Local Exchange System Development Kit

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LocalExchangeSystemDevelopmentKit

LETS link Scotland

Letslink Scotland


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Introduction

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LocalExchangeSystemDevelopmentKit

Letslink Scotland


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“Your local community is a pool of talent waiting to be tapped.

This kit will help you release that potential!”

Letslink Scotland

First Published in 2002 by LETSlink Scotland,Balallan House, 24 Allan Park, Stirling FK8 [email protected]

© LETSlink Scotland 2002

The right of LETSlink Scotland to be asserted as the author of this publication, video and CDROM has beenasserted under the UK Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

Editor Stewart NobleContributors Lesley Robertson, David Robertson

All rights reserved

Graphic Design Lesley Black

http://www.letslinkscotland.org.uk/mailto:www.letslinkscotland.org.ukmailto:www.letslinkscotland.org.ukhttp://www.letslinkscotland.org.uk/mailto:www.letslinkscotland.org.ukhttp://www.community-fund.org.uk/


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LET Systems are full of stories

Martin thought he would have a change of direction and at the age of thirty five, went

back to University for a Business Degree. He studied recycling and the creation of social businesses. When he came back into the jobs market he found that his age wasa disadvantage and he struggled to find both work and a role in his community. He keptbusy by volunteering for Friends of the Earth and helping at the youth club and througha fortuitous meeting with a local LETS member got involved in an organisation providingwork therapy for people with mental health problems.

When his knowledge and skills became apparent the organisation paid him in localcurrency to develop a business plan for a furniture recycling operation and their localCouncil partners offered cash.

Martin started trading on the LET System with his new found wealth, he bought vegetablesfrom Gillian’s allotment, got Raj to fix his bike, engaged Ruth to give his daughter Mathslessons, paid for a dance night and bid for an oil painting at a LETS auction.

Meanwhile the Council were so pleased with his first business plan they employed himto write two more. His experience led him directly to a new job and in the process hedeveloped a stronger network of friends in his community.

There are lot’s of Martin’s, Gillian’s, Raj’s and Ruth’s out there….

You too have a community of talents waiting to be tapped…………………….


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Section 4: LETS Accounting ......................................................................... 73The Transaction Cycle ..................................................................................................74LETS administration tasks .............................................................................................75Membership record keeping .......................................................................................75Recording Exchange transactions................................................................................78

Member Trading Statements ........................................................................................79Members Trading Summary .........................................................................................79LETS System Accounts ................................................................................................80Generating LETS income for your system ...................................................................81Balancing the LETS budget ..........................................................................................82LETS statements ...........................................................................................................84Yourtown LETS Trading Statement ...............................................................................86Yourtown LETS Trading Summary ................................................................................87LETS software ...............................................................................................................89 Appendix 5

LOIS – Lets Office Integration System ...............................................................90LET SAM – System Administration Manager .....................................................91

Appendix 6Sample welcome letter ......................................................................................93

Section 5: Managing “old” money ................................................................ 97Introduction....................................................................................................................97Banking the money .......................................................................................................97 Accounting for the money .............................................................................................98Managing the money ..................................................................................................100Management account analysis ...................................................................................101 Appendix 7

LETS Sterling Treasurer job description ..........................................................103 Appendix 8

Sample Treasurers cash account ledger .........................................................104 Appendix 9

Sample Treasurers year-end summary............................................................105Generating “old money”..............................................................................................106The LETS quiz night ....................................................................................................106Project funding ............................................................................................................108Funding advice ...........................................................................................................108

Funders .......................................................................................................................108Government funding ...................................................................................................108Useful reference materials: .........................................................................................109Project design ............................................................................................................ 110Basic Components of a Proposal .............................................................................. 111Case Study ................................................................................................................. 111 Appendix 10

Project Title: LETS Recycle in Kincardine ....................................................... 112 Appendix 11

Example grant application to a Local Authority ................................................ 115

Application to Stirling Council Community Grant Fund..................................... 116 Appendix 12Sample cheque design .................................................................................... 119


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Section 6: Growing your system................................................................. 123Building your Core Group...........................................................................................123Team building skills ....................................................................................................124Making Meetings Effective .........................................................................................124Making Meetings Fun .................................................................................................128

Germination .................................................................................................................130Growth 50 –150 members...........................................................................................131Maturity 150 – 300 active members ............................................................................132Division; 300 + active trading members.....................................................................133Organising Events ......................................................................................................135Inter-trading .................................................................................................................135

Section 7: Case Studies................................................................................ 139Case Study: New Moray LETS ...................................................................................141

Background ......................................................................................................141

The Beginning ..................................................................................................141Core Group.......................................................................................................143Regular Events .................................................................................................144Devolved Accounts ..........................................................................................144Exchange Limits ...............................................................................................144Balancing Accounts ..........................................................................................145Problems and Solutions ...................................................................................145

Case Study: Stirling & Alloa LETS..............................................................................149Background ......................................................................................................149Beginnings .......................................................................................................149Lets Make it Better ...........................................................................................150Having a public focus for LETS Trading...........................................................151Enthusiasm and Exhaustion .............................................................................152SAL and Social Inclusion .................................................................................153The Core Group................................................................................................153Problems and Solutions ...................................................................................154Future ................................................................................................................154

Section 8: LETS get legal............................................................................. 157Income tax .................................................................................................................. 157Value Added Tax (VAT) ...............................................................................................159LETS and welfare benefits ..........................................................................................160LETS and insurance....................................................................................................163LETS and data protection ...........................................................................................165


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Foreword

LETSlink Scotland is a Company Ltd by Guarantee whose members and Directors over the last ten years have worked to build and strengthen local exchange trading acrossScotland.

Between October 1999 and September 2002 LETSlink Scotland operated a CommunityFund supported project to survey, learn from and support local exchange trading. Theculmination of this project has been the production of this comprehensive guide toLETS development and administration and the creation of a LETSlink Scotland Website.

The Community Fund in Scotland recognised the role that local exchange can play inbuilding community cohesion, overcoming exclusion and contributing to sustainable

development. LETSlink Scotland members and Directors would like to thank theCommunity Fund for its support.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation have also provided important financial assistancefor the publication of the kit.

Finally, the staff of LETSlink Scotland have done an excellent job to distil their accumulatedknowledge into what is possibly the most comprehensive guide to local exchangetrading ever produced. Thanks are due therefore to Editor Stewart Noble, to staff members Lesley Rowan and David Robertson, who have made significant contributionsand to Board member Jane Gray and others who have advised on the content.

To you, the reader, good luck and good trading.

PATRICK BOASECHAIRPERSON LLS

Letslink Scotland

http://www.gulbenkian.org/index.aspmailto:www.letslinkscotland.org.ukhttp://www.community-fund.org.uk/


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Lets Systems across Scotland


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Organisation Contact Telephone email map

Arran LETS Julie Gurr 0845 4584180 1

Ayrshire LETS Andrea Jones 01563 543585 [email protected] 2

Dumfriesshire LETS Jane Gray 01683 221403 [email protected] 3

Dundee LETS Susan Meek 01382 738040 [email protected] 4

East Lothian LETS Isabelle Lumholt 01620 829739 5

Easter Ross LETS Steve Paget 01349 854510 [email protected] 6

Edinburgh LETS Joelle Marlow 0131 229 0061 [email protected] 7

Ellon LETS Lisa Leith 01358 742430 [email protected] 8

Findhorn & Kinloss LETS Nicole Edmonds 01309 691408 [email protected] 9

Helensburgh LETS Ron Morrison 01436 672592 [email protected] 10

Inverness LETS Brigit Hees 01463 811864 [email protected] 11

Keith LETS Jane Cotton 01343 569440 [email protected] 12

Kincardine LETS Fiona Campbell 01259 731174 [email protected] 13

Kyles of Bute LETS Selina Robertson 01700 811644 14

MidLETS Hanna-Rose Scott 01968 673576 [email protected] 15

New Moray LETS Stewart Noble 01309 676128 [email protected] 16

North Fife LETS Shireen Brown 01382 543551 [email protected] 17

Orkney LETS Jayne Traynor 01856 701266 [email protected] 18

South Ayrshire LETS Len Collingwood 01292 619600 [email protected] 19

Stewartry LETS Clive Donovan 01644 450209 [email protected] 20

Stirling & Alloa LETS Chrissie Woods 01786 475459 [email protected]

West Glasgow LETS Patrick Boase 0141 339 3064 [email protected] 22West Lothian LETS Jim Dixon 01506 655876 [email protected] 23

Contact details for LETS in Scotland

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Section 1: Beginnings

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Section 1:Beginnings


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Beginnings

Welcome

So you want to find out how to create, organise or improve a LET Systemin your Community?

LETSlink Scotland has observed, surveyed and learned from visiting and working withScottish LET Systems over a three-year period. The result of this continuing processhas been carefully distilled into this development pack. We have designed the contentsin topic card format so that the topics can be easily referenced and shared betweenother members of your LETS group. As we learn more we will add to the information inthe pack and change the materials accessible on our website.

The range and variation of Community Exchanges is growing all of the time. LocalExchange Trading Systems are only one form of a wide range of exchange organisations.These include barter systems, swap shops and time banks. AS part of the social economy,this is very much an experimental sector and new techniques are being discovered asthe sector grows.

We have tried to cover the essentials you will need to get started. Wherever possiblewe have included practical materials that you can copy and edit for quick and easydistribution. The accompanying CD ROM contains the text of the information cards andlots of other articles and reference materials. The training video focuses on thedevelopment of a local exchange community.

This isyour LET System, you are going to build it to serve the community you live in.Dip into this toolbox of ideas and fashion the organisation that will work best in your community. LETSlink Scotland is here to help.

LETSLink Scotland Staff:Lesley Rowan, David Robertson and Stewart Noble


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A Local Exchange Trading System in action

This is a true story about how one LETS job has created a chain reaction of goodwillin an ordinary street, creating new friendships along the way. Stewart explains ithimself:

“I live in Woodside Drive, a street of around 100 houses in a new housing estate inForres. Our homes are mostly detached bungalows nestled among beautiful maturewoodlands. Most of my neighbours are professionals who work away during the dayand who rarely have the time to talk to each other.

I am an active supporter of our local organic box scheme - EarthShare - who supply mewith a lovely box of fresh local vegetables every week for just £3 and 2 LETS. As I don’tuse a car it is difficult for me to collect my box from the pick up point each week. I askedmy retired neighbour Walter, if he would deliver my box to me in return for a few LETSeach week. So he joined the scheme.

The following week Walter delivered my box to my back door and noticing the sad stateof the vegetables stored in our warm kitchen. He suggested that I should really store thevegetables in a cool area. “I’ll make you a veggie cupboard for outside for LETS if youlike” he offered. I had earned plenty of LETS helping others so I agreed. The followingweek he came round to fit our great new veggie store that he made for me in his toolshed. For just 150L it has transformed our kitchen clutter and it keeps our veggies freshmuch longer.

Walters’s wife Lucyna is a teacher in our local school and happened to mention that theywould really like someone to make some new seat covers. They were quoted £280 bya mail order service. I put them in touch with Karen down the street who I knew offeredsewing in our LETS system. Karen is a busy mum with three children and a new mortgage.There are few flexible job opportunities in our area and Karen was delighted to help andearn 100 LETS with which she will pay for joinery repairs to her new house.

Lucyna and Karen’s husband Kryztof soon discovered they had something in common- they are both Polish! With the extra LETS she earned Karen bought some pond liner at the last LETS Trade Fair and will stock it with plants from Sonya’s garden at the end of the street.

Sonya is a recent member who’s husband Kevin works abroad. Although a qualifiednurse with green fingers she confesses that she is no good at DIY and she could do with

a hand with some odd jobs around the house. Walter was delighted to help out again.Sonya also bakes bread and gives lifts to work for my wife, Alison. She delivers twohot-from-the-oven loaves to us every week for just 3 LETS. The LETS she receives, sheswapped for her DIY.


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‘This we know:we’re stressed out,

debt-ridden, exhausted. We have

less time for our families than we feel weshould have.

We feel less connected to our communitiesthan we ever did ...Yet we feel also likehollow citizens, too

weary to respond toany political entreaty

with anything other than a shrug. In short,

we are workers’.

The trouble with money

People need a means of exchange so that they can trade with each other. That meansof exchange should be easy to use, fairly administered, available to everyone anddirected to meeting real needs without leading to exploitation or unsustainableconsumption. The trouble with money is that it does not do this. That is why we needlocal exchange trading systems.

There is never enough money! This is as true in rural as in urban areas and its especiallytrue within socially excluded groups. As globalisation progresses, it is becoming harder for local businesses to compete with their multinational competitors. Multinationalcorporations and the Internet may offer one stop shopping and cheaper prices but thetotal cost of spending ‘out of town’ includes the cost of lost jobs, despair and poverty.Many traditional skills and services are no longer economically viable. Ironically theseare often the very skills that help to bind a local community together.

Global wealth is created by imposing debt on others. For every person in credit thereare many more in debt and paying unpredictable levels of interest repayments for theprivilege. This burden of debt is rising across Europe as well as many third worldcountries and the gap between rich and poor is widening. Most of those fortunate enoughto have a secure job are working harder for less. Stress levels in the workplace and thecosts of managing social unrest and inequalities are increasing.

• Global money can be earned locally but spent abroad.• It can easily be earned legally but spent illegally.• It is vulnerable to global economic terrorism and unpredictable global events.• Its value is uncertain, depending on the vagaries of the stock market, inflation

and currency traders.• It is hard to earn by certain social groups, (young, retired, unemployed, people

with physical or learning difficulties).• It is expensive to use due to costly bank charges.• It is prone to theft.• It is generally hidden. (No one knows who has more than they need and who

needs to earn more).• It has come to represent power. Those who have none are deemed to be

powerless.

• The pursuit of this power is resulting in environmental destruction, exploitationof labour and sequestration of national assets by multinational companies.

We all face the same basic problems with the cash economy: money is so much easier to spend than to earn, and there is not enough cash to meet everyone’s needs.

If you picture your finances as a bucket, the fill level in the bucket is a measure of your economic health. A full bucket and you have lots of choices. A nearly empty bucketand you are frantically struggling to top it up before your money runs out. It is the samewhether your income is from welfare benefits or from export sales. And whether your outgoings have to cover food and rent or a payroll of 500 and a loan on your factory. Thebuckets may look different but the problem is the same. If you rely on currency that iscreated by someone else - a bank or a government - you lose control of much morethan your money.


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Communities where the traditional industries are no longer in demand find there is moremoney flowing out of the area than coming in. As the amount of money available locallydecreases so does the amount of trading. Local businesses fail and increasing numbersof people are unemployed. This is not because the people have nothing to offer, butsimply because there is no money in the community to pay them with.

Plugging the leaks“Plugging the leaks” is a New Economics Foundation initiative designed to draw attentionto the fact that when government, community fund or charitable grants are poured into anarea, the money often just pours back to more prosperous areas.

The Multiplier An economic measurement tool called the ‘multiplier’ is a useful way to calculate theoverall impact of spending money in the local economy. In a community in which all themoney that enters the economy immediately leaves it again, the multiplier will be only 1.If a pound enters the area, only the original owner benefits. In a healthy communitywhere money is re-spent over and over again, the multiplier is much higher – manypeople benefit from the first pound before it eventually leaves the community. Pluggingthe Leaks is all about communities trying to increase the number of times money changeshands before leaving the area.

Why not examine your local economy and see if you recognise the many ways in whichcash simply flows out:

The Regeneration Umbrella and FunnelIs your regeneration funding being poured into an area, only to flow straight out again? If so, it’s as if there is an umbrella covering the area, so funding flows off the edge into thericher surrounding areas. Do all those housing improvement contracts go to firms outsidethe area? Or is money being poured carefully through a funnel, so that most of themoney actually stays in the poorer area?

Are the businesses in your area bathtubs, hoovers or dustbins?Bathtub businesses collect and re-circulate money in the local economy – employinglocal people, buying local goods and services, and keeping profits locally. Hoovers

From the New Economics Foundation “Plugging the Leaks” initiative.

The Leaky BucketMoney leaks out of an economy in many different ways

Food

Construction

Social Servicesexpenditure

Profits to nonlocal owners

Energy

Bank savingsand interest payments


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“My Community Exchange has enabled

me to do things I wouldn’t have beenable to. It’s brilliant

because anyone canbecome involved. Now

I have a “family” of over 50 people to

exchange with and toask for help when I

need it.”

may employ local people, but they also take money from the local economy and depositit elsewhere. Dustbins exploit a local resource: they may employ local people, but theydisturb the social or environmental fabric of the area while sending profits elsewhere.So the trick ofsustainable local economic development is to create bathtubs whileavoiding hoovers and dustbins.

Why start a community exchange?

If you have read “the trouble with money”, you will realize that local currencies actlike funnels and bathtubs to ensure that the energy generated by the communitystays within the community and circulates endlessly.

By creating a “local exchange mechanism” people can continue to trade, continue to maintaintheir quality of life, and continue to feel that their contribution to the community is valued.

Local exchange is not designed to replace the cash economy, but to complement it.Local exchange currencies, whether as barter units or as units of time, are created bythose who trade with it. The only limit on the amount of “exchange” that can be created isthe imagination and the work-rate of those who choose to join in.

People start LET Systems because money has failed their community, made it lesscaring and friendly, denied them an opportunity to contribute, and blocked the way to asustainable future.

One view of community is of three concentric circles: the economy exists within society,and both the economy and society exist within the environment.

As the diagram illustrates, the economy exists entirely within society, because all partsof the human economy require interaction among people. However, society is muchmore than just the economy. Friends and families, music and art, religion and ethics areimportant elements of society, but are not solely based on exchanging goods and services.

Society, in turn, exists entirely within the environment. Our basic requirements — air,food and water — come from the environment, as do the energy and raw materials for

housing, transportation and the products we depend on.Finally, the environment surrounds society. At an earlier point in human history, theenvironment largely determined the shape of society. Today the opposite is true: human

Economy

Society

Environment


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activity is reshaping the environment at an ever-increasing rate. The parts of theenvironment unaffected by human activity are getting smaller all the time. However,because people need food, water and air to survive, society can never be larger thanthe environment.

Sustainability requires managing all households — individual, community, national, and

global — in ways that ensure that our economy and society can continue to exist withoutdestroying the natural environment on which we all depend. Sustainable communitiesacknowledge that there are limits to the natural, social and built systems upon which wedepend. Key questions asked in a sustainable community include: ‘Are we using thisresource faster than it can be renewed?’ and ‘Are we enhancing the social and humancapital upon which our community depends?’.

Sustainability is an issue for all communities, from small rural towns that are losing thenatural environment upon which their jobs depend, to large metropolitan areas wherecrime and poverty are decreasing the quality of life. Local exchange can play a centralrole in developing a sustainable community:

• Local exchange can act as a focus for community, building bonds betweenpeople, facilitating friendships and encouraging self-reliance.

• Local exchange can facilitate recycling of materials within the community;clothes, containers for home produce, aluminium for fund-raising, books, sportsequipment and furniture.

• Local exchange can enable people to buy locally produced food, a reminder that supermarkets are not the only way.

• Local exchange can give people access to tools and expertise to enablegoods to be repaired and reused rather than thrown away, a reminder that new

is not necessarily better.• Local exchange can make goods and services that are labour intensive rather

than resource intensive accessible to far more people. This allows work to becarried out which would have been abandoned through lack of cash resources.

• Local exchange can help the community employ artists and musicians, oftenbeyond the reach of ordinary people, enhancing quality of life.

• Local exchange gives people an opportunity to take action locally withoutfeeling that they have to wait for the global economy to embrace sustainabledevelopment.

• Local exchange can help to make local economies more self-contained. Thismeans that currency circulates locally, bringing benefits to local traders andsuppliers, retaining jobs and profits locally, and encouraging skills and expertiseto be retained.

Even taking a small percentage of trading in local currency may give a company thebreathing space it needs to survive. By encouraging local trading, and using localresources, you are able to keep a much closer eye on the benefits and problems itbrings, and to reduce the negative impacts on other parts of the planet.

It is important to harness the potential of local exchange to work in co-operation withother community initiatives.

“Paying for baby-sitting through my

Community Exchangehas actually helped

ease the pressure onour relationship. We

need time on our own,an occasional break

from the children, and a chance to get out of

the house.”


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Across Europe local exchange could be working closely with organisations such asCredit Unions, Food and Housing Co-ops, Community Cafes, Healthy Living Centres, Anti-Poverty Networks, Volunteer Bureaux, Youth Networks and Community EducationProjects, some already are. The Local Agenda 21 initiatives promoted by LocalGovernment in pursuit of a local approach to sustainable development is a useful vehiclefor local exchange to contribute visibly to the sustainable development process.

Local exchange can provide an opportunity to share skills, equipment and expertise,ideas and sympathetic contacts between community groups, for everyone’s benefit. If other local groups are using local exchange to get the things that they need, they aremuch more likely to support the development of local exchange into something that canreally make a difference locally, rather than see it as yet more competition for scarcecash resources.

The Scottish local exchange model

Scottish Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS) have evolved many common featuresand ways of working. This is perhaps due to the intrinsic Scottish community spirit thatencourages the sharing of ideas in a co-operative manner. LETSlink Scotland has workedhard at bringing different groups together to identify and share values, ideas and methodsof working. Scottish LET Systems have therefore maintained their local grass rootsconnections and independence whilst at the same time, sharing many common ideals;

• Scottish LET Systems are local membership clubs that are run on a not-for-profit basis.

• They tend to be independent of development agencies and official community

development bodies.• The system is owned by the membership who are elected democratically.• They are socially inclusive, actively attracting members facing social

disadvantage to participate in local trading.• They loosely equate a local exchange token (LET) to a pound.• They generally produce several directories advertising goods and services

that members wish to trade, and organise a programme of trading and socialevents throughout the year.

• They usually operate through a local registry of offers and wants that arepublished regularly.

• They tend to encourage and empower their members to contact each other directly without having to rely on a central broker or agency.

• Most are members of Scotbarter, an organisation whose role is to facilitateexchange trading across Scotland, principally between small businesses andcommunity organisations and charities.

It is this model which will be used to describe the means to develop a viable communityexchange system. The best features of a number of Scottish LET Systems will be usedas a template for creating the ideal local exchange economy, but in the end the peoplewho use the model will inevitably change it to suit their needs, such is the democratic

nature of local exchange trading.


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Section 2: Creating a Local Exchange

Section 2:Creating a local exchange


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Creating a local exchange

First steps

A number of different skills are needed to organise and run a successful system, sodon’t try and do it alone! You will have friends and neighbours; perhaps some keenpeople already involved in developing your local community in some capacity, whocan be called on to help. Form an informal steering group to plan the creation of your local exchange. Invite people who you think may have skills, local knowledge andcontacts. There are more formal roles to take on once your LETS is established – suchas Treasurer and Secretary – so make sure you involve a few people who are willing todo this.

The skills you are looking for in a core group and for the initial planning stage include:

• Organising skills to pull everything and everyone together.• Numerical and language skills to make detailed applications and keep the

cash accounts balanced.• Publishing skills to write good copy, press releases and produce accurate

directories.• Verbal communication skills to host effective meetings.• Social skills to network across a wide variety of people.• Creative skills to produce inspiring publicity materials.• Practical skills to make notice boards, source tables, chairs and other materials.

• Computer skills to create or setup software programs.

Although these various skills are necessary, none of the individual tasks are particularlydifficult. You don’t need experts or professionals, just willing and able people. Manylocal exchanges start up with just a few people sharing the tasks and then they expandas the membership grows and the LETS income builds to pay for their time.

A local exchange needs to be diverse to thrive. If you just invite a bunch of your friendswith the same skills there won’t be much need for trading and your group may be perceivedby others to be cliquey. In a healthy local economy everyone needs everyone else.

So your first step is to sit down with a sheet of paper and write an initial guest list of friends, neighbours, people and groups who you know may have the time, the needand the range of skills you’ll need to share. Don’t worry at this stage if you can’t cover allof your people needs immediately. This is the organising group.

You already have all of the people, buildings,things and skills you’ll

need in your own local community. You just haven’t met them all

yet! Your LETS will provide a wonderful

forum for people fromall walks of life to come

together in mutual support. The fun and

challenge of growing aLETS community is in

identifying your community needs along

the way and together,finding someone or something to meet

those needs. It is said that there are just eight people in the world who

connect you witheveryone else. The

trick is to find out whothey are! You may be

amazed at theresourcefulness of a

small group of diverse people.


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Preparing for the launch

First meeting

Resources:Introductory Leaflet and Leaflet 2, Membership Agreement,Case study of Kincardine LETS, The Trading Game.

At the first meeting of the organising group there will be people with lots of questionsabout local exchange, how it works, does it work elsewhere? It would be a good idea togive your guests photocopied leaflets from the pack and one of the case studies inadvance, or have them on hand at the first meeting.

Remember you are not alone. LETSlink Scotland may be able to send a developmentworker to speak at your first meeting and give help, advice and encouragement. Youcould also invite organisers and members from a nearby system to come along and

share their experiences. You’ll find other LETS groups to be friendly and co-operativeand willing to help you spread the word through your own community.

You may also want to try out the “Trading Game” as a means of introducing the conceptsof local exchange and to promote discussion.

During your first get together with the organising group you can brainstorm with everyoneelse to identify groups and individuals that would be interested in attending the launchparty to find out more. Try and keep your list as local as possible. Experience hasshown that local exchange trading works best in high-density neighbourhood pocketsrather than spread across entire regions.

Imagine that you had to set sail to a desert island with a bunch of people and had to become self-sufficient. Who would they be and what skills would they have to offer? Firstly you’d consider your own abilities and realise that you could not survive on your own without great difficulty. Who will hold the other end of the log when you build your fishing canoe? You would certainly want tohave onboard a wide range of ages; older and wiser people with knowledge and life experienceas well as young people with energy and enthusiasm. You would also want a healthy mix of males and females (not just for island re-population!)


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• You would need skilled people to build boats and shelters so invite handypeople, tradesmen, electricians, plumbers and joiners.

• You would need strong physical people, willing and able to have a go.• You would need people with good communication and organising skills.• You would need food producers so invite some growers and market gardeners.

• You would need creative people for inspiration and good ideas so invite craftspeople, artists and musicians.• You would certainly need health care so invite some therapists, hairdressers,

and carers.• You would need food so how about some cooks or people to make the

sandwiches?• If you had the luxury of a computer to store your information you would need

someone to maintain it so invite aboard some PC enthusiasts.• Who would look after the children, the elderly, the animals and plants?

Next meetings

Resources:Video, Yourtown Constitution, LETS Principles Card Game. YourtownLETS Membership Leaflet, Application Form, Members Agreement and Rules

If people came back, that’s a good sign! They will have lots of ideas and new member suggestions and having had time to read and think about local exchange and may beready to discuss the principals on which the system will be based.

Use the card game to explore some the issues involved in agreeing guidelines for trading and adopting a constitution for your local exchange.

The constitutions provided with the pack are tried and tested. Having a constitutionensures that the system operates democratically, that people given responsibility for organising the system can be held to account for their actions and that no single personcan force changes against the will of the majority. It also enables groups to formallyadopt the rules by which they have agreed to trade and provides a legitimate frameworkfor people to air grievances or be sanctioned for unacceptable behaviour. A constitutedgroup will also have an easier time when applying for financial support or grant funding.

Use this meeting to choose a constitution that can be presented for endorsement at thelaunch of the system.


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Useful resources

Running a Community Exchange requires very little equipment. If you don’t have theresources at hand, try and invite along people or organisations that could share theirs.You will need:

• A place to meetMany systems start off by meeting in each other’s homes. However it is important to beseen to be open and accessible to all people from your local community. You areaiming to invite around 20-50 people for your initial start-up meeting so a room in your local community centre or village hall may be preferable. Your meeting place needs tobe central, accessible and nonpartisan (meeting in Masonic rooms, council buildings or church halls may put some people off).

• Access to a photocopier

You’ll need this to copy the start-up materials, membership packs and directories. You

may find that your local school, council or voluntary organisation can help here by providingphotocopies at low cost or in exchange for help from other LETS members. As your system grows, this will likely be your biggest ongoing expense so it’s a good idea toinvite a service provider along at an early stage.

• A computer or word processor

It is no coincidence that LETS have flourished, as computers have become moreaffordable and accessible. They allow people to produce their own materials quicklyand at low cost. They can also help to process the accounts in an efficient way. Usingthe Internet to share files can save paper and postage costs and can help to facilitate

shared working.Having said that, many LETS get along fine using handwritten records, so don’t be putoff by the absence of a computer.

• Office stationery

You’ll need paper, pens and a guillotine for cutting up chequebooks. You may alsoneed the use of a flipchart for presenting and sharing ideas.

• A Noticeboard with a secure ‘LETS Box’

This needs to be sited in a place where lots of different people can see and access it at

convenient times. Community centres and local libraries are a good choice but anywherewhere lots of different people gather or pass through is good. The LETS box is whereyour members will post their LETS cheques and notices for the administration to collectand process. Any secure box that can be fastened to a wall will do. Lockable, weatherproof postal boxes can be found in local hardware stores, or perhaps one of your memberscould make one for LETS?

• Use of a telephone

You’ll need this to get in touch with others and allow your members to stay in touch withyou.


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Decisions to be made:

How often will the directory beissued?

How many adverts can membersplace?

What is your system spending-limit?

How often will you issue transactionstatements?

What are your membership fees?

How much are your LETSadministration charges and arethey charged regularly?

Do you have local information toadd to the introduction?

Decisions to be made:

Do you wish your local currency tobe roughly equal to the pound?

You could decide to operate in unitsof time with 10 units equal to onehours work.

You could operate with 5 units equalto a pound, making purchase of lowvalue items easier.

Yourtown LETS Membership Leaflet

Decide the design and content of your exchange system membership information leaflet. A template has been provided for you to customise it for your own needs. Page 1 couldhold system contact details and page 8 could be blank for member notes.

Introduction CommonQuestions

page 2 page 3


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CommonQuestions

page 4 page 5

Leaving the system

It is important that people realize from the beginning that when they trade they haveobligations to the community. That is why it is a good idea to emphasize the needto return positive or negative balances to zero when they leave.

InspirationList

page 6 page 7

Making the most of Yourtown LETS

Members will write onthis page to help them

decide what to trade

The inspiration list helps jog peoples thoughts about how they can trade. Peopleliving in difficult circumstances often have a low opinion of themselves and whatthey can offer others. Everyone has something to offer and may need help torealise this fact!


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Yourtown LETS constitution

This is a sample constitution that you can tailor to suit the values and principles of your own group.

It is important for your local exchange to adopt a constitution for a number of reasons:• It provides a democratic framework that allows the core group to operate but

be accountable to the membership.• It provides rules and guidelines for handling finances and resources.• It provides the legal structure demanded by local government and other

potential funding bodies.

Imagine you’re back on your desert island with a large group of people all hoping towork with and rely on each other to survive. Hopefully they will bring with them a senseof what is right and wrong and will support fair play, but if you’ve ever watched a fly on thewall documentary examining group dynamics, an unregulated community can quicklybecome very fractious!

By presenting people with a framework by which they can regulate their relationshipsyou introduce an element of stability to the new community being formed. People arereassured by the presence of rules and standards of behaviour.

The model constitution is reproduced in Appendix 1 (page 47). It is laid out overleaf withexplanatory notes. Why not work through the constitution and tailor it to suit your organisation?


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1. NameThe name of the organisation isYourtown LocalExchange Trading System (referred to asYourtownLETS).

2. Objectives• To publicise and promote Local Exchange

Trading Systems throughout the local area.• To provide LETS trading services for

members; these will include accounts,publicizing offers and wants; and organizingevents to promote local trading.

• To provide an information and trainingresource base for any local group or individual interested in joining or setting upa Local Exchange Trading System in thelocal area.

3. MembershipMembership is open to any individual or corporatebody interested in participating in or supportingthe aims ofYourtown LETS, regardless of gender,race, nationality, age, disability, sexuality, politicalparty or religious opinion.

4. Aims and Values• To promote the provision of high quality,

efficient and responsive services tomembers.

• To promote active participation by allmembers.

• To improve quality of life for members.• To promote trust within LETS and in the wider

community.• To promote being a caring, people-centred

organisation.• To promote equality of opportunity.• To promote friendship and support amongst

members.• To encourage development of talent and

learning amongst members.• To promote ecological practices and

sustainability including recycling unwantedgoods.

• To promote health and safety withinYourtownLETS.

This will be the name that you adopt at your launchmeeting and the name you will use to open a bank account or apply for funding.

You may wish to specify the geographical area inwhich the local exchange will operate.What does your local exchange system exist to doin your community? The objectives listed here all relate directly to local exchange but you may havedecided to start your system with other specific ideasin mind, such as:

• To promote the recycling and reuse of materials.

•

To increase the production and consumptionof locally grown food.• To increase the access of community groups

to community based assets.

It might seem obvious that your local exchange will welcome everyone but it is good to see it in print and it helps stop a misguided individual from believing they can bar a member because of a personal prejudicethey might hold. Many public funders will insist that you have an equal opportunities statement.

By deciding at the beginning, through planning meetings, the launch party and subsequent discussions, what your system is all about, you canlet members, and other organisations and fundersknow that you have high ideals and intentions.

Local exchange does play a very important role indeveloping a sustainable local economy and evenin LET Systems where these aims are not spelt out they arise spontaneously from the process of mutual aid and inclusivity that local exchange supports. Sowhy not acknowledge it in advance!


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5. The LETS Core Group• The Core Group will be elected at the Annual

General Meeting to carry out the businessofYourtown LETS. Vacancies may be filled

by co-option.• The Core Group may establish sub- groupsto carry out specific tasks of work within theaims ofYourtownLETS.

• The Core Group will consist of 3 – 12members.

• The Core Group ofYourtown LETS will beelected at the first AGM, and they will havethe power to make executive decisionsinvolving the administration of the LET

System.• The Core Group must be quorate, i.e. it musthave over half of current members present.

• The Core Group will meet at least six timesa year.

6. Finances• Al l monies ra ised by, or on behalf of

Yourtown LETS, will be applied to further theobjectives of the organisation and for no

other purpose.• The accounts will be audited at least once ayear by an auditor who will be appointed atthe Annual General Meeting.

• The financial year will end on31st March.

7. General Meetings• The Annual General Meeting will take place

between the beginning of April and the endof June. At this meeting the Core Group willmake a report of its’ activities, present astatement of accounts, and then resign.Individuals may stand for re-election.

• Members will be notified of the details of the AGM by local advertisement, not lessthan 28 days before the date of the meeting.

• The AGM will elect the new Core Group.• The Secretary must provide nomination

forms not less than 28 days before theMeeting.

• The form will require the names and signatureof the member who is prepared to stand andthe same of members who nominate andsecond.

It is important that the people who are able to put the time and energy into organising, promoting and administering the local exchange are given theauthority to do so.

You decide on the numbers required for your LETS.

The group need to be allowed to carry out their various duties without the constant need for endorsement by the entire membership but should work as a team, agreeing administrative duties frommeeting to meeting.

Mismanagement of money is a serious, but not uncommon, feature of community organisations.There should be a clear list of guidelines for thecollection, banking and spending of money.

Synchronising the financial year with that of other organisations is a useful device to ensure that competent financial statements are available tomembers and potential funders.

The Annual General meeting is the “window” on theCore Group. All the relevant information, good and bad, positive and negative should be presented tothe membership ahead of the meeting.

On the basis of the report members will be able todecide whether core group members may be re-elected and gives an opportunity for people to bring new skills and ideas.


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• Completed nomination forms must besubmitted to the Secretary no less thanfourteen days prior to the Meeting.

• Elections will be undertaken if more thantwelve nominations have been submitted

properly.• Vacancies may be filled by co-option.• Meetings must be quorate, i.e. it must have

at least 10% of current members present atthe Meeting.

• The Chair has a right to a casting vote whenvotes for or against a resolution are equal.

• Emergency or extraordinary generalmeetings may be called by the executiveor at the request of five per cent of themembership. The request must provide awritten reason for the meeting.

8. Changes to the Constitution

• The constitution may only be altered at an Annual General or Extraordinary Generalmeeting called for that purpose.

• Any changes to the constitution must beagreed by half of the members present.

9. Dissolution

• Yourtown LETS may only be dissolved bya General Meeting called for that purpose.

• Members will be notified of the details notless than fourteen days before the date of the Meeting.

• A proposal to dissolve Yourtown LETS mustbe agreed by at least two thirds of membersat the General Meeting.

• Any assets remaining after the satisfactionof any proper debts and liabilities will begiven to a group (or groups) chosen at thediscretion of Yourtown LETS’ Core Group,to be applied towards purposes which arein keeping with the aims of Yourtown LETSobjectives.

You may decide that an election should be held even

if nominations fall short. You may wish to reducethe number in the core group until your system hasgrown.

You may wish to change the number required for meetings to be declared quorate in line with the sizeof your membership, or adopt a more flexible percentage system e.g. 10% attendance.

Co-option allows the core group to bring on board people with particular skills such as bookkeeping,web design or funding knowledge. Some people are just too shy to put themselves forward for election.

Changes to the constitution may include the size of the core group, objectives of the organisation, clearer guidance on financial matters, but the main point isthat changes must be agreed by the membership.

Of course you hope that dissolution will never happen, but if it does and the system has assetssuch as money, equipment or other assets thereshould be an agreed mechanism to ensure that it goes to a good cause.


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Yourtown LETS members agreement & rules of LETS

Why so many rules, regulations and boring bits, you may ask! Well, it’s good to set outthe framework in which local exchange will operate right at the start for a number of reasons:

• Providing something to which people must give their approval ensures thatthey will give a little time to reading and understanding what is involved in localexchange.

• People see that trading must be an established process, as a result of whichrules have been developed to help the system run smoothly.

• By providing clear guidelines people are able to be more confident aboutexperimenting with something new and a bit radical.

• Guidelines emphasise to people that they have both rights, and responsibilitiestowards others on the system and they help to develop trust.

• The membership agreement is in the Appendix but is reproduced below withsome guidance notes to help you tailor it to your local exchange.

TheYourtown Local Exchange Trading System “LETSystem” is a non-profit membership society whoserights and authority are vested in the members whodelegate that authority to the Core Group to act ontheir behalf.

The LET System produces a regular Directory &Newsletter though which members can exchangegoods and services, and maintains a centralaccount of those exchanges for the benefit of themembers.

Members agree to the LET System holding their details on computer and distributing to other members those details relevant to the purpose of exchange.

Members may give or receive from each other credit in the accepted LETS unit of each account

called a LET (Local Exchange Token). These unitsare considered to loosely represent the value of £1 Sterling and are recorded centrally. Only theaccount holder can authorise the transfer of LETSfrom their account to another.

No money is deposited or issued. Members mayexchange any transaction entirely in LETS or on apart cash basis, but only LETS are recorded onthe LETS System. All accounts start at zero.Members are not obliged to be in receipt of any

credit before issuing another member with creditfrom their account, subject to an elastic exchangelimit (200L or 10% of turnover). Members can initially

The first four guidelines describe in simple termshow the local exchange operates.

The data protection act requires that you gainconsent to hold personal details on computer. (See page 165)

The name of your local exchange currency can bedecided democratically at the launch party. Giving

a currency a name such as Kelvins or Groats or Shales helps to give the system its local identity.

For the system to work effectively you want toencourage people not to either accumulate anexcessive credit or commitment, but to trade. Setting a limit reminds people of their obligations to othersin the system.


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accumulate up to 200L or receive credit up to 200Linterest free. If this limit is exceeded, members maybe required to return their account to zero.

Members are required to return their account tozero if they wish to cease trading or leave thesystem.

If you are in debit, you are obliged to do what youcan to help others when asked. If you are in credit,you are obliged to exchange your LETS for goodsand services offered by other members.

Any member is entitled to know the balance andturnover of another member’s account.

No interest is charged or paid on balances. TheCore Group is authorised to charge joining or renewal fees in LETS and/or pounds sterling on acost-of-service basis as the situation requires, andto levy service charges on member’s accounts atrates assessed in consultation with the members ateach years Annual General Meeting.

No warranty or undertaking as to the value,condition or quality of services or items exchangedis expressed or implied by virtue of the introductionof members to each other.

The LET System publishes a list of the resourcesand services made available by members but cannotbe held responsible for the actual goods and serviceson offer.

Members are individually responsible for their ownpersonal tax liabilities and returns. Yourtown LETShas no obligation or liability to report to the taxauthorities or to collect taxes on their behalf. (Butyou can be required by the Inland Revenue tomake statements available – do we need to say

this?) Same applies to VAT – do you need to refer to this as well?

Members have the right, and are encouraged, toattend any meeting of the Core Group and toparticipate in decision making.

The Core Group may act on behalf of members inseeking explanation or satisfaction from a personwhose activities are considered to be contrary tothe interests of the membership.

The Core Group may suspend membership in thecase of delinquent accounts and in the last resortmay ask members to leave the system.

A requirement to return a balance to zero beforeyou leave the system essentially tells people that your currency has value and that it should not betreated like monopoly money! You are obliged totrade with people, but that doesn’t mean you must.The usual rules of trust and personal freedom apply to trading transactions. Those who trade disreputably will find themselves with few trading partners.

A lot of work goes into administering a local exchangeand experience has shown that providing a small reward for helping the system not only provides for continuity of service (because people see their work valued) but that the service charges help to generatetrading across the system.

Traders should remember that the system is thereonly to assist barter and cannot be held responsiblefor the quality of service or value of goods. It canhowever provide guidance to people about how tonegotiate a trade and ensure agreement on quality and value.

Statements involving the word tax are always apt tocause some alarm, but it is better to be open about the issue. Local government officers reading your guidance literature will be more sympathetic to thesystem if the system is seen to be clear about possible tax implications for members.

Membership rights of participation are important toensure that the Core Group is operating in a manner acceptable to the membership.

In any community there can be people who abusethe system or use it disreputably. The Core Groupmay need to act to protect vulnerable groups suchas children against such abuse, or, intervene whena trading dispute cannot be resolved amicably or threatens the reputation of the system as a whole.


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You may wish to take a stand against pornography or other entries that cause embarrassment or offence to different sections of the community.

It is a lot for people to take in and accept all in onego, but in order to get your system up and running quickly before interest wanes, it is very important that people endorse the key elements of the trading rules.

Summary of first steps

You have gathered together a steering group of people keen to start a local exchange,listed possible additional members, assigned core group roles to members of thesteering group, discussed and debated the philosophy behind your new system, writtenthe first drafts of your

• Membership leaflet• Application form• Constitution• Membership agreement.

Now it’s time to prepare for the launch of your local exchange trading system!

The Core Group may decline to record an accountor directory entry considered inappropriate.

Membership of Yourtown LETS System impliesacceptance of the conditions of this agreement.

Your proposed Yourtown LETS Core Group (tobe ratified at the Launch party);

Co-ordinator & Directory Publisher LETS Administrator Events Organiser Treasurer Fund Raiser


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Planning your Launch Party

Once you have had several planning meetings and achieved the commitment and supportof your steering group, it’s time to plan your launch party. Ideally you will now haveadopted roles as Co-ordinator & Directory Publisher, LETS Administrator, EventsOrganiser, Treasurer and Fund Raiser. Aim at inviting between 20 – 50 people to your launch event. Everyone will have suggestions and can bring along their friends andfamily. A well-organised public launch will inspire those attending and create confidencein the group. It will also get your membership off to a flying start, providing members withinstant opportunities to start trading with each other.

Divide up the responsibilities for organising the event:

Finalise your invitation listensuring you haveinvited a widediversity of people,businesses andorganisations.

Book a venue:Tables, chairs andflipchart.

Assemble your promotional

materials(customise theattachedconstitution andmembership pack tosuit your needs).

Cost your launchplans and look for

ways of obtaining

initial financialsupport.

Invite a guestspeaker (fromLETSlink or from aneighbouring LETSystem).

Prepare a pressrelease for thelocal media anddistribute postersaround town.

Consider providing acreche facility in anadjoining room sothat parents can beat the meeting

without distractions.

Organise a smallbuffet andrefreshments or you

could ask people tobring and share.

Plan your timetable

and share the tasks.


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Self-financing

In time, your system needs to aim at becoming sustainable in local currency. The wonderfulthing about LETS is that you will actually create a source of interest free credit within your own group. For example, you could create an account for your Administration and another for Events. People can be paid in local currency from these accounts straightaway.Once your system grows you will earn back these credits from member donations,service charges or admission to events.

Think positive! You are starting a local exchange and the core group and administrationwill become a powerhouse for generating trade. This means that you can use localcurrency in support of start-up activity.

Start-up Funding

Unfortunately it is difficult to avoid using old-fashioned money. There will be a need for some cash. There are quite a lot of ways to raise the initial cash needed for photocopying,post and telephone charges. Make sure you have a realistic forecast of initial spendingon the launch and the publishing and postage of your first directory before applying for funding. Here are some ideas for covering the initial start-up costs.

The steering group donate £5 each in lieu of futuremembership payments.

Organise a social event such as a barbecue andinvite the street at £3 per head.

Arrange funding in kind (or for LETS when thesystem gets going.)

The Community or Parish Council

Local Government

Organisations concerned with community andsustainable development.

Always popular!

Not everyone is a socialite!

Printing through the community centre, local business or Local Council

These bodies usually have small amounts of money to allocate to good causes or community development activities and you have a good cause!

Most Councils operate a community chest or small grants fund for just these types of idea. Awards areusually made within a few weeks of an application.

More on these in the section on funding.


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The difficulty you may have before start-up will be your lack of legitimacy. Although youhave a draft constitution, because it has not been ratified by the membership, you arestill a group of individuals. Local community bodies and Councils may be able to actwith discretion when they allocate small sums of money for start-ups but charities andnational organisations will not.

One way around this problem is to recruit members of a group who support your idea,are willing to share resources and can apply for funding on your behalf, for example:

A local Friends of the Earth group, the local allotment society, the local church, mosqueor temple, rotary club, a social club or miners welfare organisation.

Launch Party Programme

The success of your first LETS meeting and social event will involve;

• providing information and answering questions about LETS• encouraging as many new members as possible• electing the first LETS Core Group (proposed and seconded by the people

present)• making any decisions relevant to the system e.g. name of currency, trading

limits, frequency of events, membership charges in cash and LETS.• identifying new people willing to help with the running and support of the system.• ensuring people feel they have had a fun and interesting meeting.

Tips for success• Ensure a good turnout through prior publicity and by asking people to bring

their friends and neighbours.• Organise a few people to run a creche in an adjoining room.• Choose a central venue at a time to suit most people.• If the meeting is to be held in a large building, ensure there are pre-prepared

signs directing people to the meeting room.• Setup some chairs in a circle, adding new ones as people arrive. (This is

better than having empty chairs and it gives people a chance to help eachother). If you run out of chairs, suggest the fitter people sit on the floor in an

inner circle).• Get someone to record the meeting (in the form of minutes).• Arrange a ‘bring & share’ buffet for after the meeting to encourage people to

mix and chat.• Have tea and coffee available on a help yourself anytime basis.• Meet up as a steering group half an hour before most people arrive. Run

through the preparations so that everyone knows what is going to happen.• Check TV and videos are tuned in and ready to work.• Hand out printed materials after the meeting so that people can concentrate on

what is being said.• Alter the time each activity takes to suit the number of people attending.• Play inspiring and upliftingbackground music during the buffet.


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Suggested Programme

1.30 pm Steering group and helpers arrive to setup.

2.00 pm Meet and greet (go around the circle asking people to say who they areand what they hope to get from the meeting).

2.10 pm Outline the programme.

2.15 pm Introduce the guest speaker and/or show the LETS Video. (If you areconfident you could use the basic seminar to get across the main pointsabout LETS.)

2.35 pm Introduce the LETS Trading Game. (Available on the CD Rom)

2.45 pm Play the LETS Trading Game.

3.15 pm Invite questions and answers.

3.30 pm Distribute sample directories, membership leaflets and application formsand help people to complete their application forms. For a large groupask them to break up into smaller units, each led by a member of thesteering group. Invite people to help each other complete their application forms and identify their offers and wants.

4.00 pm Elect Core Group members and invite applause for them. Make thosesystem related decisions.

4.15 pm Announce intended date of first members directory. Thanks toeveryone.

4.30 pm Buffet and socialise.

5.00 pm End and clear up.

Agree date and venue of your first official Core Group meeting.


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Appendix 1

Sample Local Exchange Trading System Constitution

1. NameThe name of the organisation is Yourtown Local Exchange Trading System (referred toas Yourtown LETS).

2. Objectives• To publicise and promote Local Exchange Trading Systems throughout the

local area.• To provide LETS trading services for members; these will include accounts,

publicising offers and wants; and organising events to promote local trading.

• To provide an information and training resource base for any local group or individual interested in joining or setting up a Local Exchange Trading Systemin the local area.

3. Membership

Membership is open to any individual or corporate body interested in participating in or supporting the aims of Yourtown LETS, regardless of gender, race, nationality, age,disability, sexuality, political party or religious opinion.

4. Aims and Values

• To promote the provision of high quality, efficient and responsive services tomembers.• To promote active participation by all members.• To improve quality of life for members.• To promote trust within LETS and in the wider community.• To promote being a caring, people-centred organisation.• To promote equality of opportunity to take part in Yourtown LETS.• To promote friendship and support amongst members.• To encourage development of talent and learning amongst members.

• To promote ecological practices and sustainability.• To promote health and safety within Yourtown LETS.

5. The LETS Core Group• The Core Group will be elected at the Annual General Meeting to carry out the

business of Yourtown LETS. Vacancies may be filled by co-option.• The Core Group may establish sub- groups to carry out specific tasks of work

within the aims of Yourtown LETS.• The Core Group will consist of 3 - 12 members.• The Core Group of Yourtown LETS will be elected at the first AGM, and they

will have the power to make executive decisions involving the administrationof the LETSystem.


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• The Core Group must be quorate, i.e. it must have over half of current memberspresent.

• The Core Group will meet at least six times a year.

6. Finances• All monies raised by, or on behalf of Yourtown LETS, will be applied to further

the objectives of the organisation and for no other purpose.• The accounts will be audited at least once a year by an auditor who will be

appointed at the Annual General Meeting.• The financial year will end on 31st March.

7. General Meetings• The Annual General Meeting will take place between the beginning of April

and the end of June. At this meeting the Core Group will make a report of its’activities, present a statement of accounts, and then resign. Individuals maystand for re-election.

• Members will be notified of the details of the AGM by local advertisement, notless than 28 days before the date of the meeting.

• The AGM will elect the new Core Group.• The Secretary must provide nomination forms not less than 28 days before the

Meeting.• The form will require the names and signature of the member who is prepared

to stand and the same of members who nominate and second.• Completed nomination forms must be submitted to the Secretary no less than

fourteen days prior to the Meeting.

• Elections will be undertaken if more than twelve nominations have beensubmitted properly.• Vacancies may be filled by co-option.• Meetings must be quorate, i.e. there must be at least 30 current members

present at a Meeting.• The Chair has a right to a casting vote when votes for or against a resolution

are equal.• Emergency or extraordinary general meetings may be called by the executive

or at the request of five per cent of the membership. The request must providea written reason for the meeting.

8. Changes to the Constitution• The constitution may only be altered at an Annual General or Extraordinary

General meeting called for that purpose.• Any changes to the constitution must be agreed by half of the members present.

9. Dissolution• Yourtown LETS may only be dissolved by a General Meeting called for that

purpose.• Members will be notified of the details not less than fourteen days before the

date of the Meeting.


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• A proposal to dissolve Yourtown LETS must be agreed by at least two thirdsof members at the General Meeting.

• Any assets remaining after the satisfaction of any proper debts and liabilitieswill be given to a group (or groups) chosen at the discretion of YourtownLETS’ Core Group, to be applied towards purposes which are in keeping withthe aims of Yourtown LETS objectives


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Section 3: Spreading the Word

Section 3:Spreading the Word


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Spreading the Word

Use the Directory

Once you have launched your system you should now have somewhere between 12 and30 members to get your local exchange moving. If everyone involved submitted 6 ads youwould have between 70 and 180 local Offers & Wants to publish. Both are important.Wanted ads alert the Core Group and membership on possible traders who need to beapproached. For example if members need a car mechanic, this can focus energy oncanvassing the traders you need for your system to grow and to flourish. It also providesinformation on the people you need to get aboard to achieve the social diversity that is soimportant to a whole and healthy community. Experience has shown that a LET Systemstarts to take off when membership rises to around 100 members living in close proximityto each other. Your first goal therefore is to achieve this number as quickly as possible.

Offers give people the chance to spend LETS straight away. Remember, unlike conventionalmoney, you don’t need to earn LETS before you spend them. Core Group members cankick start trading by intentionally spending into commitment (debit) in the knowledge thatthey will earn back the credits by working on the management of the system. Your systemaccounts (LETS Admin. and LETS Events) can also spend into commitment to invest inattracting new members and therefore increasing LETS income through future servicecharges. Try and get new members to trade as quickly as possible to avoid them feelingdiscouraged. Once they have written a few LETS cheques they will soon find that it is easyand can become habit forming. Trading itself spreads the word!

Word of Mouth

Your existing membership is your best resource in attracting new members. At everymeeting and social event it is worth encouraging the existing members to think of newpeople (friends and neighbours) who may be interested. The members themselves arelikely to be the most effective at persuading their own friends. Give each existing member a few application packs to pass on to others or brainstorm new members at everyopportunity. Remember that if your system works well for your members, they will spreadthe word at no cost to the system. This has the added advantage that everyone is perceived

to be a friend of a friend, which ensures the trust and goodwill necessary for local exchangeto flourish. It also helps to focus membership around local neighbourhoods where it willbe most effective.

One successful and tested idea is to reward members with a ‘new member bonus’ of 5LETS when they ‘buddy-in’ a friend. In return they were expected to explain the systemand help the new member identify their skills and complete their application form. (Mostpeople imagine that they have nothing to offer and it often takes a close friend to helpidentify their skills and strengths.) This also shares the workload around the membershipand provides the Core Group with a useful contact if ever a trader ‘vanishes’ or gets intodifficulties.


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Members with e-mail addresses may be encouraged to contact their neighbours whohave no Internet access. In doing so they will be providing a valuable local service toothers who may be happy to pay a LET or two to share access and e-mails.

If you intend to use the Internet a lot, make sure that you download proprietary virusprotection software to protect you and your members from the thousands of damaging

viruses presently circulating.Chat rooms and bulletin boards also provide the opportunity to connect and to shareinformation. Many systems have developed excellent web sites (see links from the LETSlinkScotland site). Commercial sites such as Lycos, Excite and Yahoo provide inexpensivehosting facilities for web sites and also offer simple site construction tools to allow you tobuild a simple site displaying contact details and an event diary.

Be sure to ask LETSlink Scotland to display a link to your site. A surprising number of people now carry out a web search for information before picking up the phone.

Directories & Newsletters

Despite pending technological breakthroughs, your local directories and newsletters arelikely to be your most effective means of networking the membership. Photocopying andpostage costs will be one of your biggest cash costs. As your membership grows your publication costs will also rise. It is therefore important that you make your directorieswork hard. As well as helping your members to keep in touch with each other your directories will also be your best advertisement for the system. Many systems publishseparate newsletters, briefing guides and directory listings (offers & wants). It is less costly

however, if you can organise to combine these documents to save on postage costs.• Encourage your members to change their offers and wants regularly and to

keep their contact information up to date at all times. Nothing discourages tradingmore than inaccurate or out of date information.

• Encourage your members to contribute articles in their own words to maximisethe appeal of each issue.

• Choose an affordable format that reflects the values of your system and stick toit. A4 folded to a handy A5 booklet should suffice when you have a few membersbut consider A3 folded when the membership grows. Use recycled paper if youare able to. Black type on a plain coloured paper can be just as effective as fullcolour on white. Use a generic typeface that can be easily read by everyone.

• Develop a style and be consistent. Classify your offers and wants in a simplebut

Documents

Local Exchange System Development Kit