A recent revival of “Middlebury Money” in Middlebury, Vermont – officially endorsed by Bill McKibben! – got me thinking about our own “Decatur Dollars” gift card and if a reinvented program with similar incentives might be applied here in Georgia that would provide Decatur with it’s own local currency.

Here’s the note in full from the the Better Middlebury Partnershp Middlebury Money Committee, which explains the problems with the original iteration of “Middlebury Money” and what the town has done recently to give the program a new “hook” that will hopefully inspire residents and businesses to continually use and spend it the new currency.

The Better Middlebury Partnership is excited to announce an exciting new Middlebury Money campaign, to be rolled out in the coming weeks – just in time for the holidays!

Many of you are probably familiar with Middlebury Money. Our organization (then the Middlebury Business Association) introduced it several years ago as a universal Middlebury gift certificate. We had moderate success, selling as much as $27,000 worth of Middlebury Money a year, sparking business for local merchants and service providers. Nonetheless, this year we challenged ourselves to improve the program.

We realized that to-date Middlebury Money was primarily being purchased to give as a gift – few people were purchasing it for their own use. Bryan Phelps, owner of Noonie’s Deli and one of our newest board members, suggested that we give Middlebury Money a real “hook,” a feature that would inspire consumers – residents, consumers, repeat visitors, even businesses – to buy Middlebury Money and to use it to spend locally.

So, we have re-conceived Middlebury Money as a tool to both generate awareness of doing business locally and to explicitly raise revenue for the betterment of our community.

The new Middlebury Money will be sponsored by local businesses who pledge to donate a percentage of the value of all Middlebury Money sold to a special fund administered by the BMP.

Additionally, we are inviting all Middlebury businesses accepting Middlebury Money to enroll as Matching Partners and commit to donating 5% of every sale paid with Middlebury Money.

In theory, we could raise 15% of the value of all Middlebury Money sold. A portion of this money would go toward sustaining and marketing Middlebury Money – a shop local campaign designed to benefit your business. The rest would be allocated to enhancing the quality of life in Middlebury – from event planning, to advocacy and grant writing, to physical improvements and renovation of historic structures.

Not only has the program been reconceived, but Middlebury Money itself has been updated. Thanks to the many hours of design work donated by Adrienne Illick MacIntyre, the currency now features a fresh, modern look that we feel will appeal to consumers of all ages – including the college community (please see attached designs). We have produced corresponding window decals, a prominent Main Street banner, and catchy print-media advertisements. Our committee has been working hard on press releases that will be sent out across the state, and we will be appearing on local radio to promote the campaign, which will be officially rolled out the week of Thanksgiving.

We already have 3 Sponsors and 6 Matching Partners committed. We are writing to ask you to join us as a Matching Partner. By doing so, you agree to match 5% of all Middlebury Money redeemed in your business. This “spending forward” concept will give conscientious consumers incentive to spend Middlebury Money with businesses, such as yours, who they know are Matching Partners. Sponsors and Matching Partners will be identified on our website, in press releases, and by window decals identifying participants in the Middlebury Money program.

We encourage you to join us in raising money for the betterment of Middlebury. If you respond by November 26, we can assure that your business’ name will be included in our holiday season promotion of Middlebury Money.

To become a Matching Partner, please contact Committee Chair Becky Dayton of the Vermont Book Shop at bhdayton@gmail.com.

Thank you,

The Better Middlebury Partnershp Middlebury Money Committee