Green Currency Association Aims To Keep Cash Local, Encourage

Community Investmentby Anthony C. Hayes

MONEY

Mark Twain once wryly noted: “Every-body talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it.” It’s a ridiculous ob-servation, but suppose you could do some-thing about the weather while simultane-ously stimulating local economic growth?

Sounds farfetched, but that’s exactly what one man, Jeff Dicken, and an enterprising group of like-minded Baltimoreans have set out to do.

About a year ago, the Baltimore Green Currency Association (BGCA) launched

an innovative homegrown currency which is simply called, The Baltimore Note (BNote). The notes may be traded just like dollars but can only be used for purchases from participating members. The hand-somely produced gold embossed scrip, which features either a raven or a Baltimore oriole along with the likenesses of famous Marylanders Frederick Douglas and Edgar Allan Poe, comes in denominations of one and five. According to the groups web-site, you can exchange dollars for BNotes in multiples of $10 for $11 worth of the scrip, a 10% bonus on the initial exchange. BNotes may also be exchanged for dollars at the reverse rate.

While to many this may seem like a novel idea, trading with a local currency is really nothing new. Some 20 years ago, Paul Glover founded a similar program in Ithaca, New York. According to Wikipedia, Glover’s “Ithaca Hours” are currently the oldest and largest local currency system in the United States. The system has its roots in the alternative local currencies that pro-liferated in America during the great de-pression. While doing his research into lo-cal economics, Glover had seen an “Hour” note which 19th century British industri-alist Robert Owen issued to his workers for use at his company store. Glover later discovered that Owen’s Hours were based on Josiah Warren’s “Time Store” notes of 1827.

The idea behind all of these systems was to strengthen the local economy by assur-ing that monies spent for goods and servic-es would stay in the community.

In formulating the BGCA, Dicken ini-tially found inspiration in The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International). FINCA supplies credit in developing countries to help women and small businesses. According

to Time Magazine, programs like FINCA, “strip away the bureaucracy common to aid programs of governments and large foun-dations, and repayment rates of 97% are the norm.”

Dicken also used the more modern mod-els of the “BerkShares” which circulate throughout the Berkshire region of Mas-sachusetts, and a contemporary version of “Lewes Pounds” which are popular in East Sussex, Britain. In both of these cases, not only is stimulation of the local economy a goal but a corresponding concern centers on minimizing the impact trade has on the environment. Dicken says the term for this idea is “transition city”. Buying local means less traffic and less waste; hence, the conservation of valuable resources and a cleaner, perhaps more weather friendly, planet.

A membership directory is available both in print and online, as is a helpful guide which answers the most common questions people have about BNotes, such as “Is this legal?” (It is.) “Can I get my dollars back? (You can.) and “How are BNotes better?” (They encourage production of commodi-ties closer to home.)

Dicken estimates that there are ap-proximately 27,000 BNotes in circulation. That’s good news to the more than 150 lo-cal businesses which honor the scrip. These include restaurants and retro clothiers, gal-leries and grocers, law firms, auto shops, even a childbirthing service. The notes can be obtained at several money exchange lo-cations (cambios) around town. To secure the system, the dollars are held in an ac-count at Patapsco Bank in Baltimore. Ju-lie Gouldener, the Director of the BGCA, says the notes find their greatest use in the neighborhoods of Hampden, Station North, Fells Point, and Hamilton/Lauraville.

Minas Konsolas and his wife Peggy

Hoffman, proprietors of Minas Gallery and Boutique in Hampden, are among the many merchants in Hampden who accept BNotes. The couple says they enjoy using the scrip they collect from sales for dining out. Hoffman estimates that BNotes account for about 1% of their weekly receipts. At Breathe Books, just across busy 36th street, that figure is somewhat higher though store clerk Betsy Rasmussen would not hazard a guess as to how much so. Rasmussen says the bookstore accepts the notes for up to 50% on any given purchase. The percent-age allowed by other vendors varies. Goul-dener admits BGCA has no hard data on how the percentages apply from business to business but believes those figures will be available when the new merchant guide comes out later this summer.

One year in, the system is not only up and running but appears set to take off. Several shoppers I spoke with in Hampden seemed to think it’s a good idea. And while

thus far City Hall’s official support has been somewhat tacit, representatives like City Councilman Nick Mosby (7th Dis-trict) have enthusiastically embraced the strategy. In time, Dicken sees the use of the scrip moving beyond the aforementioned progressive arts enclaves and into the more economically disadvantaged areas of Balti-more City. Ideally, the BGCA would like to partner with nonprofits to reach those un-derserved populations.

Are BNotes just a fad or are they a neighborly nexus which will carry our city through these troubled economic times? With 27,000 notes in circulation it would seem the future of the new green currency is promising. Some even wonder if the sys-tem could lead to total bartering. Rasmus-sen remains cautious, however, and offers one final, cogent observation for the long term success of the BNote. “Merchants need to be behind this to make it work.”

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