. Builing-
ton is by fai, the laigest city in the state of veimont with a
population of just unuei 4u,uuu. Chittenuen County, in
which Builington iesiues, is the state's most populous at
1Su,uuu citizens.
Builington houses a laige ieseaich univeisity, The 0nivei-
sity of veimont (0vN), anu a laige peuestiian-centiic
uowntown, making it a centei of commeice anu activity. It
was iecently awaiueu a national sustainability awaiu by
The Bome Bepot Founuation
1
.
This case stuuy was built on ieseaich foi a Nastei's Begiee
thesis conuucteu at the 0vN by Amy Kiischnei with the
guiuance of Piof. Stephanie Kaza. Kiischnei began woik
with BCP in the fall of 2uuS in a class at 0vN. 0ne of the
goals of the class was to aiu the BCP out of a self-uesciibeu
slump in tiauing the cuiiency, Builington Bieau, anu pio-
moting membei activity anu engagement. The class enueu
up ieuesigning both the management stiuctuie anu physi-
cal featuies of the cuiiency. The authoi's involvement esca-
lateu fiom class paiticipant to volunteei, Boaiu Nembei,
anu eventually Executive Biiectoi.
As Executive Biiectoi of BCP, Kiischnei was chaigeu with
leauing the oiganization fiom a small giassioots nonpiofit
with a few membeis anu with little tiauing activity to a
leauing economic enteipiise that woulu meet the economic
neeus of businesses anu inuiviuuals thioughout veimont.
This pioveu to be a heiculean anu ultimately, impossible
task. Thioughout this time, BCP went thiough a few moie
ups anu uowns befoie eventually closing.
Piof. Kaza seiveu as the authoi's faculty auvisei anu was
involveu in ieseaich uesign anu uata analysis of the thesis
ieseaich.
,!%+2 -!2#4 5)1(-!$0)(6 /0##0)( 7 -,#0.(
Builington Cuiiency Pioject (BCP) uates to }anuaiy 1997
when Naik Nontalban, a local ait teachei, began ieseaich-
ing local cuiiencies as a way to oveicome what he felt weie
the inauequacies of the cuiient monetaiy system anu seek
out moie equitable alteinatives. While the oiganization
woulu iemain legally infoimal foi a few moie yeais, they
iefeiieu to themselves as the "Builington Cuiiency Pioject"
fiom the fiist iecoiueu meeting minutes of Apiil 17, 1997.
Nontalban's vision foi Builington's local cuiiency was that
it woulu help inuiviuuals anu coulu possibly invigoiate
Builington's local economy. Be ieasoneu that an incieaseu
velocity of money coulu also uiiectly benefit local busi-
nesses by giving them a competitive euge ovei theii laigei,
non-local competitois who woulu not be likely to accept a
local cuiiency. A local cuiiency coulu also help expanu the
infoimal baitei tiauing that alieauy existeu in the commu-
nity to a wiuei auuience by honoiing people's useful, but
not maiketable, skills that weie uniepiesenteu in the job
maiket (Tuinei anu Kiischnei, 2uu4).
While ieseaiching existing mouels, Nontalban was inspiieu
by the success anu inteinational iecognition of Ithaca
B00RS local cuiiency anu othei cuiiency piojects. Ithaca
B00RS was staiteu by community activist Paul ulovei in
Ithaca, NY in 1991. ulovei hau, in tuin, been inspiieu by
pieviously installations of a LETS (Local Economic Tiauing
System) in Ithaca anu the 'Beli Bollais' cuiiency that hau
iecently been implementeu in uieat Baiiington, Nassachu-
setts with the assistance of the E.F. Schumachei Society.
(}acob et al, 2uu4) B00RS opeiateu a papei cuiiency with
a stanuaiu of one houi equaling $1u. Auuitional eaily inspi-
iation foi Nontalban incluueu then-Nontpeliei iesiuent
anu activist Susan Neekei-Lowiy anu the Buffalo Nountain
B00RS pioject in Baiuwick, veimont (Tuinei anu Kiisch-
nei, 2uu4).
An intiouuctoiy event was oiganizeu by Nontalban anu
othei community activists that he knew, incluuing Bon
}amison, }anet Bicks, Natt Null, anu Thomas Case who
woulu become the coie gioup of volunteeis oveiseeing the
foimation of BCP. It was helu in Contois Auuitoiium in Bui-
lington City Ball in Naich 1997. This was unueiwiitten fiee
of chaige to the gioup with the suppoit of the City of Bui-
lington Economic Bevelopment 0ffice anu the Builington
Women's Council. 0vei 1Su people attenueu to leain about
alteinative cuiiencies anu show suppoit foi the iuea of a
local cuiiency. Bue to the oveiwhelming enthusiasm at the
showing, woiking gioups weie set up anu the coie gioup of
volunteeis quickly uevelopeu to foim BCP, the paient oi-
ganization of the Bieau cuiiency, anu cooiuinate a plan of
action (BCP 7).
Ninutes fiom the Apiil 17, 1997 Steeiing Committee note
that that each membei was to begin wiiting hishei own
veision of a mission statement. It is uncleai fiom the ie-
coius how this piocess evolveu anu what eailiei veisions of
the mission statement lookeu like. Notes fiom a Nay 2,
2uu1 oiganizational meeting inuicate that the piocess was
still ongoing as theie weie a few uiffeient veisions of a
mission statement in existence anu that one neeueu to be-
come official by consensus. but they ultimately uefineu anu
kept the mission of the Builington Cuiiency Pioject as fol-
lows:
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
43
1
Builington ieceives Bome Bepot Founuation sustainability awaiu | The Builington Fiee Piess | Builington, veimont (n.u.). . Retiieveu Be-
cembei 19, 2u1u, fiom http:www.builingtonfieepiess.comaiticle2u1u1212LIvINuu91212uS1SBuilington-ieceives-Bome-Bepot-
Founuation-sustainability-awaiu
"The puipose of establishing a local cui-
iency foi Builington is to stiengthen the
local economy, suppoit small businesses anu
faimeis, anu to encouiage exchanges be-
tween community membeis. The cuiiency is
intenueu to encouiage local people anu
businesses to pationize one anothei, ena-
bling us to iely moie on each othei. It en-
ables inuiviuuals to tuin unuseu skills into
souices of wealth, piomote local shopping,
encouiage ecological iesponsibility, anu
builu awaieness of the inteiuepenuence of
all membeis of the community. The cuiiency
is backeu by oui confiuence in each othei."
(Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu1u)
0ne eaily task of BCP was to choose a name foi the new
cuiiency. A committee was foimeu in Apiil 1997 to name,
uesign anu piint the new cuiiency (Builington Cuiiency
Pioject, 1997). This piocess of uesigning woulu take neaily
a yeai anu in the meantime, euucation anu outieach con-
tinueu. In the summei of 1997, }anet Bicks, a BCP founuei
anu community oiganizei, ieceiveu funuing fiom Ben &
}eiiy's Ice Cieam to attenu an E.F. Schumachei confeience
at Williams College in Nassachusetts. This was the fiist
oppoitunity foi BCP to netwoik with othei local cuiiencies
fiom aiounu the countiy (BCP 7). Theie is no wiitten ie-
coiu about the impact of this event on Builington Cuiiency
Pioject. An obvious naming choice woulu have been to call
it Builington B00RS, aftei the example of Ithaca, but the
gioup felt that it woulu gain acceptance eailiei if the cui-
iency was bench maikeu against the uollai anu not baseu
on the B00RS system (Tuinei anu Kiischnei, 2uu4). Tho-
mas Case is cieuiteu with cieating the name Builington
Bieau. Be felt it hau a ceitain appeal to both the playful anu
piactical application that they hopeu the cuiiency woulu
play in the community. (Tuinei anu Kiischnei, 2uu4) The
uenominations weie calleu Slices anu came in these ue-
nominations: 1, S, 1u, (The 2u Slice note woulu not be
piinteu until 2uu4).
Figure 1: Original Slices
.!$8,%0(. /)/,($1/
The BCP founueis puisueu a numbei of stiategies to gain
suppoit foi the new cuiiency. They set up tables at the Bui-
lington City Ball Faimei's Naiket eveiy Satuiuay thiough-
out the summei, anu staiteu signing up people anu busi-
nesses to become membeis anu offei goous anu seivices in
exchange foi Bieau. The Bieau Biiectoiy was cieateu in
August 1998 by membeis of the oiganizing committee. It
was uesigneu as an 8.S x 11" hanuout with 4 pages of offeis
by categoiy. The Biiectoiy was uiviueu into vaiious catego-
iies anu each membei was alloweu to list up to thiee goous
oi seivices they pioviueu. The Biiectoiy was quickly filleu
with a vaiiety of goous anu seivices fiom acupunctuie anu
yoga, anu fiom to caipentiy anu oiganic vegetables (Bui-
lington Cuiiency Pioject, 1998u). The uiiectoiy woulu con-
tinue to exist in piinteu foim thioughout the iemainuei of
BCP. While the size anu uesign woulu change, it nevei mi-
giateu to an online foimat.
Nonthly potlucks weie helu at the College Stieet Congiega-
tional Chuich in uowntown Builington. These seiveu to
builu social capital among cuiient membeis anu as a ie-
souice foi people inteiesteu in leaining moie. BCP helpeu
facilitate economic exchanges anu connections among
those people in attenuance. "Thiough local exchanges we
can builu a stiongei community because we caie moie. It is
a way to biing people togethei," saiu Thomas Case (Tuinei
anu Kiischnei, 2uu4). Thomas Case anu Alice Stokes pub-
lisheu the fiist issue of "Rise 0p", the BCP newslettei
uiiectoiy in Nay 1998 to coinciue with the fiist ielease of
Slices. The newslettei seiveu as a way to auveitise commu-
nity events as well as publish the giowing uiiectoiy of
goous anu seivices (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 1998a).
"When an inuiviuual oi a business signs up
anu pays the membeiship fee to join the BCP,
a small business loan of Thiity Slices aie
uistiibuteu to the new membei foi theii
willingness to accept Bieau. The loan only
neeus to be paiu back (in Slices) if a membei
leaves the BCP. Befoie leaving the BCP the
membei neeus to eain back the Slices uis-
tiibuteu by the BCP, thus stiengthening the
cuiiency anu allowing the slices to be issueu
to new membeis. The loan is the seeu which
will get people staiteu using the Bieau anu
is a way to uistiibute moie cuiiency within
the community.
The Builington Cuiiency Pioject is the gov-
eining bouy of Builington Bieau anu the
publishei of a uiiectoiy listing of membeis.
Non-membeis can get Bieau as change oi
buy Slices fiom membeis. The BCP uoes not
sell Slices because we want to emphasize
that membeis aie willing to accept the cui-
iency, not just spenu it." (Nay Su, 1998
Newslettei)
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
44
By Fall of 1998, theie weie ovei 1uu people actively pai-
ticipating in tiauing the cuiiency thiough listings in the
uiiectoiy (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 1998b). Potlucks
weie seen as a key way to keep momentum foi the oigani-
zation. They coulu seive as infoimation sessions foi intei-
esteu people, a place to obtain cuiiency anu become a
membei, anu a way foi cuiient membeis to aiiange tiauing
oppoitunities all while builuing a sense of community in
the cuiiency. Potlucks weie continueu thioughout the fall
of 1998 anu into the spiing at the College St. Congiega-
tional Chuich (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 1999e).
,/,%.0(. 0##1,#
"Please Remembei: It is extiemely impoi-
tant to ietuin calls when someone iequests
youi seivice. Youi skills aie backing the cui-
iency anu giving it value. Even if you uo not
have time to honoi the iequest, please call
the peison back." -- Builington Cuiiency
Pioject 1998c
Nany of the huiules anu constiaints that woulu plague BCP
in the latei yeais, weie becoming appaient within the fiist
few yeais aftei the oiganization was founueu. Finuing
business suppoit, maintaining a consistent volunteei base,
maiketing the oiganization, anu a constantly changing anu
uncleai appioach to issuing Slices (whethei to issue the
cuiiency thiough loans oi giants to membeis anu whethei
to sell oi give away the cuiiency to the public), weie issues
the Steeiing Committee was uealing with on a monthly
basis.
In }anuaiy of 1999, BCP ueciueu to begin soliciting The
0nion Rivei Co-op, Builington's community owneu gioceiy
stoie, to become a membei of BCP. This was the fiist time
that an entity in the community was uiiectly sought out foi
paiticipation. uiueon Tuinei was uesignateu to appioach
the Co-op anu initiate negotiations (Builington Cuiiency
Pioject, 1999a). 0ne of the iueas foi acceptance was to pay
slices to Co-op membei-woikeis (who aie volunteeis eain-
ing a uiscount, not iegulai employees) anu then pioviue
them with uiiectoiies (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 1999c)
but this iuea nevei ieacheu fiuition. BCP continueu to ap-
pioach 0nion Rivei Co-op unsuccessfully ovei the yeais
until a tiial peiiou at the Sustainable Cities Confeience in
2uu4 was finally aiiangeu.
In eaily 1999, one of the founueis, Thomas Case, tuineu
ovei many of his iesponsibilities at BCP as he was moving
to anothei pait of veimont (Builington Cuiiency Pioject,
1999b). The foim of the newslettei changeu fiom typeu
anu wiitten to hanuwiitten anu uioppeu in fiequency ovei
the next yeai. 0p to this point, newslettei content incluueu
announcements about upcoming events, upuates on pio-
giess, anu iepiints of aiticles about local cuiiencies oi local
economies. Case contiibuteu to the Summei 1999 newslet-
tei by wiiting about an infoimal suivey he hau conuucteu
at the Builington Faimei's Naiket:
"In an infoimal suivey of venuois who accept Slices at the
Satuiuay Faimei's Naiket in Builington, I askeu seveial
questions about theii paiticipation in the pioject. I was
pleasantly suipiiseu by the continueu enthusiasm anu sup-
poit foi Builington Bieau.
Ny main inquiiy was whethei the venuois
weie able to spenu slices eaineu last yeai
anu if they woulu continue to accept Slices
as payment this season. The venuois who
have hau uifficulty spenuing theii Bieau aie
the faimeis. I attiibute this to seveial fac-
tois. Faim piouuce anu floweis aie in high
uemanu at the maiket. Faimeis aie often
woiking long uays anu by natuie (aie) too
thiifty to spenu money on things othei than
basic neeus. What they uo spenu theii
money on, as a business, aie not available on
the Bieau maiket. (I know these conuitions
aie tiue foi many otheis.)To help faimeis,
you can pay paitially in slices anu ask foi
them as change..... With this in minu, the
faimeis maiket at City Ball Paik is still the
easiest place to spenu Bieau." (Builington
Cuiiency Pioject, 1999u).
A 'Spiing Fling' was helu in Nay of 1999, to inciease the
visibility of Bieau in the community at Builington City Ball.
It consisteu of a small maiket wheie Bieau business own-
eis, local ciaftspeople anu bakeis set up theii goous anu
seivices anu accepteu Bieau as eithei paitial oi total pay-
ment. A banu was hiieu to play music anu a masseuse gave
fiee massages. A contia uance was helu in the evening
(Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 1999b). The Apiil 1S Steei-
ing committee minutes ieflect thoughts about how to uis-
tiibute Bieau at the Fling. Theie weie pioposals fiom
committee membeis:
a) "0ffei 1 slice to each peison who comes with an invita-
tion
b) 0ffei S slices to fiist Su-Su who come with invitation
c) 0ffei to sell a stack of slices (limiteu amount at event)
u) Issuing a giant (long teim)"
Nembeis iepoiteu that they wanteu to limit slice "boost" to
S% oi 1u% of the cuiient slices in ciiculation (42uu at that
time). The uecision was noteu that they woulu "Not to sell
slices at Fling because venuois might get inunuateu" anu to
"uive away S slices each to the fiist Su people who entei
Contois Auuitoiium on the uay of the event...this will put
2Su slices into ciiculation which is about 6%." Neeting
minutes fiom }une uo not inuicate how many Slices weie
given out at the Fling although theie is a note to follow up
to asceitain which seiial numbeis weie put into ciiculation.
It is uncleai who was iesponsible foi maintaining the sup-
ply of Bieau oi keeping tiack of the seiial numbeis ie-
leaseu. This lack of accountability on managing the money
supply woulu cause pioblems foi BCP in the futuie. Fuithei
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
45
meeting minutes foi the peiiou of }une 1999 to 0ctobei
2uuu aie missing fiom the BCP aichive.
The next community event was a biunch in 0ctobei 2uuu
that uiew attenuees fiom BCP, small local businesses, anu
college stuuents. It in uncleai fiom the minutes how the
auuitional attenuees might have heaiu about the event but
about one uozen new people came to give theii opinion anu
expeiience iegaiuing local cuiiency. The focal point of the
biunch was to builu community, uiscuss the piogiess anu
challenges facing BCP anu leain fiom fellow cuiiency oi-
ganizei, Bob LeRoy of Ithaca B00RS.
A giant, of an unspecifieu amount, was issueu to Builington
Eco villages to use foi hosting this biunch foi BCP activists
anu Ithaca B00RS oiganizei Bob LeRoy. Be spoke to the
gioup about the expeiience of B00RS anu noteu that the
key to theii success was founuei Paul ulovei uevoting his
life to the pioject (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuub). Be
also notes that as ulovei left the pioject, the Boaiu was
taskeu to take ovei anu hau pioblems finuing enough vol-
unteei laboi to take ovei ulovei's iesponsibilities. Bespite
LeRoy's iemaiks about the key iole of people anu theii
passion in the success of the pioject, the minutes inuicate
veiy little uiscussion about how to finu ieliable staff anu
volunteeis foi BCP. The meeting minutes ieflect a numbei
of obstacles faceu by BCP as:
- "Businesses uon't know wheie to spenu bieau, anu it
piles up."
- "0ui town's iecent economic success has been toui-
ist anu stuuent baseu, anu the uowntown has veiy
little puiely local business."
- "0ui oiganization neeus lots of eneigy input, but
buinout has been anu coulu be a pioblem."
- "Laige businesses aie conceineu that hassle of using
local cuiiency outweighs benefits"
Nany uiffeient maiketing stiategies anu uistiibution meth-
ous aie uiscusseu but theie is only one note about auuiess-
ing volunteei buinout, which will be a iecuiiing theme in
BCP. It is suggesteu that they auuiess this laboi shoitfall by
looking to the City of Builington anu theii Ameii-
coips*vista piogiam, a paiu community seivice piogiam
foi iecent college giauuates available thiough the City of
Builington.
"2+!*# !(- +,.!+ #$!(-0(.
0p until 2uuu, the volunteeis who oiganizeu BCP iefeiieu
to themselves as a steeiing committee. Foi the pievious
thiee yeais, they hau been a ueuicateu but loosely oigan-
izeu gioup. In 0ctobei 2uuu, they took steps towaius moie
foimality by instituting what they iefeiieu to as "Rules of
Stiuctuie". With these new iules they establisheu a numbei
of "consensus" points which incluueu:
- the uesiie to investigate having electeu membeis to
the steeiing committee (insteau of the cuiient self-
selecteu gioup) within 6 months,
- the neeu foi the gioup to be cappeu at 9 membeis
with a voting quoium of 2S piesent,
- a ueclaiation that "the piimaiy means of uecision
making shall be consensus",
- a iequiiement that no genuei have moie than S peo-
ple on the steeiing committee,
- othei opeiational points about the cieation of com-
mittee job uesciiptions (foi Tieasuiei, Aichivist,
anu Piesiuent) anu also about how votes woulu be
conuucteu foi changing these iules oi hiiing em-
ployees (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuuc).
Lauia Naikowitz, a local music teachei anu peifoimei,
moveu into a leaueiship position on the Steeiing Commit-
tee. Aftei being hiieu to play violin at a BCP benefit uance
(anu paiu in Bieau), Naikowitz founu the iuea of a local
cuiiency intiiguing anu wanteu to become a moie active
paiticipant in the Bieau community. She hopeu that Bieau
woulu help, "ieuefine community in the 21st centuiy" into
a place wheie, "eveiyone is woiking, eveiyone's neeus aie
met anu no one is isolateu." (Tuinei anu Kiischnei; 2uu4).
In the fall of 2uuu, the Bieau Bank officially openeu at Pui-
ple Shuttei Beibs, a membei business in uowntown Bui-
lington. This 'bank' pioviueu a location foi the stoiage of
Bieau infoimation anu cuiiency. Lauia Biown, the ownei
of Puiple Shuttei Beibs, facilitateu Bieau to 0S uollai ex-
changes (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuuc). This pio-
viueu moie stability anu visibility foi BCP. Bowevei, con-
siueiing the impoitance of having a peimanent place wheie
community outieach can occui anu 'banking' be uone,
theie aie no notes in the newsletteis oi minutes at the time
pointing to any excitement oi the evolution of this iuea.
Bespite the failuie of numeious uiscussions with 0nion
Rivei Coop in the pieceuing yeais, anothei stoie, Bealthy
Living Natuial Foous Stoie in South Builington, joineu the
Bieau community in }anuaiy 2uu1 as the fiist gioceiy stoie
to sign up. A seconu piinting of the Bieau slices was uone
foi an unspecifieu amount (Builington Cuiiency Pioject,
2uu1a). Nayoi Petei Clavelle wiote a note in the
Septembei0ctobei 2uu1 newslettei stating: "To the Bui-
lington Community, 'Builington Bieau' is a local cuiiency
that can go a long way towaiu piomoting local businesses
anu jobs, anu suppoiting aiea faimeis. With the Builington
Cuiiency Pioject woiking to expanu the use of Builington
Bieau, now is a goou time foi businesses in gieatei Builing-
ton to exploie its potential to geneiate new business while
it benefits oui community. " Be iepiesenteu the cuiient
positive hope foi the cieative potential foi BCP.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
46
&)//1(0$2 )1$%,!&8
BCP tiieu many uiffeient stiategies ovei the yeais to get
Bieau into the local Builington community. By the summei
2uu1, monthly gatheiings weie helu at Rauio Bean, a small
uowntown coffee shop, known foi its ueuication to com-
munity. Lee Anueison, ownei of Rauio Bean Coffee Bouse,
agieeu to accept 1uu% Bieau foi foou anu uiink at these
gatheiings. This monthly gatheiing was a time foi olu, new,
anu potential Bieau membeis anu useis to gathei togethei
anu answei any questions people might have about a local
cuiiency (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu1u).
A woik scholaiship was also cieateu wheie people coulu
agiee to table foi Bieau foi an houi oi two anu ieceive a
fiee membeiship. This maue it moie accessible foi people
who coulun't affoiu the membeiship fee of $1u. BCP hopeu
that they coulu actively ieach out to the lowei income
population in Builington which is one of the points stateu
in the mission (Builington Cuiiency Pioject , 2uu1c).
Incieasing the amount of slices in ciiculation was a con-
stant souice of expeiimentation anu uebate. Slices in ciicu-
lation hau incieaseu to 929S Slices by Nay 2uu2 (Builing-
ton Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu2b). Anothei iuea to inciease
ciiculation was the Builington Cuiiency Funu. The piogiam
uistiibuteu Bieau giants to uiffeient community oiganiza-
tions that woulu then pass on Bieau to those in neeu.
Nembeis coulu uonate the slices they ieceiveu when join-
ing oi ienewing theii membeiship (Builington Cuiiency
Pioject, 2uu2a). uiants weie given to
- Chittenuen County Foou Shelf
- Chittenuen County Community Centei
- Committee on Tempoiaiy Sheltei
- }oint 0iban Ninistiy Pioject
- Aiethusa Collective Faim
Recoius uo not list exact amounts given but inuicate that
they weie uiscussing amounts aiounu 1uu- 2uu Slices (Bui-
lington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu2b). Nany of the slices weie
useu at the 0lu Noith Enu Faimei's Naiket to buy oiganic
piouuce fiom the faimeis of the Inteivale (Builington Cui-
iency Pioject, 2uu2u). Businesses weie also offeieu
inteiest-fiee loans (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu2a).
But it iemains uncleai if any businesses actually took au-
vantage of this issuance methou.
Piomoting Bieau in the community continueu to occupy
the effoits of BCP. A Bieau Bazaai was helu in }une 2uu2
with anothei small uonation fiom the City of Builington to
covei auveiting in the Biscovei }azz Festival liteiatuie
which was iunning concuiiently. An iuea to aiu in the uis-
tiibution of Bieau was that a silent auction was helu anu
anyone placing a biu was given a Slice (Builington Cuiiency
Pioject, 2uu2u).
While the oiganization was achieving a highei public pio-
file, the question of who woulu uo the woik iemaineu. The
minutes (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 1999c) inuicate
uifficulty in finuing sufficient volunteeis to staff an infoi-
mation table at the Builington Faimei's Naiket. At this
point, the BCP tuineu an infoimal steeiing committee into
an electeu Boaiu of Biiectois incluuing a Chaii, Secietaiy,
anu Tieasuiei. The iecoiu uoes not inuicate the uecision
making piocess that leu to this step. The minutes (Builing-
ton Cuiiency Pioject, 1999c) inuicate that a gioup of mem-
beis have been ueveloping bylaws but no notes fiom theii
meetings suivive.
The Laboi foi Bieau piogiam was foimeu in 2uu1 (Builing-
ton Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu2a). It pioviueu a way foi people
to eain Bieau by uoing faim laboi. The piogiam consisteu
of a cooiuinatoi who contacteu the faimeis in the Inteivale
on a weekly basis uuiing the giowing season to set up
times foi woikeis to assist with weeuing anu haivesting.
The laboieis weie then paiu in Builington Bieau, usually at
1u slices pei houi allowing faimeis to ieciiculate the Bieau
they accumulateu by accepting slices foi payment at
faimei's maikets. A iepoit fiom the cooiuinatoi of the
Laboi foi Bieau piogiam to the Boaiu (Builington Cui-
iency Pioject, 2uu2e) stateu that ovei the summei of 2uu2,
12 woikeis weie hiieu foi Bieau acioss 6-8 faims foi a
total of 9u houis in laboi. This woulu be the highest point in
the Laboi foi Bieau piogiam in teims of paiticipants.
The new bylaws weie passeu by membei vote at an all-
membei meeting helu on Septembei 18, 2uu2 foi the ex-
piess puipose of appioving the bylaws anu electing the
Boaiu of Biiectois. Each new uiiectoi woulu seive a 2-yeai
teim. This cieateu a consistency in leaueiship that hau not
been achieveu befoie. The Bieau Bank, which hau existeu at
Puiple Shuttei Beibs in Nain Stieet, continueu to act as a
hub of opeiations, becoming the iegulai home of Boaiu of
Biiectois meetings anu also a moie peimanent infoimation
bulletin boaiu when Bieau membeis coulu be suie to stay
in touch with announcements anu new listings between
mailings of the newslettei anu uiiectoiy.
In an effoit to inciease the infiastiuctuie of BCP, the boaiu
applieu foi anu ieceiveu a financial boost in the spiing of
2uu2 when the uieen Nountain Funu awaiueu them a
giant of $2uuu to covei auministiative costs (Builington
Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu2e). The Boaiu of Biiectois began
uiscussion on applying foi an AmeiiCoips*vista position,
but they weie infoimeu that they woulu neeu an official
office space in oiuei to get the staffing (Builington Cui-
iency Pioject, 2uuSa). In the summei of 2uuS, BCP negoti-
ateu an aiiangement with the 0lu Noith Enu Stoie Fiont
foi office space.
Aftei ieceiving many applications anu holuing inteiviews
the Ameiicoips*vista position went to a iecent St. Ni-
chael's College giauuate. Ameiicoips*vista is a piogiam of
AmeiiCoips is a piogiam of the Coipoiation foi National
anu Community Seivice. It is an inuepenuent feueial
agency that oiganizes many national seivice piogiams. In
Builington, it is auministeieu by the City of Builington's
Community Economic Bevelopment 0ffice (CEB0) anu
places about Su people in seivice positions with local non-
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
47
piofits annually. The office was leaseu to BCP on the conui-
tion that the Ameiicoips pioviue some ieception anu au-
ministiative woik in exchange foi the office space (Builing-
ton Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuSu).
In an auuitional step to stabilize the oiganization, BCP was
iegisteieu as a State of veimont non-piofit in the summei
of 2uuS, the fiist step in seeking Su1(c)S tax status with the
Inteinal Revenue Seivice (Builington Cuiiency Pioject,
2uuSb). This status uesignates a non-piofit oiganization as
tax-exempt anu is almost always iequiieu when applying to
founuations foi giant money. Without this status, oi a fiscal
sponsoi with this status, a non-piofit, even though it is le-
gally iegisteieu as such with the state, is limiteu to small
inuiviuual uonations anu whatevei ievenue it can geneiate
thiough piogiams anu seivices.
At the Nay Sth, 2uuS Boaiu of Biiectois meeting, the boaiu
uiscusseu a buy-back piogiam foi businesses, to help alle-
viate the builuup of Bieau at theii stoies, but ieacheu no
agieement. BCP continueu to face the possibility of an in-
flating money supply that was pooling at ceitain locations,
thus uecieasing the velocity of the cuiiency.
$8, .1(- 0(#$0$1$,
The fall of 2uuS maikeu a new stage in the life of BCP. Rob-
eit Costanza, Biiectoi of the uunu Institute of Ecological
Economics, offeieu a class on the subject, "Topics in Eco-
logical Economics: Local Cuiiency Systems" at the 0nivei-
sity of veimont. Aftei consulting with Naikowitz anu the
Boaiu of Biiectois, he ueciueu that the class woulu conuuct
a suivey of local cuiiencies, histoiical anu cuiient, anu
make iecommenuations to BCP baseu on those elements of
cuiiencies that weie successful anu what elements coulu
help them achieve fuithei success. Paiticipating in the
couise weie co-instiuctois Piof. }oshua Failey, uaiy Flo-
menhoft of the uunu Institute, }onathan Blake anu Naikow-
itz of Builington Bieau, anu Auam Nuiiay, the AmeiiCoips
vista volunteei, along with a numbei of 0vN stuuents.
The couise auuiesseu a numbei of questions anu issues
conceining local cuiiencies, incluuing how cuiiencies func-
tioneu, what hau limiteu theii success both nationally anu
inteinationally, anu what might be the appiopiiate scale foi
a local cuiiency. A goal foi the couise incluueu ie-uesigning
Builington Bieau as a high-volume local cuiiency that
woulu employ unuseu piouuctive capacity in the iegion,
stabilize the economy, ieuuce negative exteinalities anu
builu a stiongei, moie sustainable community (Builington
Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuSe).
While the 0vN class examineu both the theoiy anu piactice
of cuiiency, the woik of iunning the cuiiency continueu to
be uone by the BCP Boaiu of Biiectois anu Nuiiay who was
continuing to ieciuit businesses to join with limiteu iesults.
In 0ctobei, Piof. Failey attenueu the Boaiu of Biiectois
meeting with the offei to ielaunch the local cuiiency the
following summei at the Sustainable Communities Confei-
ence in Builington. The 0niveisity of veimont was one of
the confeience hosts. Piof. Costanza hau been playing a key
iole in cooiuinating the inteiaction between the univeisity
anu the confeience (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuSf).
This was to become one of the majoi facets of the ielaunch
of the cuiiency.
As a iesult of the class, public infoimation sessions weie
helu to uiscuss local cuiiencies, iepoit on the iecommen-
uations of the class, anu to seek bioauei suppoit of Bieau
in the community. The fiist iecommenuation was to cieate
an electionic banking component in auuition to the papei
cuiiency. This woulu allow foi laigei anu easiei business-
to-business tiansactions anu simplei accounting.
Also iecommenueu was a ieuesign of the papei cuiiency,
thiough a local ait competition. This woulu make it moie
coloiful anu haiuei to counteifeit, shoulu ciiculation in-
ciease substantially.
The class also suggesteu expanuing the Boaiu of Biiectois
to incluue influential membeis of the community to help
inciease community-wiue paiticipation (Tuinei anu
Kiischnei, 2uu4).
An infoimation session to iepoit class piogiess anu con-
tinue stiategic planning was helu in Becembei 2uuS at the
0niveisity of veimont (Builington Cuiiency Pioject,
2uuSe), iepiesentatives of BCP, 0vN, the Builington Elec-
tiic Bepaitment, anu the Inteivale Founuation weie inviteu
by the Boaiu of Biiectois. Theii attenuance was welcomeu
by BCP as a sign of potential giowth oppoitunities foi the
cuiiency anu incieaseu cieuibility. 0ne of the iecommen-
uations of the class was to expanu the Boaiu of Biiectois to
incluue moie iepiesentatives fiom laige local institutions.
This happeneu at the annual membei meeting in Naich
2uu4. The Boaiu of Biiectois was expanueu to seventeen
membeis fiom five. Staying on the boaiu weie Lauia Nai-
kowitz, Lauia Biown, giaphic uesignei Pam Ciossett, anu
accountant }eff Baiton. New membeis incluueu 0vN Pio-
fessois Robeit Costanza anu }oshua Failey, CEB0 Repiesen-
tative Eu Antczak, Bieau Co-Founuei anu Inteivale faimei
Thomas Case, an oiiginal founuei who hau iecently moveu
back to town, Simon Fiishkoff N.B., City Naiket iepiesenta-
tive Rosi uowuey, Bealthy Living Natuial Foou Naiket
ownei Katy Lessei, The Book Rack ownei Elaine Sopchak,
uaiuenei's Supply Company CE0 anu Inteivale Founuei
Will Raap, anu 0vN stuuents Alicia Tuinei, Amy Kiischnei,
anu Touu Tayloi. Committees weie foimeu to auuiess the
following issues: taxlegalmembeiship contiacts, cieuit,
maiketing, finance anu uesign. Class membeis that hau
woikeu on these issues weie inviteu onto these new official
committees (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4u).
Anothei iecommenuation of the class at 0vN was upuating
the uesign of the cuiiency anu auuing a 2u note Slice to
complement the 1, S, anu 1us alieauy in ciiculation. A con-
test was helu foi the ieuesign of Builington Bieau in eaily
2uu4. The iesponse was lowei than anticipateu with only 6
oiiginal submissions fiom the public. The oiiginal black
anu white uesign of Bieau along with a newly coloiizeu
veision weie auueu to make a total of eight choices. The
submissions weie piinteu on the fiont page of the seconu
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
48
section in the Seven Bays newspapei with the public in-
viteu to paiticipate in the voting by mailing in a ballot. A
uisplay anu voting box was also maue available at Boutil-
iei's Ait Supply Stoie on Chuich St. in uowntown. 0vei 1uu
membeis of BCP anu the public voteu. The winnei was ue-
teimineu to be a coloiizeu veision of the pievious black &
white bill with the auuition of a new 2u slice note (Builing-
ton Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4u).

Figure 2: 20 Slice Note
Figure 2: 20 slice note
In oiuei to ensuie that volunteei time was being useu effi-
ciently in piepaiation foi the upcoming Sustainable Com-
munities Confeience, the Boaiu of Biiectois voteu to tei-
minate staffing a table at the Faimei's maiket, a long-time
stiategy, uue to its limiteu success (Nay 1u, 2uu4 minutes).
Neetings with vaiious local businesspeople weie pioposeu
to take theii tempeiatuie on the iuea of accepting Bieau as
pait of BCP's new stiategy of looking foi alliances with
well-iespecteu businesses anu institutions (Builington
Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4b).
$8, %,+!1(&8 )5 "1%+0(.$)( "%,!-
All effoits weie uevoteu to ielaunching Bieau at the Sus-
tainable Communities Confeience in }uly 2uu4. Thiee to
foui hunuieu community activists, electeu officials, anu
business leaueis came to Builington fiom aiounu the woilu
to leain moie about how to inciease sustainability in theii
towns anu communities.
Confeience uelegates weie to spenu at least thiee uays in
Builington. The planneu ielaunch of Bieau consisteu of the
uelegates spenuing Bieau at local businesses. Insteau of
ieceiving all theii meals at the confeience site, on two uays
they woulu ieceive Slices of Builington Bieau anu woulu be
given time to go into the community anu enjoy a meal at a
local iestauiant, paying in Bieau. The uual goal of this was
to give confeience uelegates expeiience in the spenuing of a
local cuiiency anu also ieintiouuce the cuiiency to the
community (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4a). It was
estimateu that $1S,uuu in Slices woulu be put into ciicula-
tion.
Theie was some outieach anu euucation pioviueu to busi-
ness owneis, although latei, it woulu appeai to not be
enough. By }une 2uu4, a maiketing packet was uevelopeu
to solicit moie businesses, especially iestauiants, to join
BCP. 0wing to continuing confusion fiom the Boaiu of Bi-
iectois ovei the piopei membeiship agieement, a 'paitici-
pant' class was cieateu so businesses uiu not have to be
membeis to ieceives slices hanueu out at the confeience. It
was thought that this woulu be foi a tiial peiiou anu aftei
the confeience the businesses woulu be peisuaueu to apply
foi iegulai membeiship (Builington Cuiiency Pioject,
2uu4b).
A new website was uevelopeu to help in maiketing the cui-
iency anu letting people know wheie they coulu spenu it if
they uiun't have a piinteu uiiectoiy. To aiu in the outieach,
0vN stuuents fiom the class ieacheu out to businesses to
piomote the confeience anu the ielaunch of Bieau. The
Naiketing committee iepoiteu that uespite these effoits,
businesses weie not iesponuing to stuuents, anu might
iesponu bettei to fellow business owneis (Builington Cui-
iency Pioject , 2uu4c). They iepoiteu:
"Theie was a consensus that the follow-ups
shoulu not be conuucteu by 'college stu-
uents' . It was felt that theie may be an age
expeiiencecieuibility bias in the business
community when uealing with a youngei
inuiviuual on an impoitant issue like money.
The feai is that it may cieate the peiception,
on the pait of the business ownei, that the
BCP is somewhat of a fiinge iuea. The Boaiu
has taken this unuei auvisement but uiu not
cleaily uefine a stiategy foi uealing with this
issue."
With the Sustainable Communities Confeience fast ap-
pioaching, business sign up continueu to be a challenge. A
publicity event was vieweu as an auuitional way to get
businesses inteiesteu in joining BCP piioi to the confei-
ence. In a piess event piomoting BCP, Nayoi Petei Clavelle
spent the fiist coloi slice at Niiabelle's Cafe (Builington
Fiee Piess, }uly 16th, 2uu4). City Naiket (the 0nion Rivei
Co-op's new name) agieeu to take Bieau foi a tiial peiiou
at 1u% of a sale uuiing the week of the confeience (City
Naiket News, }uly 2uu4).
The Sustainable Communities Confeience took place in
Builington in }uly of 2uu4. uuests fiom veimont anu the
woilu listeneu to speakeis such as veimont Senatoi Patiick
Leahy, foimei veimont uoveinoi anu Beputy Secietaiy of
Euucation Naueleine Kunin, authoi Beinaiu Lietaei,
authoi Buntei Lovins, anu Bi. Noel Biown, foimei Biiectoi
of the 0niteu Nations Enviionmental Piogiam. 0ne of the
focus aieas foi the confeience was "Revitalizing the Local
Economy" anu incluueu an euucational tiack on local cui-
iencies (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4u).
It was estimateu that $1S,uuu woith of Slices went into
ciiculation at the time of the confeience but exact numbeis
weie nevei ueteimineu uue to inconsistencies in iecoiu
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
49
keeping (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4f). Futuie ef-
foits to estimate the amount issueu by counting the supply
of piinteu money became impossible when it was iealizeu
that the piintei, while contiacteu to pioviue $2uu,uuu
woith of slices, incluueu a piint oveiiun with the ueliveiy
anu an unueteimineu amount was actually ueliveieu.
"0. 0-,!#
Neasuiing the success of the confeience anu impact of the
Bieau put into ciiculation was not assigneu to any one pei-
son in BCP anu the success of this oppoitunity was not
cleai. No cleai cash payment by the confeience oiganizeis
in exchange foi the 1S,uuu slices was foimally agieeu upon
noi evei paiu to BCP. It was thought that the confeience
woulu be a publicity boon, cause a membeiship suige, anu
pioviue opeiating costs foi the auministiation of the oi-
ganization, but most of this was nevei iealizeu. It was noteu
that: "Theie was a uiscussion about the amount that the
Sustainable Communities Confeience owes BCP. Nothing
was finalizeu in teims of an offei" (Builington Cuiiency
Pioject, 2uu4f).
City Naiket accepteu a few hunuieu uollais woith of Bieau
but hau uifficulty spenuing it with local faimeis who hau
alieauy accumulateu much uuiing the yeais slices hau been
accepteu at the Faimei's Naiket. As a busy ietail location, it
was also uifficult to offei change in Bieau to customeis, as
cashieis uiu not have time to euucate customeis anu the
cash iegisteis uiu not have ioom foi Bieau so the slices
woulu enu up in a back office (peisonal conveisation with
foimei City Naiket employee, 2uu8).Theie aie also no
othei statistics on how many confeience attenuees useu
theii slices at any othei local businesses. Consiueiing how
few businesses anu iestauiants accepteu the cuiiency go-
ing into the confeience, it is possible that veiy little cui-
iency stayeu in Builington anu most went home with pai-
ticipants as souveniis.
BCP moveu foiwaiu with anothei iecommenuation fiom
the class as the Sustainable Communities confeience uiu
not pioviue much in the way of foiwaiu momentum. The
move to an electionic mutual cieuit system woulu become
the next big iuea foi the oiganization. The class baseu the
iuea foi the system on the Swiss WIR Bank mouel. The WIR
Bank was founueu in 19S4 in Zuiich as a business-to-
business mutual cieuit exchange. It allows businesses to
tiaue laige amounts of theii goous anu seivices without the
neeu foi a papei cuiiency (uieco, 2uu1). The class felt the
cuiiency itself was a baiiiei to laige-scale tiauing.
In oiuei to move foiwaiu with a business-to-business tiau-
ing system, BCP oiganizational infiastiuctuie neeueu to be
foimalizeu anu impioveu. To impiove theii chances to ie-
ceive giant funuing in the hopes of hiiing staff, BCP ueciueu
to apply foi Su1(c)4, a membeiship baseu oiganization
uesignation paiallel to Su1(c)S, chaiitable status, uue to
pieliminaiy negative feeuback fiom the IRS about the
chance of success of a local cuiiency getting the chaiitable
status (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4u). It was noteu
that: "BCP neeus to look foi giant funuing oppoitunities"
(Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4e).
In an attempt to inciease the cieuibility of BCP, meetings
weie helu with the Builington Electiic Bepaitment, Bui-
lington Business Association, veimont Eneigy Investment
Coipoiation. Nany weie conuucteu inuepenuently by
membeis of the Boaius of Biiectois. The oveiall stiategy
seemeu uncleai. The geneial feeuback fiom these oiganiza-
tions was that they likeu the iuea but founu it logistically
uifficult anu woulu neeu fuithei exploiation befoie joining
(Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4f).
The stiategy to puisue institutional suppoit took a big step
foiwaiu in }uly 2uuS when the Builington City Council ap-
pioveu a iesolution suppoiting BCP. While theie was noth-
ing binuing in the iesolution, it uiu pioviue an oppoitunity
foi BCP oiganizeis to attenu a few Council Committee
meetings anu meet with Councilois to explain Bieau anu its
potential benefits to the local economy. In the long teim,
little came out of this iesolution but it uiu pioviue some
limiteu level of cieuibility to keep the oiganization moving
foiwaiu.
While the oiganization kept moving foiwaiu exteinally
with meetings, ieciuiting membeis, anu publicity, intei-
nally theie was a significant amount of confusion. Boaiu of
Biiectois meeting minutes (Builington Cuiiency Pioject,
2uu4e)continue to point to confusion about the legality of
who is a membei anu who is a paiticipant. A new membei
agieement hau been in piocess foi seveial months anu hau
been completeu. The Boaiu of Biiectoi's stiategy was that
with a moie legal agieement, it became possible to issue
loans oi have inuiviuuals become 'issueis' to inciease the
amount of Slices in ciiculation anu pioviue an incentive foi
moie businesses to join.
Even as the Boaiu of Biiectois continueu to push foiwaiu,
the fiist seeus of the official uecline of BCP coulu be seen.
At the 2uuS annual membei meeting, a motion was maue
by a longtime membei to uissolve BCP citing, "the uiop in
membeiship anu questionable piogiess foiwaiu (Builing-
ton Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuSa). This motion faileu as the
Boaiu of Biiectois voiceu theii continuing commitment to
the pioject anu the possibility of hiiing an Executive Biiec-
toi to uo the woik of iunning the cuiiency.
#$!55 %,&)//,(-!$0)(# !(- $8, 51$1%, )5
"&9
Though the Boaiu of Biiectois ueciueu theie neeueu to be a
staff peison to manage membeiship, the cuiient fee stiuc-
tuie uiu not suppoit the expense of one. Nembeis of the
boaiu suggesteu they begin looking foi giant funuing to pay
foi a staff peison (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu4e).
Tuinovei anu new staffing woulu be majoi issues thiough-
out 2uuS. Eaily in the yeai, foui Boaiu of Biiectois mem-
beis iesigneu uue to peisonal ieasons anu weie ieplaceu in
the next 2-S months The fiist uiscussions about the neeu
foi an Executive Biiectoi occuiieu in Naich (Builington
Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuSb). In Nay, the Executive Biiectoi
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
50
position was cieateu with Caia Taussig agieeing to seive
anu be paiu in Bieau. The Ameiicoips*vista position was
appioveu anu Amy Kiischnei accepteu the job. The Ameii-
coips*vista position was a full-time position paiu a small
living stipenu in cash thiough the Builington Community
Economic Bevelopment 0ffice (CEB0). This was a continua-
tion of the pievious Ameiicoips*vista position but the City
of Builington iequiieu a new application anu appioval
eveiy yeai.
Biscontent continueu among some membeis of BCP. These
membeis weie longtime membeis who weie upset about
the appaient 'takeovei' of a giassioots community oigani-
zation by a univeisity institute. The behavioi of these
membeis at Boaiu of Biiectois meetings was ueteimineu
by the Boaiu of Biiectois to be uetiimental to the function-
ing of the meetings anu membei comments weie limiteu to
ten minutes at the beginning anu enu of the meetings (Bui-
lington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuSb). While the 0vN class hau
iecommenueu a laigei Boaiu of Biiectois to gain suppoit
amongst local institutions, achieving quoium at Boaiu of
Biiectois meetings was now a pioblem with the expanueu
Boaiu of Biiectois anu this sloweu the passage of initia-
tives. The Boaiu of Biiectois uiscusseu the neeu foi
"housekeeping" to ieplace Boaiu of Biiectois membeis
who consistently misseu meetings, to get the oiganization's
finances in oiuei, finu uiffeient office space, anu close out
outstanuing payments fiom the confeience (Builington
Cuiiency Pioject, 2uuSc).
The uunu Institute offeieu office space to meet a iequiie-
ment foi having the Ameiicoips*vista position. The Bieau
Bank officially moveu to the uunu Institute on the 0nivei-
sity of veimont campus in the fall of 2uuS. Amy Kiischnei,
Ameiicoips*vista, anu Caia Taussig, the newly hiieu Execu-
tive Biiectoi, attenueu a local cuiiency confeience in Colo-
iauo anu upon theii ietuin wiote a lettei to the Boaiu of
Biiectois which outlineu the 'unfunueu manuate' anu mul-
tiple uiiections they hau been given anu the cuiient state of
the oiganization:
!"##$%& ()&"*&)+%,
-$ .*/$ 0$$% &*12$3 4)&. 5$&&)%5 &.$ 6)&7 )%/+8/$3 )% 9!:;
-$ <$$8 &.*& +"# 6+=="%)6*&)+% .*1 0$$% "%$/$% *1 +"#
&.)%2)%5 .*1 $/+8/$3 *%3 &.)1 =$=+ )1 +"# >)#1& 1&$? &+ 5$&
$/$#7+%$ +% &.$ 1*=$ ?*5$; @/$# &.$ ?*1& 1$/$#*8 4$$21A 4$
.*/$ 5+&&$% 3)<<$#$%& )3$*1 <#+= /*#)+"1 9+*#3 +< B)#$6&+#1
=$=0$#1 *0+"& $C?$6&*&)+%1 <+# 4.*& )& )1 &.*& 4$ *#$ &#7)%5
&+ *66+=?8)1. 4)&. &.$ !)&7 D+< 9"#8)%5&+%E 07 B$6$=0$#; -$
%$$3 68*#)>)6*&)+% +% 4.*& )1 =$*%& 4.$% 4$ 1*7 F*66$?G
&*%6$H 07 &.$ !)&7,
I G B+ 4$ =$*% &.*& &.$ !)&7 F*66$?&1H &.$ )3$* &.*& 8+6*8
6"##$%6)$1 6*% ?8*7 * /)&*8 #+8$ )% 8+6*8 $6+%+=)6 3$/$8+?G
=$%&J 97 B$6; IA &.$7 *5#$$ &+ 4+#2 4)&. "1 *%3 ?"& 1+=$
#$1+"#6$1 0$.)%3 3$/$8+?)%5 * ?#+5#*= &.*& 1.+41 &.*& 6"#G
#$%6)$1 6*% 0$ "1$3 *1 * &++8 &+ *66+=?8)1. 1?$6)>)6 $6+%+=)6A
1+6)*8A +# $%/)#+%=$%&*8 5+*81; @"# <+6"1 )% &.)1 6*1$ 4+"83
0$ 1&#*&$5)6 G &+ 3$/$8+? * 8+%5 &$#= #$8*&)+%1.)? &.*& ?#+G
/)3$1 =$*1"#*08$ #$1"8&1 *%3 0$%$>)&1 &.$ 6+=="%)&7K@#A
L G B+ 4$ =$*% &.*& &.$ !)&7 .*1 *5#$$3 &+ F*66$?&H 8+6*8
6"##$%67 <+# ?*7=$%& <+# * ?*#&)6"8*# 1$#/)6$ +# 1$& +< 1$#/G
)6$1 D$;5;A $8$6&#)6)&7E <+# * ?*#&)6"8*# *=+"%& +< &)=$ 07 B$6;
IJ M.)1 4+"83 0$ 8)2$ * ?)8+& ?#+5#*= *%3 &.$ <+6"1 4+"83 0$
&*6&)6*8 *%3 *11"=$1 &.$ <+"%3*&)+% 4$ .*/$ 4)&. 9#$*3 *%3
+"# 6"##$%& )%<#*1&#"6&"#$ )1 4.*& 4$ 4)88 0")83 +%; (+=$
9+*#3 +< B)#$6&+#1 =$=0$#1 .*/$ $C?#$11$3 &.*& "?6+=)%5
?+8)&)6*8 6.*%5$1 )% &.$ =*7+#N1 +<>)6$ =*7 <$$3 )%&+ &.)1 &)=$
8)%$; -$ %$$3 68*#)>)6*&)+% +% .+4 &.*& 6.*%5$1 &.$ $C?$6&*G
&)+%1 ?"& "?+% "1;
B$?$%3)%5 +% 4.)6. +?&)+% &.$ 9+*#3 +< B)#$6&+#1 6+=$1 &+ *
6+%1$%1"1 *#+"%3 +"# <+6"1 4)88 0$ +%,
@?&)+% I, O+6"1)%5 +% <+#="8*&)%5 * 1&#*&$57 <+# &.$ 8+%5
&$#= /)*0)8)&7P1"1&*)%*0)8)&7 +< 6+=?8$=$%&*#7 6"##$%6)$1 *1
* &++8 +< $6+%+=)6 3$/$8+?=$%& &.*& 6*% 0$ ?#$1$%&$3 &+ &.$
!)&7 !+"%6)8; Q81+A 4+#2)%5 4)&. 6+%1"8&*%&1 &+ 3$1)5% )%<#*G
1&#"6&"#$ *%3 $8$6&#+%)6 6"##$%67 4+"83 0$ 6$%&#*8 &+ *%7
8+%5G&$#= 1&#*&$57;
@?&)+% L, R1)%5 &.$ #$1+"#6$1 4$ .*/$ &+ 1)5% "? =+#$ 0"1)G
%$11$1 *%3 6+%&)%"$ 4)&. 9#$*3 *1 )1 <+# * ?)8+& 6)&7 )=?8$G
=$%&*&)+%; 9*1$3 +% +"# $C?$#)$%6$1 )% B$%/$# *%3 4)&.
=$=0$#1 +< &.$ 6+=?8$=$%&*#7 6"##$%67 6+=="%)&7A 4$
.*/$ 6+=$ &+ 0$8)$/$ &.*& 4$ 1.+"83 0$ 4+#2)%5 &+4*#31
@?&)+% I; -$ 3+%N& <$$8 &.*& +"# 6"##$%& 1&#"6&"#$ +# 1&*<>)%5
*88+41 <+# * 1"66$11<"8 1.+#&G&$#= )=?8$=$%&*&)+%;
-$ .*/$ 0$$% &+83 &.*& 4$ .*/$ * +%$ 7$*# 6+==)&=$%&
<#+= /*#)+"1 9+*#3 +< B)#$6&+#1 =$=0$#1 &+ =*2$ &.)1 4+#2
+# $81$ &.$7 4)88 FS"=? 1.)?;H !"#$ #&' $"' ()$*(+', $"#$
-.// 0''1 2()3 $"' 4(#&5 (6 7.&'*$(&,3 *(++.$$'5 $( $".,
1&(8'*$ #6$'& 2()& (9' 2'#& *(++.$+'9$ ., )1: !' "#;'
# +#95#$' -.$" )9*/'#& <(#/,====
>=?( +#$$'& -"#$ $"' <(#/ (6 $"' 4(#&5 (6 7.&'*$(&, .,3
-' 5( 9($ "#;' $"' &',()&*', $( ,),$#.9 ()& '66(&$, $(@
-#&5, &'#*".9< .$=
T+" .*/$ 5$%$#+"187 *5#$$3 &+ .$8? 4)&. <"%3 #*)1)%5 "?+%
#$6$)/)%5 * 0"35$& *%3 1.+#& ?#+?+1*8; M.$1$ *#$ *&&*6.$3;
:8$*1$ %+&$ &.$ <+88+4)%5 *0+"& &.$1$ *&&*6.=$%&1,
9"35$& I )1 +"# +?&)=*8 16$%*#)+; U& 3+$1 %+& &*2$ )%&+ *6G
6+"%& )%G2)%3 3+%*&)+%1 +< +<>)6$ 1?*6$A $&6; -$ <$$8 )& )1 %$6G
$11*#7 )< &.$ 5+*81 +< &.)1 +#5*%)V*&)+% *#$ *1 4$ 1?$88$3 +"&
)% @?&)+% I;
9"35$& L )1 &.$ <"%3$3 /$#1)+% +< +"# 6"##$%& +?$#*&)%5 16$G
%*#)+; U& 3+$1 %+& *88+4 <+# )=?8$=$%&*&)+% +< *% $8$6&#+%)6
171&$=;
-$ 1&)88 %$$3 &+ ?#+3"6$ * ="8&)G7$*# ?8*% *%3 4+#2 +% #$/$G
%"$ =+3$81 &.*& 4)88 *11)1& )% &.$ 0"35$&)%5 ?#+6$11 W .+4G
$/$#A 4$ *#$ %+& 6"##$%&87 1&*<<$3 &+ 3+ &.)1 1&#*&$57 4+#2 )%
* &)=$87 <*1.)+% 4.)8$ #"%%)%5 &.$ +#5*%)V*&)+%; -$ 6*%%+&
5$& &+ &.$ ?8*6$ 4$ .*/$ 0$$% &*12$3 4)&. 4)&.+"& 1"01&*%G
&)*8 =+%$&*#7 1"??+#&; -$N/$ 0$$% 5)/$% *% "%<"%3$3 =*%G
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
51
3*&$ DFX+ !"##$%67 Y$<& 9$.)%3HJE; -$ 4#)&$ &.)1 8$&&$# &+
1.*#$ &.$ 1$%1$ +< "#5$%67 4$ <$$8A $1?$6)*887 4.$% 6+%1)3$#G
)%5 +"# B$6$=0$# &)=$ 8)%$ 4)&. &.$ !)&7 !+"%6)8; -$ %$$3
7+"# 1"??+#&A &)=$ +# >)%*%6)*8A &+ 68*#)<7 *%3 *66+=?8)1. &.$
5+*81 +< &.$ 9"#8)%5&+% !"##$%67
:#+S$6&; -$ 6*%%+& 3+ )& 4)&.+"& 7+";
DZ)#16.%$# [M*"11)5A ($?&$=0$# L\A L]]^ 8$&&$# &+ &.$ 9+*#3
+< B)#$6&+#1E
In an attempt to biing claiity anu stiuctuie to the emeiging
vision, the staff inviteu a local cuiiency activist they hau
met in Coloiauo, Taigeteu Cuiiencies founuei Aithui
Biock, to Builington foi a seiies of meetings in eaily fall
2uuS. Biock met with the staff anu a few membeis of Bui-
lington City Council to outline a vision foi what a full ieal-
izeu local cuiiency coulu accomplish. Be piesenteu a vision
with numeious specializeu cuiiencies linking community
piogiams anu non piofits tieu togethei by a business-to-
business mutual cieuit system. The BCP staff anu Boaiu
weie unable to get any financial iesouices to hiie Biock as
a consultant but woulu continue to point to his vision as a
likely stiategy foi expansion.
Figure 3: Targeted Currencies Vision for BCP
The late fall of 2uuS anu eaily 2uu6 iepiesenteu a phase of
stasis in the oiganization. Nonthly meetings weie helu by
the Boaiu of Biiectois. A consiueiable amount of staff time
was spent wiiting stiategic plans, which changeu fie-
quently anu still hau uncleai goals. This was happening
even while managing the cuiiency - counting, stamping,
exchanging, anu cieatingmailing uiiectoiies, iequiieu a
neaily full-time effoit. The Ameiicoips*vista, being full-
time, leu much of the oiganizational management. Staff
moveu foiwaiu with a plan to iecall the olu black anu white
cuiiency anu ieplace it with coloi cuiiency as a pieiequi-
site of moving towaius anu electionic mutual cieuit system.
A funu iaisei was helu at 0nion Station in Builington in
eaily 0ctobei. Local authoi Bill NcKibben, who hau ie-
cently wiitten a shoit aiticle foi local newspapei Seven
Bays about BCP, agieeu to give a speech (Builington Cui-
iency Pioject, 2uuSu). While the event uiu not iaise much
money, theie weie ovei 2uu people in attenuance.
Bespite continueu piesence in the public eye, inteinal pies-
suies continueu to mount. By Novembei, the Su1cS applica-
tion was uenieu because the IRS ueteimineu BCP coulu not
achieve tax exempt status (Builington Cuiiency Pioject,
2uuSe). The application foi Su1c4 was nevei gianteu, it is
uncleai fiom the notes if it was officially withuiawn.
Thiough othei local cuiiency activists, BCP leaineu that
anothei local cuiiency hau been uenieu this chaiitable
status on the basis that they weie too focuseu on economic
uevelopment. BCP's pio bono lawyei hau to ieuuce the
numbei of houis he coulu uonate to BCP.
The possibility of a switch to a mutual cieuit system, as
oiiginally pioposeu by the 0niveisity of veimont Class in
2uu4, was incieasing uifficult. Iuentifying the numbei of
slices in ciiculation continueu to be a huiule in the tiansi-
tion. Cleai iecoius about how many slices hau been piinteu
anu issueu uuiing BCP's histoiy weie incomplete. It was
estimateu that BCP woulu neeu about $2uu,uuu cash foi
technology anu staff suppoit at a time when the oiganiza-
tion's annual buuget was aiounu $1u,uuu (Builington Cui-
iency Pioject, 2uuSe). While this was seen as ambitious,
the uevelopment of an online tiansaction system woulu
have iequiieu hiiing auuitional people to manage the pioc-
ess anu woik on the technology. Bespite the knowleuge of a
few open-souice LETS (Local Exchange Tiauing System)
piogiams available, all weie ueemeu by staff to be inaue-
quate in theii cuiient state to suppoit laige scale tiauing
with local businesses. BCP exploieu the iuea of a finuing
fiscal sponsoi so that they coulu submit giant applications
foi funuing the electionic cuiiency platfoim (Builington
Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu6a) but ultimately weie not able to
finu an oiganization that was suitable. The Executive Biiec-
toi iesigneu at the enu of 2uuS as she was only being paiu
in Slices anu a souice of cash ievenue foi BCP coulu not be
ieauily iuentifieu.
/):0(. )(
0n a positive note, Nain St. Lanuing company uonateu a
new office space at theii wateifiont piopeity anu the Bieau
Bank moveu once again in Spiing 2uu6 (Builington Cui-
iency Pioject, 2uu6b). A new Ameiicoips vista, Nelissa
Stiebeit, was hiieu in Summei 2uu6 to pioviue auuitional
outieach to the community anu iepoiteu to the Executive
Biiectoi, now foimei Ameiicoips*vista, Amy Kiischnei.
The Executive Biiectoi was contiacteu to be paiu in cash
but woulu neeu to iaise it as theie was not a sufficient bank
balance to covei any salaiy. No Bieau was allotteu as com-
pensation as theie weie not sufficient places to spenu the
cuiiency.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
52
Stiebeit, in auuition to BCP uuties, began exploiing the iuea
of Time Bank systems because of a peisonal inteiest uiffei-
ent foims of exchange. Time Banks aie a mutual cieuit cui-
iency system baseu on neighbois pioviuing seivices to
neighbois baseu on the cuiiency unit of an houi. The piem-
ise was that eveiyone's time is equal no mattei the seivice
pioviueu.
A new souice of momentum came in }une 2uu6 when BCP
hosteu a one uay confeience on alteinative foims of money
in conjunction with the Business Alliance foi Local Living
Economies confeience. 0vei 1uu local anu inteinational
attenuees met at Champlain College to listen to piactitio-
neis shaie theii expeiiences of local cuiiencies (Builington
Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu6c). While meetings anu many stiate-
gic planning uiscussions continueu among the Boaiu of
Biiectois anu vaiious committees at BCP uuiing the sum-
mei of 2uu6, still veiy little piogiess was maue. Boaiu of
Biiectois meetings uwinuleu in size anu the lack of quoium
maue official uecision making impossible. Amy Kiischnei
hau enueu hei teim as Ameiicoips*vista in the summei
anu hau been seiving as unpaiu Executive Biiectoi since
then. 0nable to volunteei such a significant amount of time
any longei, she gave notice of enuing hei woik foi BCP at
yeai enu.
In Becembei 2uu6, the Boaiu of Biiectois acknowleugeu
that majoi changes neeueu to be maue in the uiiection of
the oiganization (Builington Cuiiency Pioject, 2uu6u). The
fiist uiscussions about whethei it is bettei to uissolve BCP
oi keep going occuiieu. It was ueemeu too business-like to
be a non-piofit, but hau no ievenue mouel to be a business.
The histoiy of ineffectiveness in achieving goals has be-
come a buiuen foi foiwaiu momentum. Nany oiganiza-
tions uelayeu anu weie unwilling to fuithei uiscuss accept-
ing Bieau. While attenuing a local business netwoiking
event, the Executive Biiectoi ieceiveu the following com-
ment when asking an attenuee if they have heaiu of BCP,
"They seem like they have a lot of gieat iueas, but can nevei
get it togethei".
In Naich 2uu7, at the annual membei meeting a vote to
close oiganization was pioposeu anu passeu. 0nly a hanu-
ful of people attenueu, seeming to signal that the pioject
was alieauy ovei. 0vei the next few months, the foimei
Executive Biiectoi anu a foimei Boaiu of Biiectoi Chaii,
Amy Kiischnei anu Lauia Naikowitz, settleu the oiganiza-
tion's uebts anu notifieu the Secietaiy of State that the oi-
ganization has uissolveu.
&)(&+1#0)(
Theie aie many contiibuting factois to the uecline anu clos-
ing of BCP. The thesis ieseaich this case stuuy is built upon,
incluueu many inteiviews with foimei oiganizeis of BCP.
Not one BCP leauei inteivieweu mentioneu cuiiency issu-
ance in any of theii inteiviews. While it was expecteu that
the ieason foi BCP's lack of success to be some combina-
tion of oiganizational factois in fact all the stiuggles with
staffing, funuing, ciiculation, anu membeiship all stemmeu
fiom how the cuiiency was put into ciiculation.
The founueis' goal was to get as much cuiiency into ciicu-
lation as possible. Thus the majoiity of the gioup's time in
the fiist yeais was spent exteinally on iaising awaieness
anu less eneigy was spent cieating the inteinal capacity
necessaiy to iun the oiganization anu sustain any giowth.
0ne volunteei fiom the eaily uays of BCP noteu, "Theie was
a feeling among the oiganizeis of "let's just go foi it" ...
Binusight showeu that BCP got too big too soon ...the new
people uiun't follow thiough anu slow inciemental giowth
woulu have been the best thing".
0vei the yeais, BCP changeu the way they issueu Bieau into
ciiculation seveial times. 0iiginally when a business signeu
a membeiship agieement they weie given Su slices of
Bieau as a loan. The new membeis weie encouiageu to
spenu the Bieau anu many uiu so immeuiately. If a membei
wanteu to cancel theii contiact they weie fiist iequiieu to
sell enough goous anu seivices so that they coulu pay back
the loan. It is uncleai fiom the iecoius if this evei hap-
peneu. Any inuiviuual who was not a membei coulu not buy
Slices fiom BCP, they hau to ask to ieceive it in change fiom
a membei. The Nay Su, 1998 newslettei explicitly states
that the oiganization of BCP uiu not sell slices because "we
want to emphasize that membeis aie willing to accept the
cuiiency, not just spenu it."
Thioughout the histoiy of BCP, its leaueis felt that incieas-
ing ciiculation was the most ciitical factoi foi success - that
if ciiculation ieacheu a ciitical mass, then all othei chal-
lenges facing the cuiiency woulu uiminish. To achieve this
goal of incieaseu ciiculation, BCP began to change the way
it issueu cuiiency. Thiee yeais aftei it staiteu, BCP began
to sell Slices to membeis of the public foi 0S Bollais.
In 2uu1, BCP changeu its issuance again. The }anuaiy 2uu1
newslettei saiu "Piobably the biggest pioblem facing Bieau
is ciiculation. Bieau simply neeus to be useu moie to keep
the spaik igniteu. Now with the gieatei ease of buying
Bieau, moie Bieau in ciiculation, anu wiuei availability of
the Biiectoiy, moie people will be seeking goous anu seiv-
ices payable in Bieau." To inciease the amount of the cui-
iency in Builington, BCP also ueciueu to give it away. BCP
woulu awaiu giants of Bieau to community oiganizations
with the goal that they woulu immeuiately spenu it, in-
cieasing ciiculation. 0vei the next few yeais, eveiy mem-
bei was given 2u Slices foi ienewing theii membeiship.
When these small gifts uiu not have a noticeable effect, it
was ueciueu that the ieason foi this was because the
amounts given away weie not enough. At the 2uu4 Sus-
tainable Communities Confeience in Builington, 1S,uuu
Slices weie given to the attenuees. This too faileu to jump
stait ciiculation.
Aftei the failuie of the Slices issueu at the 2uu4 confeience
to achieve the oiganization's goals of incieaseu ciiculation.
BCP spent 2 yeais ie-evaluating its issuance anu ueciueu to
change Bieau fiom being issueu as a fiat cuiiency to one
that was a pait of a mutual cieuit system, a laige unueitak-
ing. A mutual cieuit system is an accounting system foi a
gioup of people wheie the uebits must always equal the
cieuits, system-wiue. Both uppei anu lowei cieuit limits
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
53
can be establisheu by an auministiatoi oi the gioup anu
money can be calleu into existence baseu upon the neeus of
tiaue.
If an oiganization is to iun a mutual cieuit system, it is ab-
solutely ciitical that it knows how much money is cuiiently
in ciiculation. Foi BCP to conveit to a mutual cieuit system,
it woulu have iequiieu cieating an electionic account foi
eveiyone who helu Bieau with an accuiate accounting of
how much was in people's accounts. Aftei yeais of inconsis-
tent iecoiu keeping anu volunteei tuinovei, BCP uiu not
know how many slices it hau piinteu anu uistiibuteu. This
necessitateu an extiemely laboi intensive piocess of expii-
ing all of the olu Bieau in an attempt to uiive it out of ciicu-
lation to cieate the balanceu leugei iequiieu by a mutual
cieuit system. All cuiient anu foimei membeis weie noti-
fieu that all Bieau issueu piioi to the 2uu4 ielaunch woulu
expiie anu no longei be valiu (this woulu be all the olu
black anu white Bieau). They weie encouiageu to ieueem
theii olu slices foi new ones with seiial numbeis. The pui-
pose was so that BCP coulu tiack all of the new bills anu
know how much was uistiibuteu.
The auministiative buiuen foi conveiting to a mutual cieuit
system was laige. Because BCP's legal stiuctuie (a state
non-piofit without IRS chaiitable status) uiu not allow it
apply foi most giants anu it uiu not have a sustainable
ievenue mouel, BCP uiu not have a way to pay foi a staff to
manage the auministiative tasks iequiieu foi the convei-
sion anu acquisition of new softwaie. This leu to the last
chaptei in BCP's histoiy. It stiuggleu foi 2 yeais to con-
tinue opeiating, but coulu not.
Theie aie seveial ways that a cuiiency can be issueu. It
cannot be stateu what mechanism BCP shoulu have useu.
But it can be saiu that constantly switching how the cui-
iency is issueu, like BCP uiu, will likely leau to failuie. The
vaiious goveinance mouels that BCP useu, along with fie-
quent volunteei buinout anu tuinovei, enableu this fluctua-
tion.
Nany factois contiibuteu to the challenges of BCP, but all
uecisions about how the oiganization shoulu have been iun
anu what iesouices weie neeueu ueiiveu fiom what type of
cuiiency it woulu be anu how it woulu be issueu. With that
element constantly in flux, it is not a suipiise that the oi-
ganization was nevei able to finu soliuity.
+,##)(# +,!%(,-
BCP was a unique expeiience in a specific time anu place.
Any iecommenuations will not be uiiectly applicable but
may pioviue some insight foi othei communities embaik-
ing on a local cuiiency pioject.
1. Not eveiy local cuiiency will be successful. Bowevei,
communities can anu shoulu expeiiment. It is unknown
what type of cuiiencies will best woik foi uiffeient
communities oi how to stait anu manage them to be
sustainable in the long teim. Theie isn't enough knowl-
euge oi piactice on the subject yet. We must continue
to expeiiment. Noie failuies will leau to moie suc-
cesses.
2. Communities staiting cuiiencies shoulu uefine success
cleaily anu institute measuiable goals. If the goal of
BCP was to get people to talk about how money is cie-
ateu in oui society anu exploie new ways to achieve
that then BCP was an outstanuing success. Bunuieus of
people uiiectly paiticipateu anu thousanus moie heaiu
the message. It inspiieu the cieation of time banks
aiounu that state anu a business-to-business cieuit
cleaiing netwoik that is still opeiating touay. Nany
people have benefiteu fiom those. If the goal was to get
a set numbei of local cuiiency uollais ciiculating foi a
set peiiou of time oi cieate a sustainable long teim
economic alteinative, it uiu not succeeu.
S. Papei cuiiencies aie expensive anu haiu to auministei.
They iequiie a consistent anu time-consuming auminis-
tiative commitment. Theie is the inclination in the
alteinative cuiiency community that they aie moie
accessible to iuial oi economical maiginalizeu commu-
nities but the giowing piesence of cell phones in the
use of monetaiy tiansactions in the ueveloping woilu
shoulu be a sign that technology can be useu appiopii-
ately to achieve the goals of local economic uevelop-
ment (Kiistof 2u1u). Technology can significantly
lessen auministiative anu iecoiu keeping buiuens,
making moie impact moie quickly.
4. Revenue mouels anu ieliable income stieams aie an
impoitant pait of the initial cuiiency uesign. Each uif-
feient type of cuiiency has uiffeient auministiative,
oiganizational, anu stait up iequiiements. It shoulu be
cleai what level of infiastiuctuie the community is in
neeu of anu a plan to access iesouices to achieve that
shoulu be paiamount. uiants anu uonations aie an ac-
ceptable souice of income but they put the oiganization
in the weak position of always having to ask foi money
which is in itself a contiauiction to the goal of ieclaim-
ing powei in the economic uynamic. uiant wiiting anu
seeking uonations aie also veiy laboi intensive anu will
cut into a significant amount of the volunteei oi staff
auministiative time allotteu. Small annual uues fiom
membeis will not be enough in the beginning yeais to
giow the oiganization anu shoulu be vieweu as a sec-
onuaiy income souice.
S. Cuiiencies must be veiy vigilant not to fall into the tiap
of issuing cuiiencies to pay foi theii own uevelopment
oi iisk an inflationaiy system. It takes othei iesouices
cuiiencies than the one being cieateu to make a suc-
cessful local cuiiency. That most likely incluues the
national cuiiency wheie the pioject is baseu.
6. Communities shoulu exploie new uecision making anu
legal stiuctuies such as coopeiatives, sociociacy, anu
otheis. To think insiue the business vs non-piofit box
will limit a pioject. Cuiiencies can be vieweu as social
enteipiise oiganizations, gioups possessing 'an entie-
pieneuiial spiiit with social aims' (Baizaga & Befouiny,
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2011 Volume 15 (A) 42-55 Kirschner
54
2uu1). They may take many uiffeient legal foims oi
stiuctuies. They may have many uiffeient ievenue oi
business mouels built into the pioject.
7. We shoulu also continue to shaie oui iueas, success anu
challenges in publications like the Inteinational }ouinal
of Community Cuiiency Reseaich (I}CCR). It is thiough
this leaining community that we will impiove anu finu
gieatei successes.
"0"+0).%!982
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