Intermediate Means
Exchanges & Finance
Time exchanges: an hour for an hour
Everyone has something to offer in Vermont’s six time banks, such as cooking a meal, fixing a bike, or giving a ride to the doctor’s office. One hour of help in time banks earns one credit that can be spent on needed services. Through hour trading, time banks build community and strengthen the fabric of local economies.
VBSR’s Marketplace: like barter, but better
The Marketplace from Vemont Businesses for Social Responsibility is an online trading community where individuals and businesses buy and sell for local Trade Dollars. Rather than using traditional cash, the Marketplace allows businesses to get what they need by trading what they already have.
David Morgan-Mar via Flickr
Financing Vermont’s New Economy: the transition to sustainable food and energy systems carries risks that traditional financial institutions are not willing to take.
Vermont is rethinking risk, returns on investment, and the affordability of capital:
- Risk-tolerant capital from the Flexible Capital Fund supports natural resource businesses like sustainable agriculture, forest products, and renewable energy.
- The Vermont Sustainable Energy Loan Fund consolidates existing state energy loan programs, increases private capital, and works with banks to expand renewable energy and efficiency projects.
- Grants from the state’s Working Lands Enterprise Initiative fund farmers and forest operators.
- Vermont’s chapter of Slow Money is starting to increase coordination and leverage across lenders, investors, foundations, the public sector, and grantmakers.
- Vermont is exploring public banking to keep federal money, tax dollars, and interest payments in state.
[one_third]
Time exchange participants in Vermont: 9
1,200
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[one_third]
Amount Vermont will pay annually in debt service: 10
$80 million
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Hours traded yearly at Montpelier’s Onion River Exchange: 11
6,000
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