I was very pleased to be at the launch of the amazing Goodmoney gift vouchers last Thursday night; a fantastic Brighton & Hove initiative to keep money local. It feels like a long time ago now since I invited the team who created the Bristol Pound, together with the new economics foundation who advised them,
The idea behind Goodmoney gift vouchers is to link up independent local businesses to create a new gift voucher that has a better choice and is better in so many ways than any other gift voucher available. Goodmoney gift vouchers are simple to understand, they work just like high street gift vouchers, except they can
On Sunday 7th June, I travelled to Andover to deliver a full day of workshops and activities entitled Money Myths. This was a special event put on for Chapel Arts Studios as part of their ongoing project Bureau of Exchange: Challenging our relationships with money. This is a month long public art project in a
Nobody ever said setting up and running your own business was easy, and the many challenges faced by entrepreneurs are indeed a big part of the attraction for many. However, people who own or run their own business often need to do things that are a little outside of their area of expertise. Instead of
It’s been observed that backers of crowdfunding campaigns feel connected in some way to the projects they support. They may be friends with, or related to, the project leaders. They may wish to be a consumer of the proposed product or service. Or, they may want the project to go ahead because they believe it
Having reached 50 local business members, we thought it was time to invite everyone to meet us, meet each other, and hear more about our plans for the coming months. We were delighted with the turnout as 45+ people found the time to join us. Our Mick gave everyone a run through of what we’re
We’ve been asked whether we’re going to limit the number of each type of business that can join the Goodmoney gift voucher scheme. The short answer is no we’re not, it’s open to all independent local businesses. We know that limiting the number of each type of business in the scheme would make it easier
I was lucky enough to get a ticket for this year’s Meaning Conference at The Corn Exchange, Brighton. Wow! What a line-up. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen to a more inspiring bunch of speakers. There’s no way a 200 word blog can do it justice, but if you weren’t there you can watch
On the 3rd and 4th of November 2014, I attended the UK’s first Conference of Independent Currencies, hosted by Bristol Pound. Over 70 delegates from independent currency schemes from around the country met in Bristol to share learning, gain inspiration and offer mutual support. Transition Network founder Rob Hopkins gave an inspiring talk about the
