There are plenty of ways to support the local economy.
Members of the local community organization NCPlenty say that one way is to utilize the Triangle's local currency, the Piedmont Local EcoNomy Tender.
NCPlenty is a non-profit organization working to promote local commerce, fair wages and environmental responsibility in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham through the implementation and support of the PLENTY currency, which was first minted in 2002.
At NCPlenty's fourth annual meeting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Sunday, the organization's Board of Trustees launched a program called Local Occurrences of Organized PLENTY Spending.
The LOOPS project aims to entice new member businesses and aid circulation of the PLENTY through arranged spending cycles.
One PLENTY is the equivalent of $10. They are minted in one, one-half and one-fourth denominations.
They are considered legal by the Federal Reserve, Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department.
NCPlenty expects widespread local acceptance of the PLENTY in the next 10 years.
The 1,000 or so PLENTYs in circulation can be used at almost 200 locations in Durham, Orange, Chatham and Alamance counties.
According to the organization's website, the PLENTY adds value to local goods and services while U.S. dollars inflate prices to offset transportation costs and interest.
U.S. dollars enter and leave the Triangle, while the PLENTY stays and strengthens the local economy, members said.
"These local currencies are being used to encourage people to be patrons of their community businesses," said R. Neil Fulghum, North Carolina Collection Gallery keeper at UNC.
To accept the PLENTY as payment, a business must join NCPlenty as either a "provider" or an "employee."
A provider is a local business that pays part of its employees' wages in PLENTYs and, in turn, accepts PLENTYs as payment in exchange for goods or services.
Annual membership fees are $12 for providers and $6 for employees.
Participating businesses advertise their membership in the program with signs in their windows.
"In recent years, the public recognition of what we're doing here is growing," Fulghum said.
The PLENTY is not the first or only local currency in the United States.
Businesses and patrons have used American local currencies for more than 200 years.
At the N.C. Collection Gallery, Fulghum works to preserve the PLENTY.
"This is a very important part of our history both locally and nationally," Fulghum explained.
Fulghum also noted that the PLENTY is unique in comparison to other local currencies that have appeared in North Carolina's history.
Other currencies have been created for temporary or emergency situations. Raleigh created its own temporary currency during the Civil War to help the local economy, Fulghum said.
Other local currencies have been issued by municipal governments, businesses, banks and the military.
The PLENTY, on the other hand, was the brainchild of a concerned group of local citizens.
"There has never been an attempt in North Carolina's history where a currency like this has been implemented on a community-wide level... looking out for the economic quality of the community," Fulghum said.
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