Local Currency Now Used at 100 Locations

NCPlenty is a nonprofit agency directing the creation and implementation of the currency. The organization recently announced its achievement of having 100 member venues accept the PLENTY.

The idea behind the PLENTY is to keep money within the community, which, NCPlenty officers say, will boost the local economy by creating jobs and keeping local businesses from being overrun by large corporations.

Joseph LoBuglio, NCPlenty secretary and Board of Directors member, said NCPlenty is on track to experience continued success. "We're basing our model on Ithaca's HOURS, and we share many similarities with it."

HOURS is a currency program located in Ithaca, N.Y., that now includes 1,000 members, said Stephen Burke, president of the program's board of directors. "It's not so much to reach a certain number, but to expand it to provide opportunities to serve the community."

Organizations accepting the PLENTY form a diverse mix ranging from individuals working from their homes to retailers like Weaver Street Market. Members agree to accept the PLENTY for at least part of a customer's payment.

"Members tend to be mostly progressively minded people who generally have a stake in this area," LoBuglio said.

Burke said HOURS started out by providing compensation for services. "When we made that leap to provide goods bought with dollars and sold for HOURS, not limited to services, it can work just like currency."

NCPlenty already has taken that step. "I used them at Weaver Street (Market) to get food," said Gabriele Pelli, an employee at Music Explorium, which also is a member of NCPlenty. He said he has accepted some PLENTYs at work. "We want to keep money local and not send it off to some corporate office where it won't do any good."

Several businesses in the area have become members of NCPlenty. Barry Slobin, owner of Paint the Earth on Franklin Street, supports the efforts behind the local currency.

"I think it's a good idea to keep the money in the community rather than spreading it around," he said. "Downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro need every advantage."

LoBuglio said NCPlenty expects to grow to 2,000 members and to issue about $6,000 to $10,000 worth of currency, generating $24,000 to $45,000 of business.

"We have actually joined the (Chapel Hill-Carrboro) Chamber of Commerce ... they've given us moral support, but that's all," he said. "It's slow because it's an alien concept to business owners ... but now we have some major players."

LoBuglio said the organization has pursued dialogue with the chamber to gain legitimacy and to publicize its members. "You need an element of recognition ... it's a real nonprofit, not a scam."

As of now, the NCPlenty board of directors is not going to increase the amount of currency circulating, said NCPlenty Treasurer Shannon Hartzell-Jordan. "Right now, we're concentrating on getting more out with more members," she said.

She said she thinks that business owners will continue to join NCPlenty. "It's a good way to promote business; you connect with the community and feel that you're responding to the ideals of the community."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.