Do you have any local programs which provide loans or grants to deserving people or for community projects?
Yes, we have provided loans for members of RiverHOURS. We gave a small loan to a business which sells fair trade products from around the world. They used their RiverHOURS loan to fix up their store. They also used the local currency to hire an accountant. We do not charge interest on our loans. We are not out to make money like banks are.
I ask this because I see on the T.V. news tent cities of unemployed and homeless people now springing up in places across America. If those areas had a local currency would its function be to provide those people employment or does your currency not really work that way?
It can work that way, it's just that you have to get people on board for it all to work. It takes a community for a community currency to work. It doesn't just take the unemployed or homeless. You need spending loops for it to work. If you gave a homeless person some RiverHOURS, he could spend the RiverHOURS buying food, but then how does the homeless person then earn RiverHOURS in return so he can then buy more food. We had a situation in Hood River where a local grocery store could spend their RiverHOURS on rent. The person receiving the rent spent their RiverHOURS on piano lessons. The piano teacher bought her groceries at the grocery store. See, the local currency circulates from person to person. The currency stays local. It stays in the community. It takes a dedicated community for local currency to work.
Do you feel that the local currency has expanded your tourism business any or brought additional positive attention to your area?
Not really, but we do get lots of request for our currency from money collectors! And, in 2007 a documentary on local currency called The Money Fix featured RiverHOURS. The Money Fix was produced by the documentary film maker Alan Rosenblith from Portland, Oregon.
I see you publish a quarterly Trade Directory which is freely distributed at local establishments throughout the area, and you list those distribution locations online. Do listings in the Trade Directory generate the main sources of business for users?
I think it depends on the business. It is difficult to track.
Does your organization offer store type stickers which show visitors "We Accept River Hours"?
Yes, they put RiverHOUR stickers in their windows, or displays on their counters, or go through word of mouth.
Is there any way to convert River Hours into U.S. cash, like an exchange business?
Yes, sometimes when a business gets too many RiverHOURS, you can go to that business and tell them that you want to buy some of their RiverHOURS. You pay them $10 FRN (cash) in exchange for 1 (one) RiverHOUR. It can go the other way too where if you pay a business in FRNs and ask for change in RiverHOURS.
Do any of the businesses accepting River Hours experience such a large influx of the local currency that they have to say 'no more' at this time until we spend some? Does that happen often?
Yes, it has happened. Food is big, so the local grocery store had to cut down on the percentage of RiverHOURS that they take in. You see a business has total control over how much they will accept in RiverHOURS. One local coffee shop accepts 1/10 RiverHOUR (which is equal to $1FRN) for each purchase. Another store a few doors down accepts 100% RiverHOURS for any of the clothing purchases. Our local used building material store got too many RiverHOURS and had to cut back all the way. But it does not happen often because there are people in the community that really "get" the local currency thing and know they need to spend their RiverHOURS in a variety of businesses and services.
It is important for any local currency system being designed by a community to find businesses that supply food.
Can I buy food products with River Hours?
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