Ithacash

= "a new currency for in and around Ithaca, NY. It’s bought with the US dollar and backed by real goods and services in the community. What makes Ithacash different from other currency programs that have existed to-date is its strong social focus on benefiting the community, specifically around generating regional food security and helping those people who are being left out of the dollar economy". [1]

Interview

Interview of co-founder Scott Morris by Singlebrook:

"SB: How did you come up with the idea for Ithacash?

SM: Ithacash as a concept arose out of some consulting that I did for the Ithaca Hours organization. That experience helped me realize my long term vision for AmeriQoin, a consulting business which helps existing and forming currency systems get off the ground and succeed. AmeriQoin is based on Qoin, a similar sort of organization in Amsterdam, with whom I became familiar with when I attended a “Conference on Complementary Currency Systems” in the Hague on their invitation.

Qoin has--what I believe to be--the best software in this space. It’s currently operating in the UK with the “Brixton Pounds” system, in Amsterdam using a social currency called the “Makkie”, and on TradeQoin, a business-to-business platform being supported through the EU-funded “Community Currencies in Action” project.

Though the idea was originally to bring the Qoin software to Ithaca Hours, when I presented that proposal, the Ithaca Hours board wasn’t interested. It was then that I sensed the opportunity to bring Ithacash out as an independent initiative. I believe that starting fresh will allow for more innovation and more impact in the community, and ultimately, it will be the community that decides what is or is not valuable.

Ithacash is a collection of best practices and policies from a number of different currency models around the world. The focus of Ithacash is on resolving wealth disparity by uplifting the poor and providing a mechanism for those with wealth to lend helping hands. Local currencies circulate at a much faster rate and can deliver benefits that are outside the capabilities of comparable dollar funding or donations." (http://singlebrook.com/blog/tech-for-change-scott-morris-ithacash)