| Calgary Dollars turns 10 this year and it can pride itself on being the largest alternative currency system in Canada.
Co-ordinator Gerald Wheatley says there’s now about $60,000 Calgary Dollars in circulation, 900 goods and services for sale and 550 members, and the system is growing by about 10 per cent a year. As part of that growth, Calgary Dollars will introduce new $25 and $50 bills this week – previously there were only $1, $5 and $10 bills.
Wheatley says alternative currencies such as Calgary Dollars promote ecological sustainability and social justice because people buy local products and services instead of foreign ones that may be produced in sweatshops and require extensive transportation, which isn’t environmentally friendly. Meanwhile, lower income members are able to obtain the goods and services they need by exchanging their own personal skills as payment.
"In an academic framework, it’s building economic and social capital at the same time," says Wheatley of the currency. "It’s combining peoples’ interests and friendships and acquaintances with the things that they need."
Calgary Dollars also benefits the community by giving out grants to local groups. Wheatley says one of the biggest success stories is the Calgary Alternative Transportation Co-op (CATCO), which was formed after receiving a grant from Calgary Dollars. CATCO is a car-sharing co-operative, that started in 1999 and now has vehicles in five inner city communities. The co-operative started off slowly, but Wheatley says momentum is building. CATCO has bought three of its five cars in the last six months and the co-operative now has a paid co-ordinator for the first time. Both CATCO and Calgary Dollars are run under the umbrella of the Arusha Centre.
"Car-sharing wouldn’t have existed without Calgary Dollars," says Wheatley.
Calgary Dollars has also provided funding to Sustainable Calgary for its State of the City Report, which measures how well Calgary is doing in achieving economic, social and environmental sustainability, to aid a campaign to promote pesticide-free parks, and for a new genetically modified organism-free seed exchange, among many other causes.
Wheatley says in a recent survey three-quarters of Calgary Dollars members said that being involved in the organization improved their quality of life.
"Over three-quarters of participants are feeling that they’re able to afford things they couldn’t otherwise, they’re building confidence and friendships and it’s making life more interesting," he says.
Calgary Dollars now has 200 member businesses. Dustin Smith, co-owner of Calgary Community Recycling, a private recycling company that’s been in business for six months, says being a member of Calgary Dollars has helped them find new customers. He says when he and his business partner show up at monthly Calgary Dollars potlucks, they always end up signing up new customers.
"It’s helping us with a fair bit of networking," says Smith. "I’m quite surprised at how well developed that economy is."
Steve Burger, owner of Manana Import and Gifts in Kensington, has been a Calgary Dollars member for years and says it has brought in new business, but that’s not the major reason he supports it.
"I personally support it because it’s a socially positive thing that helps people come together and gives people with lower incomes the ability to purchase things to get what they need," he says.
Wheatley says funding from the United Way and the City of Calgary has been critical to the success of Calgary Dollars.
Calgary Dollars will be unveiling its new currency on January 27 at Webster Galleries (812 11 Avenue S.W.) from 5 to 7 p.m. |
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