Workgroup Meeting 8/29/10

[Judith Culver]

Notes for this meeting follow.

[Judith Culver]

8/29/10 Meeting

Present were: Shirley Jacobson, Caitlin Quigley, David Marshak, Judith Culver and first-timers Katie Vestal, Diane McGinness, and Parvis Kaz.

Again, discussion was wide-ranging but centered on three projects.

Debt Education: Caitlin reported that she and Laura were moving along well. They have posted their first outline in the discussion "Debt Education" and will continue to update it there. Their selected apporach is to set up casual meetings with the RA's in freshman dorms.

Move Your Money Brochure: Shirley has worked with Real Money of Portland to adapt the methodology they developed. This methodology assigns ratings for "local-ness" based on publicly available data. This protects us from being liable for the results. A continuing discussion is about the differences between credit unions and banks and the desire of some to show credit unions more favorably. The group suggested separating the rankings of banks and credit unions. Another issue was the relevance of business loans in the ratings. Business loans show contribution to the local economy, however, credit unions arelimited to 12% business loans. (Note: Issues include not having access to MS Publisher and not having people time to make the requested changes.) This brochure cannot be posted online now, but is available from Shirley.

Local Investing: Judith updated on Keizer Meats investment opportunity and her contact with Local Investment Opportunity Network (LION) in Port Townsend. the LION procedures are well defined, avoid issues with the SEC, and seem workable in our area. The group wants to proceed by:

1. Everyone getting up to speed on the ideas at the following websites:
This is a great article filled with ideas and successes. Grassroots Financing How businesses are turning to their neighbors for funding. http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/bypass-the-bank-local-invest...

Keizer Meats investment opportunity http://keizercoop.blogspot.com/p/potential-investors.html

Local investment Opportunities Network in Port Townsend http://www.l2020.org/index.php?page=investing-opportunities


2. Start a forum on the Transition ning site.

3. Solicit iterest from investors and people seeking financing by sending a blast email to all TW members. Possible businesses would be related to the TW mission.

4. Identify a specific project that will demonstrate how this will work. Members look for possible businesses.


Misc: Diane McGinness mentioned that there is a new type of corporation being discussed, that is, a corporation for sustainability and/or environment. Also she is watching the possible formation of a State Bank of Washington.

Help! We need a new convener since Laura has been selected for the TWOG. We will help you!

[Katie]

thanks for doing the minutes, Judith.

here's the reply i received from LIONs

----------------------------
From: "Deborah Stinson"
To:
CC: "'James Frazier'"
Subject: RE: LION Information (was: Send me information about Local 20/20)
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:37:47 -0700


Hello Katie,



We’re pleased to hear the good people of Transition Whatcom are interested in LION and are humbled by your compliments. While new programs of this nature have their natural ebb and flow, LION has to date proved itself productive for all participants and our broader community.



It seems to be the right time for such ideas as several communities around the country are now exploring our model. So much so that James Frazier, a key player in creating this network, is in the process of developing a toolkit to expedite LION startups in other communities. I’ve copied James here so that he can follow-up with you after he returns from vacation.



In the meantime, you are on the right track by downloading and reviewing the online documents. Please reply all to this email with any questions generated by that review and we’ll work to get you the answers as quickly as possible.



Unfortunately, we cannot add you to our LION email list at this time. We’re still small enough that we handle program development and investment opportunity traffic on the same list. Because of the latter, we require anyone on the email list to be a local member of LION.



Please do not hesitate to get back in touch with any questions that surface from your team’s work. And, of course, we would love to hear about any programs that you develop in Bellingham. We often look to Bellingham for trailblazing ideas and look forward to seeing what your team develops!



Thanks again for getting in touch,



Deborah Stinson

LION - Local 20/20

360-379-1406





From: Local 20/20 [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 6:50 PM
To: Deb Stinson
Subject: Fwd: Send me information about Local 20/20



Hi, Deb;

Will you handle this or forward it to someone else in the LION Group?

Thanks,

Steve

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:
Send me information about Local 20/20

Date:
Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:39:43 -0800

From:
[e-mail]

To:
[e-mail],[e-mail]




100829 sun 6:36 pm pdt

Hello LION,

Our Transition Whatcom Personal Finance work group met today, and
your LION organization was highly praised. It was recommended we
contact you and ask to be put on your email list.

We are going to study your download packages as well.

You have a brilliant idea, we hope to follow your trailblazing here
in Bellingham.

Thank you,
Katie Vestal

[Shirley Jacobson]

Re Move your Money flyer. Several folks asked about Business Bank, which is one of the banks on the table ranked in the top for being locally based and prioritizing local business. Here is a link to their website that describes their business/philosophy.

http://www.businessbankwa.com/about-business-bank.php

[Judith Culver]

Here's the link to the B corp mentioned by Diana McGinness at the meeting. http://www.bcorporation.net/

Two states, Maryland and Vermont, have passed the law for Benefit Corporations (B corporations) which have social or environmental benefits. Check it out.