BOD Meeting Minutes: 2004-08-03

Madison Hours Co-op Board of Directors Meeting
8/03/04
6:50 pm

Present: Jon, Rob, Camy, Paul

Announcements:

The Ethnic Connection is interested in playing for a breakfast.

Minutes: passed with changes.

Treasury committee: We experienced problems with timely payments of our
bills in accounting; at this point, however, it is believed that we are
current. We are doing fine; we are within our budget and have a positive
balance at the bank. Gregory and Jon have done some research on financial
institutions and would like to recommend that we move from Heartland Credit
Union to another financial institution (credit union).

Outreach: There is a piece going into 'Sustainable Eating' (online journal).

Newspaper: Paul had trouble with his commitments because Kitty was sick.
and because the press people in Brodhead were on vacation recently. Paul
gave every one a proof copy (cd) of the paper. Paul needs copy editing in
the next 24 hours.

Camy will get Paul some graphics from the Infoshop (20% enlarged).

Other Business: Alicia may be out of town, so different arrangements need to
be made for the pancake breakfast food buying and delivery. Rob will
contact Alicia... and Jon could be available to help.

New Business:
WNPJ would like us to join and will accept 4 Hours for membership. Rob
votes we do, Paul seconds... motion passed. WNPJ will do some outreach on
our behalf.

William White Jr., a prisoner, would like us to sell T-shirts with a pattern
he designed. Jon will write to him and ask him to join and advertise for
help and/or market his shirts.

Request from RiverHOURS in Hoodriver OR... just started a local currency
program based largely on ours. They are appealing for help with their fund
drive to build to hire a co. to build/design their web site. Jon propose we
send them $50. Camy seconded. Jon is going to request that they get
ownership of their software. Jon will write up something about River HOURs.
Motion carried by all.

Old Business:

Next meeting is Sept. 9th Thursday. Outreach at 6:30, Board at 7:30 pm.

By-laws:

Jon will review the by-laws. Meeting on Tuesday the 14th at 6 pm.

Meeting adjourned 7:32 pm.

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2005-06-02

Madison Hours Board of Directors meeting
June 2, 2005
7:25 pm

Present: Rob McClure, Ali Dwyer and Jon Hain

June minutes approved with changes noted.

Loan Committee: Tabled

Outreach report: David Williams is working on topics for the next session of the discussion group. Food for Thought and Atwood Summerfest are on our agenda. As liaison to the Time Bank Rob has been able to make good connections to figure out how to integrate the systems. The Time Bank will be launching a pilot project in the fall. Rob will give us a monthly update. Camy's Backyard Hero ran.

Treasury: Money is fine. Jon will price out safes.

Pancake: Inspection is coming. Pancake info on groups and money will be forthcoming by Jon. This month is FreeWheel. Ali will get in touch w/ them.

Website: Moved to new server. Will get Ithaca's website. Listservs are up and running. Members will be able to change listings on-line.

June Potluck: Board Elections and 2 proposals are on the agenda.

Newspaper: Rob will contact Jim Gorenson to make the new issue. Rob will call Paul to let him know.

Meeting finished at 8:20.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Jon Hain.
Updated 8.11.05 as approved by the BOD.

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2005-12-08

Madison Hours Board meeting minutes – Dec 8, 2005. 7:43 called to order. Rob McClure, Jon Hain, Ali Dwyer were there

Member Listing software update
- the Australian company we are working with will present us with a version early next week.

Web Hosting Project:
- In budget, a line should be added for web hosting income and expenses
- Glitternet owns the web space that we will subcontract
Glitternet will charge Madison Hours 50% of income from web hosting and will take half of that in Hours currency
An estimate of budget for web hosting: Income: $1200, Expense: $600

Trade Fair/Breakfast
vendor emails were sent
Ali will shop and make a last minute plea for volunteer help

Member Harassment issue:
the Hours member who experienced harassment by another member will be offered a chance to add a piece to the newsletter, describing her situation and experience
this tactic of initiating a common dialogue is a good way to combat this behavior
we could add a disclaimer to the website (as it reads in the paper)

Next meeting we’ll talk about our 10 year anniversary celebration and how we can tie it into the TimeBank work.

End.
Respectfully submitted by Ali Dwyer

Approved by Board Action on January 3, 2006

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2006-03-02

Madison HOURS Board of Directors Meeting
March 2, 2006

Present: Jon Hain, Ali Dwyer, and Rob McClure

Meeting called to order at 7:55 pm. Minutes from January reviewed and overwhelmingly passed as written. February minutes to be distributed next month.

Budget: Pancake Breakfast over expectation by $300. Expecting CHIP grant soon. Subscription revenue. Jon sent $180 in invoices for advertising to be received by next month. $2300 in the bank right now.

Petition Against AOL email tax: Effects HOURS with bulk emailing, will need to pay a tax to AOL. Direct effect, plus indirect economic justice issue. Madison HOURS will sign on Move-ON/Free Press Petition against this.

Madison May Day Celebration: Ask to support this years celebration (have done so previously) through a variety of avenues. Board agrees to general endorsement, 1/16th page ad (Rob will make wording for an ad, due April 16th) for $25 in songbook, notice on email list, possibly table at picnic Sunday, April 30th at Tenney Park. Jon will mail in form to organizers.

Outreach: Gave a brief presentation at Community Shares meeting about HOURS at meeting this month. Rob will distribute article at TimeBank meeting.

Birthday Party: Tuesday, May 16th from 7-9 at Wil-Mar. Ali will contact the beet cake person and other HOURS members who bake and cook to find out pricing for cake-- possibly dessert potluck-- provide some cake, coffee, and tea. Jon will invite employees of businesses who use HOURS, plus poster for general public, also contact all former Pancake partners. Send Jon email of other ideas of who to invite. Ali will send Jon the mailing list of contacts for Pancake partners. Jon will send info to co-op newsletter.

Pancake Breakfast: Last month things went very well with Wheels for Winners. Next month is with WAM. Rob will put together a poster to put out prior to breakfast. Joint shopping day with Ali and Rob March 11th. The time was set for 4pm.

Currency Contest: Will possibly be mentioned in a number of periodicals, Jon talked to some people in the media.

Web stuff: The software from New Zealand was supposedly done, but when Jon went to log-on it didn't function. Everything is in place for Webhosting through Madison HOURS for members.

Next meeting set for Thursday April 6th at 7:45 pm.

Meeting adjourned at 8:35 pm.
Notes respectfully submitted by Kristin Sage.

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2006-12-07

HOURS Board Meeting
December 7, 2006

Present: Jon Hain, Ali Dwyer, Rob McClure

Meeting called to order at 7:45 pm. Minutes from previous months forthcoming.

Budget: Budget report submitted by Jon. Projected budget until the end of the year. In the budget, less revenue was raised than projected, but less money was spent. Details in budget report, some items will still need to be added. As far as Jon can tell, it all works out in the end. Jon will look into discrepancies in budget. Discussion of budget: Ali would like to see volunteer compensation promoted more readily; Jon suggested handed out HOURS to volunteers directly at the time of service, Ali will take some HOURS to have on hand (volunteers can not earn more than 60 HOURS in a year); Grants will have to be adjusted; Lower "Fundraising Other" to $50; increase Pancake Breakfasts to $3400; increase renewal fees to $500; subscriptions to be reduced to $10; Webhosting should be reduced to $300; (total projected income $6200). Expenses: Advertising $350; Donations $1285; Dues $250; Fundraising Pancakes $1400; Insurance $0;License and Permit Fees: Other $125; L&P Pancakes $155; Office Supplies $200; Telecom $260; Printing, Newspaper $1150; Printing, Other: $1000; Rent, Office $1800; Rent; Other $100; Tax $200; Volunteer Compensation $600; Webhosting fees $150. (Draft budget, pending some checking in about some items. Jon will learn a few things and send out the budget for review before the end of the year.)

Raffle Items: Raffle winners should be called. Sussanne has the names of the raffle entries, will draw on Sunday. The "Fuck White Supremacy" t-shirt will be dropped out of the prizes, so as not to offend.

New Members: All new members at the fair were dispersed HOURS at the fair. Will be entered into the database and website by next week (Jon). Seven new members from the Fair, plus a few more. A couple new business members as well.

Holiday Trade Fair: Thoughts on the Holiday Fair.. people were fairly happy, Rob made more money than other years, same with Jon. The bartender was happy too. Rob talked with the woman regarding the Fair Trade Holiday Fair about combining the two events. WORT gave the event a lot of press time. Rob was on WORT on Friday. Jon did a follow up piece on "In Our Backyard", and talked a lot. Jon will write a thank you to Kathy at the High Noon for providing the space for free, running info in her ads, etc.

Printing Currency: Full color copies take a coated paper, not the kind Rob has. There is a printing co-op in Chicago area that may be able to do this. Jon will call for a quote.

Businesses: Jon is afraid that having the Timebank people to solicit business is too far removed. Rob thinks if people were educated on local currency that this could work. Jon would like to see two things before that: Timebank people to help with tabeling and see who has a grasp of the system; see if HOURS can get the businesses to sign up before having others take this on. Discussion of how to approach this.

New Member Website: The company the runs the Website is advising that HOURS not do what Jon has been planning to do. Jon thinks that the system will work because the HOURS system is perpetually out of balance. This will need to be addressed. Rob will put his mind to this. For now will get the members accounts together.

Pancake Breakfast: Ali has the list, Rob is bringing garlic and syrup and the flour. Jon will help with the kitchen starting 9;30, Ali will arrive early to start prep work. Rob has always dreamed of being there at 6:30. Ali can get potatoes and other things on list... and this is the last time and she means it this time.

Next meeting scheduled for budget review on 12/29 at 2:15 (or 12:30) p.m.
Next Board meeting schedule for 1/4 at 7:30pm

Meeting adjourned at 9:11 p.m.

Notes respectfully submitted by Kristin Sage

Approved by the Board on 2/28/07

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2007-02-01

HOURS Board Meeting
February 1, 2007

Present: Jon Hain, Ali Dwyer, Rob McClure, Susanne Galler

Meeting called to order at 7:43 pm. Minutes from previous months forthcoming.

Money: Simple. We're doing fine, reports Jon. One potential problem is that Jon is 8.5 hours short in volunteering with Community Shares, which may lead to a reduction in funds.

Insurance Follow-up: Jon called to ask about coverage for insurance matter. Waiting for call back.

Newspaper: Last meeting set assignments for newspaper, but uncertain of who, what, and when. New deadlines are being set: February 15th is set deadline. Susanne is writing about Forest Espinoza, Ally is writing about Costa Rican restaurant, Rob is writing about farewell to Mifflin and something else, Jon writing about Toronto HOURS, Susanne will write a short article about Holiday Fair and raffle winners. And we need ads, Susanne will solicit ads, and remind Just Coffee of past due amount.

Printing Currency: Called a number of printers, but heard from zero. Nathan at Lakeside is willing to get the process rolling, including getting paper, finding a printer, etc. Jon can continue to work on this, but will be gone most of February. Jon will try to follow up in the morning before he leaves.

Pancake Breakfast: Wisconsin Books to Prisoners is the co-host on February 11th. Collecting books for prisoners, listed on ad and online. Jon will send email to members tonight with a reminder to bring books. Ali will drive to get groceries.. Rob will send list to Ali. March co-sponser is City WIDE Low Power FM. Ali is in contact with Leah Zelden.. Shake the bushes for April.. Rob has an idea and will send to Ali (Savory Sundays).

MySpace HOURS: Susanne created a My Space account for Madison HOURS. She will take responsibility for keeping it up, including posting bulletins about breakfast.

New Member Website: Members have started to sign up for member listings on-line.

Next Board meeting schedule for 2/28 at 7:30pm.

Meeting adjourned at 8:17 p.m.

Notes respectfully submitted by Kristin Sage

Approved by the Board on 2/28/07

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2007-02-28

Madison Hours Meeting:
February 28, 2007

Present: Susanne Galler, Jon Hain, Rob McClure, Ali Dwyer, Stacy Harbaugh

Meeting called to order at 7:35pm

Outreach:
Rob applied to Renewable Energy Fair (Saturday June 16) to hold a workshop on something related to Madison Hours mission. We also have an opportunity to rent an information table.
We can have a table and a workshop (if accepted) for $100.

Susanne will send the raffle prizes to the winners

Finance:
1) Jon is submitting the city's personal tax form
2) Fed tax extension has been filed - to be done in March
3) Renewals have been added to our web form. We are almost ready to link to it from our main page to get traffic going there.
4) CSW news: Jon made up the work hour deficit, and our grant money is secure
Share a meal is Tues, March 13th. Jon will host at Maharaja East.

Currency Update:
Nathan at Lakeside is still interested in helping and is awaiting the go ahead from MH.

Newspaper:
Jon: We'll have no article from Jon re Toronto dollar, since it is hard to find info on it in Toronto.
Ali: to research Cafe Costa Rica and write an article.
Holiday Fair recap article from Susanne as well as interview w/ Forest Espinoza
Rob: photo from Mifflin window and an article
Stacy: writing about seasonal Hours users
All to help contribute to Calendar feature
Deadline: March 20th

Susanne and Jon are meeting on Thursday re web, stickers for pancake dates and/or a postcard with dates

Submitted by Ali Dwyer and approved by the Board on March 27, 2007

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2007-03-27

3/27/07 – BOD meeting

In attendance: Jon Hain, Rob McClure, Ali Dwyer, Susanne Galler
Meeting called to order at 7:30pm.

OUTREACH
We discussed co-sponsoring Earth Day to May Day (4/29-5/1, 2007) at Tenney Park. Decision was made to lend endorsement, put them in our paper (if out yet) and sponsorship - $35. No word yet from the Renewable Energy Fair regarding Rob’s application to hold a workshop at the fair.

CURRENCY UPDATE
Jon gave a printing update: that Nathan at Lakeside is doing a few samples on the color copier. He will do others on various papers to know if their machine is indeed useable. However, it seems that the Chicago printing co-op will probably be who we end up using.

Rob reported that their has been no new progress with Tracy at the Center for Paper Arts – but stay tuned.

Jon mentioned a mention in the latest issue of Coin Collector Magazine, as well as a brief mention in an article about the Madison Time Bank in last week’s issue of the Isthmus.

PANCAKES
We are expecting an inspection on Sunday, May 13th. In anticipation we are still looking for sneeze guards for butter and a pourer for the sugar. An alternative for pancake and potato sneeze guards would be a volunteer to serve as the server. Will create and hang sign stating the possible presence in what we’re serving. Jon and Susanne will make the sign.

They have also made mini pancake stickers to hand out as a reminder of the monthly 2nd Sunday of the month. Pancake feed. For this month’s feed there is no co-host.

FINANCE
Jon reported that there is $2300 in the bank. With that we still need to pay rent for the 2nd quarter ($450.) The overall report is that all is fine. (“Sittin’ pretty,” in fact.) Taxes have not been filed, but we have an extension. Looks like we’ll owe roughly $350. Jon is exploring the possibility of classifying co-host donations as Compensation (vs. its current classification of Donation.)

Jon earned two hours of Community Shares credit by working at the Community Shares Share-A-Meal.

NEWSPAPER

Stacy’s article is in. Ali to interview member/lawyer Jenn Bond/JH Bond instead of Café Costa Rica for the next paper. Jon to write an article about micro credit. Rob still tossing a few topics around. Susanne to cover member/small business Art To Go. Aiming to have articles in a week from today. Possibilty of a paper by pancakes?

Jon mentioned the long-term goal of laying it out ourselves instead of having Carol do it. Software is needed for this. Would hope to have volunteers become involved with the layout process.

Submitted by Susanne Galler
Approved by the Board on May 1, 2007

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2007-05-01

MADISON HOURS BOARD MEETING – MAY 1, 2007
Meeting called to order at 7:38 pm.

Minutes from last meeting were approved. Changes noted and corrected by Jon.

INSURANCE
Neckerman Agency responded with a quote of $667/yr to cover all events and products. We budgeted $500/yr. Jon Hain will go back to the agent to request two things:
an explanation of “cooperative members are additional insureds”
to request a lowering of that rate (by taking out specifics that we don’t need or want

BUDGET
There is $3000 in the bank. An outstanding check to Social Justice Center for $450 for 3 mos rent. We owe the IRS $350, which will be paid by August 2007.

CURRENCY
Nathan at Lakeside is still facilitating our connection to a printer in Chicago, which is a coop. The language barrier may slow the process, but it is still moving. Samples are forthcoming, but paper choice has not been decided.

NEWSPAPER
Rob’s goal for his article is Wednesday, May 9. In the next week, the articles need to be proofed. Jon will email Joe and Stacy some of the articles for proofreading. The goal for all content to be sent to Carol is Friday, May 11. Ali will email Carol to check with her – for willingness and her timeline.
Ali will send Jon her JH Bond piece.

PANCAKES
Follow up from the health inspection: We need to frame all the printed materials. Jon will purchase a frame and get it into the suitcase before next breakfast. Ali will bring her new sugar pourer. Susanne posted the breakfasts on Myspace. Rob will bring potatos and flour and Ali will bring everything else.

BOARD ELECTIONS
We will have a board election in the next month and a half. We need to solicit candidates in the newspaper, at the breakfast and in a member email. We should leave 30 days from the paper print date for the election. Ali and Susanne plan to appoint Jon and Rob to the board at the next meeting, to fill the interim time.

Approved May 29, 2007

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2007-05-29

Madison Hours 5/29/07 BOD Meeting Minutes
Meeting was called to order at 7:40 pm.
Susanne and Ali appoint Jon Hain to President and Rob McClure to Vice President. Both Jon and Rob acquiesce.

Minutes from May 1st BOD meeting are approved by the board, with changes noted.

Jon will be buying a sticker to throw away the monitor at the curb.

Insurance update:
Board approved the purchase of one year of Liability Insurance at $667/year.

Financial update:
Balance: $2702 as of 5/29/07.

Currency:
The print shop we were hoping to work with in Chicago will not be able to copy the currency.
Thanks to Nathan at Lakeside, we have a connection with a Union print shop in Boston. Next meeting, Jon will have available samples and costs of printing.

Outreach/Public Event upcoming:
Board approves the notion to co-sponsor the event in name and give a donation of $25 and half an Hour.

Newspaper:
Jon has some leads for who will be able to format the paper (Carol is too busy). The calendar will be created, once input from Ali is sent to Jon(Ali to send pancake co-sponsors to Jon.)

Pancakes
Jon to research Past Pancake sponsors Range and average
A lot of pancake info is on the Hours website. Further info is needed from Ali: Co-sponsor Vol requirements needed

Rob: potatos, flour, maple syrup
we have enough Maple syrup
ali will buy everything else, and arrive at 7:15 am to leave at 8 am.
Jon will arrive when Susanne leaves, about 11 am.

Potluck Revival:
Board has planned to hold a potluck a few weeks after each quarterly paper. Ali will call Wil-Mar to check for Tuesday evening availability. Susanne will call our past vendors. It will be a short overlap with the Eastside Farmers Market.

CSW Board meeting and social:
Susanne and Jon discovered ways to earn workhours.
Mentioning CSW in our newspaper, on flyers, etc.
Chrysallis could be a potential co-sponsor.

Timebank membership dues: board approves our payment to Timebank: $25 and half a Madison Hour

Next meeting:
Tuesday, July 3rd
Approved July 3, 2007

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2007-08-07

Madison HOURS BOD meeting Aug 7, 2007
Called to order at 7:35pm. Susanne, Rob, Jon and Ali are present.

We approved previous meetings’ minutes unanimously.

Outreach: Ali will email our pancake dates to Madison Datebook and will contact Jon for pancake related pictures.

Budget: The board reviewed the pancake data that Jon pulled together. Jon will re-arrange it so it is easier to understand (for the purpose of comparing co-sponsor’s effectiveness as fundraising helpers).

Newspaper: the BOD approved payment to Grace for this paper’s layout. We discussed layout and updates and Jon will make updates to the New Member form as noted.

Pancakes: Ali will continue to recruit for the upcoming breakfasts. Next up is to talk to Norm Stockwell about the Socialist Potluck. October is Chrysalis and November is WI Books to Prisoners.

Currency: Jon presented samples of potential paper. BOD will wash them up to see if they are sturdy enough to be made into currency.
Susanne to send BOD her sampling of Canadian currency websites for future paper references.

Pancakes: Ali and Rob to shop. Rob to let Ali know what he’s got leftover from last month.

Website: the new website was discussed, including our capability of BLOGS. Susanne (that MySpace nut) is excited about blogging!

Holiday Trade Fair: BOD decides to do it again! And we’ll look to hold it at the High Noon Saloon on the first weekend in December. Also, we need to look into securing a dolly for the transfer of tables.

Next meeting: Sept 4, 2007 at 7:30 pm.
Approved September 4, 2007

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2007-10-07

MADISON HOURS BOARD MEETING, October 2, 2007
Present: Ali Dwyer, Rob McClure, Jon Hain

Minutes from last month (September): Approved with changes noted.

Outreach:
1 - Timebank Conference: Rob will serve on the Nov. 2nd panel at the conference.
Jon and Ali will be able to attend a majority of the conference and will combine efforts to set up a Madison Hours info table. Jon will tell Stephanie Rearick of the Timebank that we’d like to table at the conference.
2 –After a discussion of an email Madison Hours received, we decided that we need to be clearer in distinction between Hours and Timebank. To that end, Rob will post his newspaper article on Madison Hours and Timebank to the new website.
3 - Marsha Rummel had shown interest in hosting a listening session during an Hours event. Having her as a guest at a potluck would serve us both well (she could be a good draw to our potlucks, which need a little inspiration)

Holiday Fair:
The date: Saturday, Dec. 1st. 11 am to 3pm, unless Susanne feels strongly otherwise.
We will hold it at the High Noon again.

Budget:
We just received a $725 quarterly payment from CSW/CHIP. The balance before that payment is $930. Jon let us know of a couple of bills due this month, and after paying them, we’ll still be in fine shape.

Pancakes:
This month’s co-sponsor is Chrysalis, and they seem to be in fine shape with volunteers and promotion. Chrysalis volunteered to provide Ali with names of volunteers in advance, which is a great idea. Ali will add that to the requests of groups in the future. It may help them stay accountable and come up with 3 vols in advance.
Ali updated the group on future breakfast co-sponsors and will update the website before it goes live with the following info:
November: WI Books To Prisoners
December: Socialist Potluck?
January and February: Both given to Clean Air Madison, and they are deciding
March: open
April: Verbal agreement – Madison Arcatao Sister City Project
Beyond: Friends of Ferals, Low Power Radio Project, Freewheel, Wheels for Winners, Sustain Dane, Friends groups (?)

Jon will come up with past co-sponsor data. Ali to remind Jon to do it before next meeting.
Ali will shop for the October breakfast and Rob will bring apples, pears, garlic, basil, flour and potatos.

Website:
Should be ready to go live by this weekend. Ali to update website before it’s too late.

Newspaper: We discussed potential articles for the next edition. Rob has some ideas. Have yet to set a date, but it’d be nice to get one out before year’s end or early next year.

Meeting adjorned : 8:30 pm Minutes submitted by Ali Dwyer.
Approved November 5, 2007.

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2008-01-08

01/08/08 – BOD meeting begins at 7:40pm. Rob, Jon, Ali and Susanne present. The minutes from the 12/07 meeting were approved.

Jon shared with us samples Tamworth Dollars & Serenity Hours, local currency sent to us from Canada in exchange for Madison Hours.

FINANCES

a.) Budget: Jon announced that the bank-provided balance shows us as having roughly $1000 less than he thought we had. Ali & Susanne volunteered to find the problem.

b.) CHIP news: Our 4th quarter 2007 disbursement ($725) has arrived.

c.) Other money in: Still waiting for payment from Just Coffee.

d.) Money out: All bills are current.

POTLUCK

We have the space upstairs reserved for 6-7:30pm on the 15th day of January – March.

MEMBERSHIP

Jon reported feedback on the following topics:

a.) Sliding scale: It seems to be more confusing than helpful to folks these days.

b.) Renewal Issues: Returning the initially issued Hours when a membership lapses also seems to be confusing and off-putting.

c.) Payment: There is a need for our accepted means of payment to evolve. Examples might include the use of Timebank Hours, earning MH as you go. Also proposed, a free membership for businesses which accept MH.

HOLIDAY TRADE FAIR ‘08

Rob attended a meeting with Carol Bracewell, John Peck and the SERRV Intl. folks to talk about the 12/08 Fair. They are looking to get out of the MATC building and into another space (possibly the Monona Terrace.) They are looking to bring in additional groups & focus on domestic fair trade. Cost & food are issues being looked at. 12/06/08 is the prospective date. Jon posed participating in this event as well as staging our own. He suggested polling the members and previous vendors to see what they think.

PANCAKES

a.) Upcoming co-hosts for ’08 include: JAN – Clean Air Madison, FEB – Quann Gardens/a Jessica Bullin memorial orchard fundraiser, MAR – Low Power Radio, APR – MACSAC, MAY – Madison Community Land Trust, JUN to SEPT are currently open, OCT – Chrysalis, NOV & DEC are open. Other possibilities include Small Miracles, BFW, Wheels For Winners, Troy Gardens, Friends Of Ferals. Susanne will email CSW with an all-call for co-hosts.

b.) 12/07 Feed: The day was a bit slow with eaters, but we had a few member sign-ups.

c.) 01/08 Feed: Rob hasn’t inventoried yet bill tomorrow and will get it to Ali so she can shop. Rob to bring potatoes, garlic & flour. Ali will bring the rest.

NEWSPAPER

"It’s gonna happen." –Jon

Rob is still working on an article for a Socialist Potluck gig and will pass it along when it’s done. Copy deadline is the next BOD meeting (2/5/08)

NOTES

a.) For next time’s agenda: Board Election

b.) Jon to send out an email to our members which includes a request for volunteers to make posters for our Pancake Feeds each month.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.
Approved 2.5.08

BOD Meeting Minutes: 2008-01-31

Madison Hours Board Meeting, Jan 31, 2008. Called to order at 8:05 pm.
Present: Jon Hain, Ali Dwyer, Rob McClure, Susanne Galler, Erin Schneider

Renewal Mailing:
A renewal mailing will go out in about one week. Jon will take the mailing to Chrysalis to have them put it together.

By unanimous consent, the BOD approved the plan for the board meeting minutes to be on the website as a permanent archive.

Ali will make a sign for the next breakfast that says “sales tax is included in admission.” Because it is.

Financials:
Budget for 2008 passed by unanimous consent.
BOD approved a $50 donation to WNPJ, to come out of “dues” category.
BOD approved a $50 donation to CSW for their “donor software fund”
BOD approved a $50 donation to Timebank (1/2 in Hours)

Pancakes:
This month’s co-sponsor is Low Power Radio Project. Ali will update the website with co-sponsor information.
March co-sponsor: Quann Garden (Pamela)
April co-sponsor: MACSAC (Erin)
May co-sponsor: Madison Community Land Trust (Mary Myers)
June: Small Miracles (Corrina Frye)
July: Madison Music Collective (Paul Hastil, Camy)
Aug, Sept OPEN
Operation Welcome Home?
October: Chrysalis

Newpaper:
Jon to write article about his experience with Prosper
Rob to write an article.
We need someone to write a profile about Just Coffee, as they are using Madison Hours to trade amongst other local businesses.

Tabled for a future meeting: We should discuss a plan to give businesses free memberships.

Meeting adjorned: 9 pm

Minutes approved by unanimous consent of the Board on March 6, 2008.

Advantages of accepting Madison Hours

1. Hours INCREASE YOUR SALES.
People who accept Hours will go out of their way to patronize businesses where they can spend Hours. This generates new and repeat customers for you.

2. Hours SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES LIKE YOURS.
Madison Hours stay in the local economy because they are only accepted in the greater Madison area. When you accept Hours, you are participating in a network that supports local businesses over national chains.

3. Hours ARE EASY TO HANDLE.
No special accounting is needed. Since Hours are a cash equivalent, you treat them just as you would cash. The one HOUR notes go in the $10 compartment in your register, the half-HOUR notes in the $5 compartment, and the quarter-HOUR notes wherever you have space for them.

4. PROMOTION
We will help promote your involvement in local currency as long as you participate. Through our website, newspaper, events, press releases, etc. we will make sure that the community knows that use Hours.

Business to Business letter explaining the Hours system

How to get your business involved

• It only costs $5 to $10 (sliding scale) to join.
• You get three free Hours just for signing up.
• Your membership includes four free listings in the HOUR Community newspaper directory and our website for goods and services.
• Most important of all, your membership entitles you to free support and consulting from a Madison Hours volunteer on how to make Hours work for you.

Setting A Madison Hours Acceptance Policy

• We'll take up to 20% of your bill in Hours, and the rest in dollars.
  
  

• We accept 15% Hours on purchases over $10, or
  
• We accept 15% Hours on purchases made on weekdays.
  
  

• We take up to 1/2 HOUR per purchase.
  
  

• We accept up to 1/2 HOUR on purchases over $15, or
  
• We accept up to 1/2 HOUR on purchases before noon.
  
  

• We accept a total of up to 3 Hours per day.
  
  

• All red-tag items are 1/2 HOUR each.
  
  

Ways Businesses Use Madison Hours

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Local Food and Local Currency

Not In Hour Name

The story of money video

Here's an animated video that explains how money works. There is a short section on Hour based money systems and on interest free money. Interesting ideas about how an interest-free government issued "value" money could work. "Setting up a local barter money system, even if little used now, would be prudent emergency planning for any community." - Narator

One of the best part of this video is the quotes from bankers and politicians.

Here's a quote from Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence..
"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men."

James Garfield weighs in.."Whosoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce.... And when you realize the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate."

1. Corrupt Banking System - Cartels Robbing the Public
2. Corrupt Banking System - How "Money" is Created
3. Corrupt Banking System - Money is Debt
4. Corrupt Banking System - Monetary Reform
5. Corrupt Banking System - Warning About the NWO

"I am afraid that the ordinary citizen will not like to be told that banks can and do create money. ...And they who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of Governments and hold in their hands the destiny of the people." - Reginald McKenna, former Chairman of the Board, Midlands Bank of England.

The Wider Motivations for Local Currency

Why the Exchange Medium Matters:

The Incompatibility of Central-bank Money with Global Economic Justice

Fair trade -- the commercial vision-of-choice for those with progressive politics -- has made increasing inroads into the mainstream marketplace in recent years, as demonstrated (if nothing else) by the growing interest among large corporations to appropriate and brand the concept as their own. Fair trade, of course, is about nothing if not eliminating outside ownership and redistributing wealth more equitably to producers in all parts of the world, two precepts which would seem inimical to corporations, or at least their share-holders.
Nevertheless, those who advocate for fair trade will be increasingly called-upon to articulate and defend its practices, and to distinguish them from those of “free” trade. This requires that we have a precise and careful understanding of the workings of markets and the role that financial systems play in transferring wealth around the globe and concentrating it. Local currency activists -- whose vision aligns almost identically with fair trade -- have long emphasized the strategic necessity of democratically-controlled money systems to a universally equitable trading system.

Local Currency and Fair-trade
Understanding the relation between exchange media and markets is paramount to our vision as fair-traders; by contrast to other segments of the left, we do not call for the abolition of the market system - despite its obvious injustices - but instead seek to transform it into a mechanism which is both transparent and universally equitable. Implicit in this project is a presumption

Fair trade -- the commercial vision-of-choice for those with progressive politics -- has made increasing inroads into the mainstream marketplace in recent years, as demonstrated (if nothing else) by the growing interest among large corporations to appropriate and brand the concept as their own. Fair trade, of course, is about nothing if not eliminating outside ownership and redistributing wealth more equitably to producers in all parts of the world, two precepts which would seem inimical to corporations, or at least their share-holders.
Nevertheless, those who advocate for fair trade will be increasingly called-upon to articulate and defend its practices, and to distinguish them from those of “free” trade. This requires that we have a precise and careful understanding of the workings of markets and the role that financial systems play in transferring wealth around the globe and concentrating it. Local currency activists -- whose vision aligns almost identically with fair trade -- have long emphasized the strategic necessity of democratically-controlled money systems to a universally equitable trading system.

Local Currency and Fair-trade
Understanding the relation between exchange media and markets is paramount to our vision as fair-traders; by contrast to other segments of the left, we do not call for the abolition of the market system - despite its obvious injustices - but instead seek to transform it into a mechanism which is both transparent and universally equitable. Implicit in this project is a presumption that greed is not endemic to market-systems and that the commodification of our labor (at least for the purposes of long-distance trade) is not inherently dehumanizing, two premises at odds with much other left analysis. Examining the present capitalist money system helps us clarify why we hold, and can justify, these positions.

Making Sense of the Monetary System
Socialism typically ascribes the labor-exploitation and concentration of wealth that we see under capitalism to the institution of private ownership of productive means. While there is surely a connection here, the causal relation is multifarious and complex, and monetary analysis is useful in breaking this open. It’s important to remember that money is the device we use to transfer ownership, the medium through which wealth flows around the globe and either aggregates or disaggregates; therefore how money measures value and how it flows (its two functions as an exchange medium) are central to the wealth concentration process.
Though it’s seldom analyzed in the following terms, how money is issued affects the way it measures. This is significant since exchange-media function by translating information (about value) through the entire economy; if they measure and operate dishonestly, they do so in every transaction, and every participant in the market becomes complicit regardless of class position or intention. When money is issued exclusively as interest-bearing debt (as all central-bank currencies are), in units (like dollars) that are not objectively meaningful, what results is money that measures dishonestly and induces each of its users to concentrate wealth, perhaps independently of their intention or, even, understanding.
All central bank money enters public circulation out of the commercial banking sector, either through direct loans to the public or the purchase of government securities by the Federal Reserve (effectively a loan from the banking sector to the government). This results in a net flow of money back toward the banking system (principal plus interest / bond plus yield) and the money supply must be perpetually re-extended (often expanded) to account for this. Indeed, this “self-shortening” propensity of the money supply is what allows the Fed to control the economy through interest-rate changes.
Every dollar we use is ultimately headed back to the banking system, interest attached. Its ostensible function while circulating is to act as a standard measure of value in the transactions it’s mediating, but at the same time it needs to deliver a marginal amount of additional value back to its source. Value itself however can only be created by labor, so loaning dollars into circulation effectively amounts to attaching an additional labor demand or labor cost to each dollar while it’s in public hands. Every user -- from the initial loan recipient forward -- has the incentive to pass this cost on, and what results is the creation of ubiquitous behavior among all market participants (much of it automatic and unconscious) to somehow collect additional value without laboring.
This manifests generally as the “shortness” of the money supply, and it not only compels us to be slaves to price (advantaging the Wal-mart model of production), but to invest our idle money at every turn, even if we don’t want to. The problem with central-bank money is precisely that you can’t stuff it in the mattress. Only by “re-employing” it -- plunking it in a savings account or otherwise investing it -- can anyone hope to maintain its value.

Central Bank Money and Corporate Enterprise
The financial services industry, in turn, is constantly evolving to meet this need by finding novel ways of making money from money, which -- if we stand by the view that labor produces all value -- can only occur via speculative investment or from the profit of someone else’s work. Fair-traders, socialists and other progressives should therefore view our reliance upon financial services institutions - for our retirement, pension schemes, and other forms of security - as morally problematic and a coerced repudiation of the labor theory of value we claim to hold. “Green investing” -- while obviously better than buying shares of Nike or Shell -- is ultimately not an answer for this; it is only kinder slavery, an oxymoron in essence.
Central bank money, with its constant requirement for re-investment, all but forces us to partake in the privileges of ownership; indeed, the institution of private ownership -- at least as it concerns large-scale productive enterprise -- is fundamentally driven by our exchange-medium. No system which permits (much less demands) money be made from money can ever pass muster with a progressive vision of commerce. Only by reclaiming democratic control of money - of the very language of exchange, of its definition of measure - can we create a system of trade, both locally and internationally, which we can guarantee to be non-exploitative.

An Alternative
Somewhat remarkably, we are perfectly free to do this, and several dozen communities in the U.S. have taken the opportunity (thousands of systems operate globally). Whether set-up as electronic credits or paper notes, local currencies are generally denominated in hours-of-labor (usually cross-denominated in the U.S. at $10 or $12/Hour), cannot be lent at interest, are democratically controlled by their users, and are issued with the object of expanding local money-supplies to sufficiency. This drives up wages, encourages re-localization of production, shrinks the excess labor pool and redistributes wealth more equitably. Local currencies also present an ideal opportunity to focus a much wider audience on the fundamental problems of capitalism, and they constitute an important step toward re-democratizing society. Because of the world-wide commonality of their denomination (ie., the labor-hour), geographically disparate systems can ideally be linked for development of national and international trade. Most importantly, local currency use ultimately pushes us toward a trading system where an hour of labor in every corner of the world produces an equivalent standard of living, a feat inconceivable under a trade regime based on central-bank currencies and floating exchange rates.
Local currencies are potentially powerful tools, partly because they do their work simply in the course of people spending money. Widespread, well-developed systems around the U.S. could be pulling hundreds of millions of dollars out of chain-stores and permanently re-localizing that spending-power; but this requires a commitment to build a common vision of fair trade at the local level.
Proprietary, for-profit control of our common exchange-medium amounts to control over the very labor-power within us. If you feel that there should be popular, democratic control of this essential economic function, Madison Hours is always happy to share whatever resources and assistance we can. Be in touch, or contact Rob directly at (608) 257-6729 or robmcc666@msn.com.

Timebanking and Local Currency: Two Ways to Kick the Dollar Habit

Madison now has a second local trading system.
The Dane County Timebank was launched on Madison’s north side in October 2005, with plans to expand over time to the entire metropolitan area and possibly beyond. Like Madison Hours, it provides a way for people to connect so that they can fulfill each other’s needs and improve community self-sufficiency without having to rely upon dollars. DCT is one of several dozen such systems now operating around the country.
Economically-speaking, timedollar systems or timebanks work very much like local currencies, supplying a form of non-dollar credit to individuals, organizations and businesses so that they can track the trading they do with one another.
So does Madison Hours now have a competitor?
Hardly.
While there may be some overlap in mission, local currency and time dollar systems are designed to fulfill distinct and complementary economic roles, and this can be seen in how they operate.

Compare & Contrast
Both types of systems use the same basic method to connect people: members publish their offers and requests, either on-line or in print, so that everyone can see who needs what and who might supply it.
But while local currencies take the form of paper bills, timebanks operate on the basis of mutual credit, meaning that whenever any participant’s need is matched by another’s offer, a time dollar is simply created (on a computerized accounting system) for the recipient of the service to pay to the provider -- a shortage of credit should therefore never stand in the way of any need remaining unfulfilled. Partly on account of this operational difference, timebanks extend a lot more credit into the community than local currencies do; a timebank member may debit her account quite extensively before earning back credits, though all members are ultimately obliged to do so. This liberal extension of credit stands in contrast to local currencies which generally dole out three or four Hours at sign-up, requiring members to then earn additional Hours before they can spend more.
As with local currencies, timedollar systems use the hour of labor as the unit of account, but unlike local currencies, timedollar credits have no federal cash equivalent. This has the advantage of rendering them non-taxable, but also makes them less-than-ideal for transactions involving goods or services of significant dollar-value. So, while one’s not likely to sell a car or provide plastic surgery for timedollars, the credits work perfectly well for most exchanges that community members seek to make with one another. Timedollars credit only time, so they are best suited for services, and additional dollar-costs -- say for tools or supplies -- must be accounted for in dollars or local currency.
But perhaps the most significant difference between the two types of systems is in how trading happens. While Madison Hours provides Hour Community News and the Hours website as “passive” tools to enable members to connect, timebanks employ a coordinator (often on a paid basis) to actively facilitate trading between members. The process is much more structured as well -- the application for membership is significantly longer, and the coordinator interviews and vets participants at sign-up to insure they are trustworthy and reasonably qualified to provide the services they’ve advertised. The facilitator may also, where appropriate, deliberately match participants on the basis of personality and temperament.
As these practices make clear, timebanks are much more specifically focused on the outcome of building connections between community-members than are local currencies; the development of friendships and other ongoing bonds are of paramount importance. Indeed, in well-established timebanks, the actual redemption of earned credits sometimes falls to a comparatively low percentage (by contrast with dollars or local currency), and most timedollar systems don’t keep strict tabs on total numbers of credits and debits generated. Many systems in fact allow relatively unregulated generation of credits, especially by participating organizations. Because the credits have no dollar value, there is no concern about them accumulating in large numbers and losing their value. What’s important in timebanking is not looking after the “money supply” but seeing that community members are connected and doing things for one another.
For local currency systems -- as with all true money systems -- controlling the money supply is of critical importance; any currency, to remain viable, needs to maintain its value against goods and services to insure easy and stable convertibility with others.

Core Economy
A useful way to distinguish the economic roles played by timebanks and local currency systems is to consider what Edgar Cahn, the developer of time dollars, refers to as the “core economy.” This encompasses the caring and communitarian tasks that were traditionally (and willingly) done for free in socially intact communities. Many of these include caring for the young, elderly and ill, keeping physical infrastructure in good repair, and sharing skills and resources between community members. Much of this work has gotten transferred to the waged-economy as increasing work-loads have eaten away at Americans’ spare time.
As Cahn likes to analogize it, the core economy bears the same relation to the larger economy as a computer’s operating system does to its software programs: the sophisticated and useful tasks performed by the latter cannot get done if the basic tasks of the former are not being accomplished. The core economy is put under particular strain in impoverished areas where there is neither time nor monetary resources to get its tasks done. But at virtually all class levels in American society the core economy has largely fallen apart, with atomization of family units and general distrust of others isolating people more and more.
Reviving the core economy with a timebank strengthens the community by drawing connections between its members and removing financial pressures by freeing up dollars that had been devoted to getting core economy tasks done. But timebanking also demonstrates concretely to people that the most basic tasks in the service of community and human need have a real, demonstrable value.
In the commercial sector, timedollars are typically limited in their potential use to the “surplus” economy, either in discounting excess capacity of some kind or for remunerating the labor of volunteers. So, a theater or restaurant might participate in a timebank by treating timedollars as they would a discount coupon during slow hours; or a social service agency might discount the fee they normally charge to clients by accepting timedollars, which they can then use as an incentive to encourage additional volunteer support.
But in general timedollars remain sequestered from the larger wage-economy -- a lack of dollar-equivalency makes them essentially impossible to process through a business’s accounting system as revenue, so they can’t find their way into people’s wages or the pockets of vendors who might otherwise be sympathetic to their mission.
This is where local currency like Madison Hours comes in. Though denominated in hours of labor like timedollars, cross equivalency ($10/Hour) allows it to be accounted as cash for business purposes. But unlike federal currency Madison Hours never leave the area, so the wealth generated by earning them stays permanently in local circulation (dollars are often said to circulate roughly 7 times before leaving the region). Whatsmore, the citizens of Madison -- rather than the Federal Reserve -- control its circulation.
Why is this last point important?

The Larger Picture
Let’s say your operating system is working fine, but your software is dysfunctionally slow because you don’t have enough memory available to run it. If we were to consider money as bits and bytes in Edgar Cahn‘s analogy, it’s clear that the super-computer called the U.S. economy is permanently under-fitted so as to run sub-optimally.
The money supply is the primary device by which the Federal Reserve controls the economy, and it functions very much like memory in a computer. Extend it, and things speed up: interest rates fall, new businesses start, existing businesses expand and the unemployment rate drops toward zero, putting upward pressure on wages. Contract the money supply, and the productive economy slows down. Federal monetary policy is geared toward maintaining an unemployment rate in the 3%-6% range precisely to prevent upward pressure on wages and the “inflation” that would potentially bring.
Not only is money never made available in sufficient quantity for full employment, in recent years the globalization of production and investment has put an added pressure on dollars to slip out of localities all over the U.S. and search even farther afield for better return. The conventional money-supply can therefore never be relied upon to provide a sustainable environment for regional economies to work at full capacity and provide a decent standard of living for all their citizens. Nor will dollars ever be supplied to a community at zero-percent interest in a world in which return on investment is increasingly competitive. Only local currencies can stanch the potential flow of wealth away from a community while at the same time providing a local ability to control the economic environment, independent of the wider monetary climate.
Local currencies have the potential to recalibrate pay-scales so that minimum wages are lifted to living wages without ever costing businesses a penny. They can make local retailers price-competitive with giant international chains like Wal-mart and Home Depot. They can foster re-localization of production, even in an era in which virtually anything can be done more cheaply overseas. They can encourage local sourcing and re-use of raw materials and components, even when those can be obtained more dollar-cheaply out-of-state or out-of-country.
Local currency can do this because it costs nothing -- its supplemental addition to the local economy takes no dollars out of circulation. Indeed, it frees up dollars from tracking local transactions so that they can be used for non-local costs or to pay down debt.

Achieving Symbiosis
So how can DCT and Madison Hours best work together? Though it might seem natural, the two cannot be officially linked or considered mutually exchangeable since that would compromise the non-dollar-equivalence of timebank credits.
Madison Hours members can of course also become members of the Timebank and vice-versa. But with the two systems potentially duplicating their services in both the core- and commercial-economies, a lack of more concerted coordination between them seems wasteful if not remiss.
Though timedollars cannot be exchanged for Madison Hours, it has been suggested (by Edgar Cahn) that Hours could be given out as a sort of bonus, like frequent-flyer miles, to the most active timedollar participants. So, an Hour might automatically be allotted to Timebank members for, say, each 5 timebank credits earned.
This would expand Madison Hours use to Timebank members, which would be of great benefit since they are likely to have needs for many goods and services which are not readily amenable to discounting or donation. But this would not accomplish the important corollary task of expanding Madison Hours use by businesses; Madison Hours is already in critical need of additional business participation and could certainly not sustain hundreds of potential new users all hunting down the 30 or so businesses currently dedicated to honoring local currency. And of course DCT would also need to get Hours to hand out for bonuses.

Linking Without Linking
To solve these problems, we’ve drafted a proposal to the Dane County Timebank that the Timebank not only encourage business support in the form of donations of goods and services but also in Madison Hours. This latter option would hopefully have a certain appeal to businesses since they wouldn’t have to discount anything, but it would obviously require them to earn Madison Hours. They could either do this first, or Madison Hours could simply front willing businesses no-interest loans of Hours to donate, with the stipulation that they could not quit Hours membership without paying the loan back (much like the regular membership agreement).
This would result in a large surge in appetite for Hours among new businesses. To sweeten the pot, DCT (perhaps with Madison Hours splitting the cost) could run an advertising section in the local papers once or twice a year thanking businesses for their support and listing their various contributions in $-equivalents; this figure would be the amount of their original Hour donation plus any additional Hours the business had taken in as revenue. Figuring it in this way would provide an incentive for businesses to take in as many Hours as possible and therefore to get in the practice of treating Hours as regular revenue -- expensing them out as wages or for supplies and raw materials -- rather than writing them off as coupons or simply collecting back the original donation and quitting. In this way we would hope to leverage new interest in the Timebank into increased business support for Hours, which would greatly benefit the members of both organizations. With an expanded business-base, local currency begins to have much more appeal to employees as wages, easing the “personnel-budget bottleneck” often experienced in fledgling local currency economies. This appeal would be enhanced if it were generally understood that accepting a portion of one’s wages in Madison Hours was also a way of supporting D.C.T.
A synergistic combination of local currency and timebanking in Madison holds exciting potential, and could set the city in the national forefront of economic initiative and innovation. It also presents a great opportunity for Madison Hours to gain a new foothold in the commercial realm; were 300 businesses instead of 30 using Hours, millions of dollars would begin flowing back out of national chains to local retailers, and the median minimum wage would leap upward. We would never have to fear Hours fleeing the area, and the dollars freed-up by them -- which would manifest as a sort of “local-loyalty subsidy” to business -- could be used for debt-reduction, non-local costs or investment. With the Timebank re-knitting raveled community-ties and freeing up additional dollars in city and county budgets, we could permanently relieve a sizeable financial pressure from the residents of Madison and Dane County and pioneer a genuinely new form of local economic sovereignty.

What's Wrong with the Dollar