NCPlenty, Inc.
Matthew Kalb, Acting President
126 Justice Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
May 27, 2003
Dear
Member,
Good
day! We distributed the results of our
first survey this weekend, which I hope you have had an opportunity to review
at http://www.ncplenty.org/surveyresults.html. These results show that the PLENTY is
circulating but not at the rate we all, as stakeholders in its future, would
have hoped for by this time. However,
your responses provided valuable input, and from the data we have drawn clear
conclusions regarding ways to achieve our circulation goals.
NCPlenty
has accomplished much in a short span.
We incorporated in May 2002 and enrolled 85 members by the time we
released the currency at our first Annual Meeting in October 2002. Today, a year after incorporation and nearly
eight months after disbursing the PLENTY, we have over 130 members enrolled and
nearly 800P ($8,000 worth of PLENTYs) distributed into the community. However, our “grand design” of establishing
a robust local currency has not fully caught on yet. The rate of new memberships has tapered off slowly and
participation by volunteers has not seen a significant increase. What this really shows is that your local
currency organization faces challenges typical to any startup non-profit
business in its first year.
Our
core idea is solid. After all, local
currencies flourish in many communities.
We are dealing with inertia, and inertia can be overcome; it just takes
momentum. The Board of Trustees
believes the membership has the interest, energy, and capability to generate
that momentum, and that this can be done in 120 days. Beginning Saturday June 7 and lasting until the Annual Meeting on
Saturday October 4, we are directing all efforts towards invigorating the
PLENTY and you, the members who make up its network. We have specific campaign goals, all of which are attainable but
require significant commitment. Member
suggestions and data from the survey have helped us focus on key strategies
that, if tenaciously executed, can achieve what we together have set out to
do. And what we have set out to do is
make the PLENTY a significant, positive economic force in our community. The PLENTY transformed from idea to reality
thanks primarily to your faith. This
next step requires your effort. The
Board and Committees will continue working tremendously hard on your behalf,
but the lasting effects of a community enriched by the PLENTY rests with active
members.
These
are the goals of our campaign:
1)
A
year from its release, the PLENTY will have been responsible for transactions
of a value at least twice its issuance.
In other words, each PLENTY will have been spent on average two or more
times.
2)
For
the time period beginning June 7 and ending with the Annual Meeting, NCPlenty
will add 120 new members. Of these, 60
will be specific businesses or business types requested in the membership
survey.
3)
As
of the Annual Meeting, NCPlenty will have $2,000 cash on hand and no debt.
4)
As
of the Annual Meeting, NCPlenty’s volunteer network will allow every volunteer
to occupy only one role and every Trustee to have at most one other position
(either Committee Head or Officer)
I
hope your response is “What can I do?”
We do have a few ideas.
Volunteer Your Time!
By joining one of our committees, you can play the most active role possible in making the campaign an unqualified success. We have included a postcard that shows each committee and what critical goal it will address. Please circle any in which you would be interested and drop the card in the mail as soon as you get this. Your commitment can be large or small in terms of time, as any help you can provide is valuable in strengthening the PLENTY. And of course, simply signing up works toward meeting our goal of one and only one role per volunteer.
Volunteer Your Space!
Meetings
and other campaign activities have to take place somewhere, and we would like
to see them all occur in a PLENTY-accepting space. Besides fulfilling our logistical needs, you will be helping to
increase the sense of community amongst your member neighbors, which we feel is
essential. Please indicate on your
postcard if you can help in this way.
Volunteer Your Voice!
Talk
up the PLENTY and membership in NCPlenty wherever you possibly can. When you have spoken to someone, let us know
about it so we can follow up on the good opportunities you find. Throughout the campaign, we will also
provide simple, low-effort ways for members to show support for recruiting
particular businesses in the area.
Participate in these as they arise.
Volunteer Your Creativity!
If
you have an idea, let us know. We have
a special e-mail address, campaign@ncplenty.org, to which you can send any
suggestion that pops in your head. You
may also reach us by phone at 942-9704.
One topic always of interest: what are creative ways for members with
many PLENTYs to spend them and for members with few PLENTYs to earn them?
Volunteer Your Belief!
Ultimately, we need all of you to put a little time into this one every day. I come to you both excited for our future and aware of the hurdles we need to overcome to make the PLENTY the community elevating tool it can be. I ask that you continue to give us your patience. Your decision to remain an active member in principle (even if today no one is coming to the door with PLENTYs to let you put this into practice) is highly appreciated. As we add more and more businesses to our membership rolls, retaining the ones we have today is key to reaching the critical mass required to make the currency vibrant. We believe this is coming very soon.
Thank
you for your time, and thank you for your membership in NCPlenty.
Sincerely,
Matthew
Kalb
Acting
President
NCPlenty,
Inc.