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NCPlenty 126 Justice Street Chapel Hill, NC 27516 www.ncplenty.org ncplenty@ncplenty.org |
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In Each Other We Trust NCPlenty, Inc. is a non-profit corporation working to promote local commerce, fair wages, environmental responsibility, self-reliance, and neighborliness through the implementation and support of a local currency, the PLENTY. |
Voice of the PLENTY - the NCPlenty Newsletter
Welcome to the late July issue of "Voice of the PLENTY," the newsletter for NCPlenty members and others who support the PLENTY local currency. To submit an item or inquire about any story in this newsletter, please contact Member Support at membership@ncplenty.org, or call (919) 619-9368.
In This Issue...
Member News
Featured Story: PLENTY Grants
August Board Meeting at Pittsboro General Store
Nominations for the Board of Trustees
Call for Artists! Design Posters for LOOPS and "Ask For It as Change."
Reporting Back from the Festival for the Eno
CCCC Sustainability Fair (Volunteer Opportunity)
Farmers' Markets and EBT (Volunteer Opportunity)
PLENTY Specials
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Paperhand Puppet Intervention graced the cover of the July 13 Independent Weekly and picked up an Indy Arts Award for their inspiring work. Their summer show, "Garden of the Wild," will run Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from August 12 to September 4. Shows start at 7:00pm with a different pre-show each night at 6:30. $10 for adults, $7 for 12 and under, free for 2 and under, and PLENTYs are accepted. |
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Piedmont Biofuels recently announced the opening of the first pump delivering "...pure, U.S.-made, environmentally-friendly biodiesel" in Carrboro. The pump distributes 99% biodiesel (B99) to the Carrboro Public Works fleet and to members of the Piedmont Biofuels Cooperative. A full press release can be viewed here. During an indefinite trial period, members of the Co-op can now pay for their biodiesel entirely in PLENTYs at the stations in Moncure, Pittsboro, and the Carrboro Public Works! |
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Frog Hollow Outdoors , a new member of NCPlenty who signed up at this year's Festival for the Eno, has announced that for all of 2005 they will accept 100% payment in PLENTYs for any of their services. Beginning in 2006, they will accept 100% payment in PLENTYs for canoe and kayak rentals, and up to 50% payment in PLENTYs for guided trips, instruction, overnights, and B&B trips. |
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Coleman's Help Desk, a database support provider for nonprofits and small businesses, is now using CodeCharge Studio for migrating Microsoft Access databases to the web. In addition to Access, CHD now provides a wide variety of support services for Filemaker, Alpha 5, and ebase. PLENTYs are accepted for up to two hours or 10% of any bill. |
Congratulations to Our Latest Recipients!
Each year, NCPlenty reserves a small portion of the previous year's membership issuance to grant to local groups or individuals doing work that fits our mission. In the past, we have granted PLENTYs to the IFC's "Food-Faith-Farms" partner project, Spence's Farm's "Friends of the Farm," and to reward volunteers who removed the floorboards of the Moncure Museum of Art. This quarter, we are pleased to announce PLENTY grants to Chatham Marketplace and Carrboro Parks Project.
Melissa Frey of Chatham Marketplace asked NCPlenty for 35 PLENTYs to hire a local artist. Stacye Leanza, an artist and founding member of NCPlenty, will paint a mural to decorate their soon-to-be-open (November 1!) location in Chatham Mills. As Melissa wrote in her application, "We feel CM and NCPlenty have similar priorities in that we both support local commerce, local independence, environmental responsibility, and healthy community life.... Murals have become a specialty of Stacye's and we feel her artwork will enhance our space and dramatically define the vision for the market--that it be a warm, interactive hub for people who want to combine the social, cultural, economic, environmental, and food aspects of their lives into one integrated whole." NCPlenty eagerly awaits the opening of the Chatham Marketplace location, and we can't wait to see the mural!
Laurie Weakley of Carrboro Parks Project applied for a small grant to help with costs associated with their then-upcoming cookouts on the Weaver Street Market lawn. Unfortunately, we were faced with a problem of timing--the cookouts would be over before the Board meeting at which the grants were to be decided! Since NCPlenty greatly values the work being done by this member, we worked with Laurie to determine if the funds could be used in some other way. Laurie alerted us of a a challenge grant, set by an anonymous donor, of raising $2000 by August, and we were happy to apply 5 PLENTYs to this challenge grant. The funds ultimately go toward shading the playground at the Carrboro Town Commons, home of the Carrboro Farmers' Market. The Carrboro Parks Project application outlined many ways in which this supports NCPlenty's mission, including the following: "...the Town Commons area is one of the most important local gathering places and through our projects, community members can see the positive impact each individual can have on their neighbors and their town..."
Applications for Next Round of Grants Due Soon
There is one more round of grants before our Annual Meeting in October (at which time a new Disbursement Policy is decided upon). We would like to hear from you on what worthy projects in the community now could benefit from a PLENTY grant.
August Board of Trustees Meeting at Pittsboro General Store
The next NCPlenty Board of Trustees meeting will take place Wednesday August 10 from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Since our meetings have usually been in Orange County, and NCPlenty operates in Orange, Durham, Chatham and Alamance Counties, we are holding the next meeting at the Pittsboro General Store Cafe to give an opportunity for our Chatham County members and neighbors to drop by. There is a public interest segment from 6:00 to 6:30 at the same location. All members and the general public are invited to come with any questions or comments for the Board, or just to say hello.
Thanks to the Pittsboro General Store Cafe for hosting this meeting. If you plan to attend the public interest segment and/or observe the BoT meeting, please RSVP by Tuesday August 9 by emailing board@ncplenty.org or calling (919) 619-9368.
Board meetings are normally held on the second Wednesday of each month, from 7-9pm, unless other notice is given.
Return to ContentsNominations for the Board of Trustees
Do you enjoy working hard on a project you can feel good about? Do you have a sense of humor and a sense of social responsibility? Then NCPlenty wants you!
This October, the membership of NCPlenty will elect the next Board of Trustees. Any member is eligible to run. The responsibilities of the Board are outlined in our bylaws, available here or in printed form by request.
In fact, there are vacancies on the Board now, so if you would like to serve as appointed Trustee for the few months until the next election, let us know! This would be an excellent way to learn the ropes and decide if you would like to run in October.
Of course, the Board of Trustees is just one way to volunteer with NCPlenty. We are always looking for volunteers who want to have fun working for a good cause. If this sounds like you, please let us know!
Return to ContentsCall for Artists! Design Posters for LOOPS and "Ask For It As Change."
The PLENTY is a beautiful currency, and NCPlenty has been lucky to have extremely attractive signs and materials as well. We owe this to Emma Skurnick, a founding member of NCPlenty who designed our currency and signage. Here are some examples of the art she has done for us:
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As we move forward, we are looking for artists to help us develop collectible posters highlighting the PLENTY and particularly the forthcoming LOOPS (see here for info) and "Ask For It As Change" projects. These posters would be both an educational and a fundraising tool for NCPlenty. We will award 5 PLENTYs (equivalent to $50) to the artist whose work is selected. If you are interested, please let us know. Submissions received by August 10 will be considered at our next Board of Trustees meeting.
You can send sketches to:We can also take electronic submissions at board@ncplenty.org (but please call first if the files total more than 2MB). If you have any questions, please contact us at the email above or call (919) 619-9368.
Reporting Back from the Festival for the Eno
This year's Festival for the Eno was fantastic! With a lovely new display, eight volunteers including four who were volunteering for NCPlenty for the first time, and mostly beautiful weather on our side, NCPlenty spread its educational message about local currency. A number of enthusiastic folks picked up PLENTYs (and directories) at our PLENTY Bank, cleaning it out for the first time in our four years at the Festival. Visitors took brochures and directories, signed up for our mailing list, and asked great questions. It was clear more people than ever were aware of the PLENTY and understood it to be a very positive thing.
In conversations with those who came by the NCPlenty booth, we noted that a great many belong to a segment of the public who do not necessarily fit our membership model but are enthusiastic about local currency and "buy local" initiatives. These were local consumers, very conscientious about supporting local businesses, who do not own businesses that could sign up as provider members but are eager for other ways to participate. We talked with them in depth about "Ask For It As Change." In this program, local shoppers (including NCPlenty members) take PLENTYs as part of their change from member locations which tend to accumulate PLENTYs, such as Weaver Street Market. These shoppers can then look to the NCPlenty Directory to find new places to spend PLENTYs. The Board is developing an "Ask For It As Change" campaign which will target this audience with educational outreach in order to incorporate more local shoppers into the PLENTY network, even encouraging them to voice support of the PLENTY to non-member businesses as a step toward bringing those businesses aboard.
We added 27 new people to our listserv, mostly ones who fit the mold of "conscientious consumer" as described above. We also signed up two new members, both from Durham.
And of course, thank you's are in order for the members and volunteers who pulled together to make our participation a success!
We also owe thanks to Greg Bell and the Festival for the Eno staff for doing a wonderful job. We look forward to next year.
Return to ContentsCCCC Sustainability Fair (Volunteer Opportunity)
NCPlenty is seeking volunteers for the Central Carolina Community College Sustainability Fair at CCCC's Pittsboro Campus, Saturday, September 24. The fair runs from 9am to 4pm. Matt Kalb of the NCPlenty Board of Trustees will be at the booth all day so volunteers need not be particularly experienced with NCPlenty. In fact, helping staff the booth at public events is a very good way to learn about the PLENTY and NCPlenty. We are looking for two volunteers, one for 8am-12pm and the other for 12pm-4pm. If you are interested, please contact Matt at ncplenty@ncplenty.org or (919) 619-9368.
Return to ContentsFarmers' Markets and EBT (Volunteer Opportunity)
The Durham, Carrboro, and Hillsborough Farmers' markets are working with the Leaflight to develop a system allowing farmers to accept Food Stamps and other benefit programs which require EBT (Electronics Benefit Transactions). This is being done to give those in food assistance programs access to fresh, local food. While the specific methods have not been finalized, the system will involve a dedicated card reader which debits the benefits recipient's account, and a scrip, token, or voucher which will be used to shop with the individual vendors.
If you are an artist interested in designing a special-use PLENTY which could be used in conjunction with the electronic card reader system, please contact Robert via email to robert@ncplenty.org or call (919) 619-8119.
Return to ContentsThese are the specials being offered by our members at this time. Remember, you can be listed, too -- you just need to tell us! One way to qualify for listing is if you allow customers to pay 50% or more in PLENTYs on a per-transaction basis, even if this is your regular policy. You can do this online here. This requires a user name and password, which we will email to you if you do not have it (just follow the link on the update page). In addition to adding specials, you can update your contact information or your goods/services offered in the same spot. Otherwise, please send an e-mail to membership@ncplenty.org or call (919) 619-9368. You will need to provide the following information: your business, your PLENTY acceptance policy and/or the special(s) being run, and the start and end dates of the special(s). The Board of Trustees reserves the right to determine whether the special submitted is sufficient to warrant listing.
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Business Name: Blast, Inc.
Goods/Services Provided: Internet Service Provider, Web Design, and Website Hosting
Contact Name: Lyle Estill
Phone: (919)545-2535
Web: http://www.blast.com
Special: We accept up to 100% payment in PLENTYs for all services.
Special runs until further notice.
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Business Name: French Connections
Goods/Services Provided: French Antiques| African Art and Crafts
Contact Name: Jaques and Wendy Dufour
Phone: (919)545-9296
Web: http://www.french-nc.com
Special: Accepting 100 % payment in PLENTY's with a 20 % discount for PLENTY users.
(Discounts not cumulative). Whether you're looking for furniture, African baskets,
contemporary stone or wood carvings, French or African fabric, this is the right place.
Special runs until further notice.
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Business Name: Frog Hollow
Goods/Services Provided: Kayak and Canoe Instruction Kayak and Canoe Services
Goods/Services Wanted: Yoga Artwork Food, Restaurants
Contact Name: Banks Dixon
Phone: (919)949-4315
Web: http://www.froghollowoutdoors.com
Email Address: info@froghollowoutdoors.com
Special: For 2005, Frog Hollow Canoe & Kayak Services accepts 100% payment in PLENTYs
for any of our services. Canoe & kayak rentals, guided trips, instruction, overnight B&B
trips, ...anything we offer!
Special runs until January 1, 2006.
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Business Name: Matt Kalb
Goods/Services Provided: Guitar Lessons
Phone: (919)967-1581
Email Address: matt.kalb@gmail.com
Special: Accepting 100% in PLENTYs. First one hour lesson free to NCPlenty members.
Special runs until further notice.
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Business Name: Jimmy Magoo
Goods/Services Provided: Theatre Coach| Games Master Voice| Guitar| and Ukulele Lessons
Musical Performance
Contact Name: Jimmy Magoo
Phone: (919)942-8527
Web: http://www.thesunandthemoon.net
Additional Contact: (919) 545-9556
Special: 10% discount for NCPlenty members or persons spending PLENTYs.
Special runs until further notice.
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Business Name: Piedmont Biofuels
Goods/Services Provided: We sell ASTM certified B100 Biodiesel. Piedmont Biofuels
is a worker and member owned cooperative. Our mission is to lead the grassroots
sustainability movement in North Carolina by using and encouraging the use of clean,
renewable biofuels. We also install & design biodiesel processors.
Contact Name: Rachel Burton
Phone: (919)321-8260
Web: http://www.biofuels.coop
Email Address: rachel@biofuels.coop
Postal Address:
PO Box 661
Pittsboro, NC 27312
Special: Piedmont Biofuels accepts up to 100% payment in PLENTYs for biodiesel
fuel for an indefinite trial period. Co-op members can pay in PLENTYs at the fueling
stations in Moncure, Pittsboro, and the Carrboro Public Works.
Special runs until further notice.
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Business Name: Pittsboro General Store Cafe
Goods/Services Provided: Art and Crafts Gift Shop Entertainment| Live Music Cafe/Restaurant
Featuring Homemade Baked Goods| Sandwiches| Salads| Mexican Food| Specialties| Live Music
Contact Name: Vance Remick
Phone: (919)542-2432
Web: http://www.generalstorecafe.com
Email Address: info@generalstorecafe.com
Special: We accept up to 50% payment in PLENTYs on all sales in the cafe.
Special runs until further notice.
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Business Name: Winsome Technologies
Goods/Services Provided: In-home Family Therapy, Individual Therapy, Assertiveness Training
Contact Name: Jan W. West MSN, APRN, BC
Phone: (919)451-6645
Email Address: jwwest@mindspring.com
Special: Accepting PLENTYs at 100% for all services.
Special runs until further notice.
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Keep abreast of all the specials and other offerings by visiting the directory at http://www.ncplenty.org/directory.php