Dear reader, I’m making contact to share a personal New Year resolution with you.
It’s a somewhat long post. Short version: I’m hoping that you’ll consider joining me in showing support for Bristol by engaging with Bristol Pound. See the bullets below for some ways to do this and read further down for reasons why.
Longer version: I’ve decided to commit to spend at least £500 per month with local Bristol businesses to show my commitment and support for our local economy. I’m going to do this in Bristol Pound, our local currency (which, as you know, I chair).
If you also feel that local businesses make a city more special, interesting, diverse and inclusive, then please consider doing the same. You may say that you’re already doing this, but I’m asking you to join me in doing it through Bristol Pound, which means that with every transaction a commitment to spend locally is passed on – a virtuous circle of local transactions.
If you’ve never used Bristol Pound, it’s a set of beautiful notes and a digital currency that operates 1 to 1 with Sterling.
If you’ve used Bristol Pound already, please consider going further:
Businesses, you can apply to open an account online.
Why you might do some of these things?
“If you want to change the way the world goes round, first you have to change the way money goes round” ~ Tom Burke
Building on the changes we instigated last year with the appointment of Diana Finch as Bristol Pound’s new MD in July, the team has a range of plans for 2019. These include an initiative to sign up Community Champions on a hyper-local basis to represent Bristol Pound across the city, enhancements to the Bristol Pound app and core platform, together with deeper partnerships with Bristol City Council, Bristol Credit Union, University of Bristol, UWE and others.
A few final thoughts for those still reading. Do get in touch for a hot water, lunch or beer if you want to chat about any of this. Please also pass the link on to anyone else you think might be interested. And finally, if, like me, you think that Bristol Pound is something that deserves to be given the best chance to help change the world, I’m looking for twenty £10K Funding Champions to help close the financial gap as we target sustainability by the end of 2021. Two of us have so far stepped up, and I’m keen to talk to others.
Happy New Year
Ben