The Ithaca HOUR was a local currency used in Ithaca, New York. It's no longer in active circulation. It was one of the longest-running local currency systems, having operated from 1991 into the 2010s, and inspired other similar systems in Madison, Wisconsin; Santa Barbara, California;

Corvallis, Oregon; and a proposed system in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. One Ithaca HOUR was valued at US$10 and was generally recommended to be used as payment for one hour's work, although the rate is negotiable.

The currency

Ithaca HOURS were not backed by national currency and cannot be freely converted to national currency, although some businesses did agree to buy them.

HOURS were printed on high-quality paper and used faint graphics that would be difficult to reproduce. Each bill was stamped with a serial number, to discourage counterfeiting.

In 2002, a one-tenth hour bill was introduced, partly due to the encouragement and funding from Alternatives Federal Credit Union and feedback from retailers who complained about the awkwardness of only having larger denominations with which to work; the bills bear the signatures of both HOURS president Steve Burke and the president of AFCU. The system has historical roots in scrip and alternative and local currencies that proliferated in America during the Great Depression.

Within a few days, Glover had designs for the HOUR and Half HOUR notes. He established that each HOUR would be worth the equivalent of $10, which was about the average hourly amount that workers earned in surrounding Tompkins County, although the exact rate of exchange for any given transaction was to be decided by the parties themselves. At GreenStar Cooperative Market, a local food co-op, Glover approached Gary Fine, a local massage therapist, with photocopied samples. Fine became the first person to sign a list formally agreeing to accept HOURS in exchange for services. Soon after, Jim Rohrrsen, the proprietor of a local toy store, became the first retailer to sign-up to accept Ithaca HOURS in exchange for merchandise.

When the system was first started, 90 people agreed to accept HOURS as pay for their services.

The advisory board incorporated the Ithaca HOUR system as Ithaca Hours, Inc. in October 1998, and hosted the first elections for Board of Directors in March 1999. In May 1999 Glover turned the administration of Ithaca HOURS over to the newly elected Board of Directors. Glover has continued to support Ithaca Hours through community outreach, most notably through the Ithaca Health Fund (later merged into the Ithaca Health Alliance) and Ithaca Community News.

Economic development

Several million dollars value of HOURS were traded since 1991 among thousands of residents and over 500 area businesses, including the Cayuga Medical Center, Alternatives Federal Credit Union, the public library, many local farmers, movie theatres, restaurants, healers, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, and landlords.

One of the primary functions of the Ithaca Hours system is to promote local economic development. Businesses who receive Hours must spend them on local goods and services, thus building a network of inter-supporting local businesses. While non-local businesses are welcome to accept Hours, those businesses need to spend them on local goods and services to be economically sustainable.

In their mission to promote local economic development, the Board of Directors also makes interest-free loans of Ithaca HOURS to local businesses and grants to local non-profit organizations.

See also

  • Local currency
  • List of community currencies in the United States
  • Labour voucher
  • Time-based currency
  • Wörgl, Silvio Gesell

References

  • Official Ithaca Hours Website
  • Paul Glover's Website
  • E F Schumacher Society Local Currency website
  • Brief History of Local Currencies
  • Community Currency Online Magazine