Members Handbook
Contents:
1 Principles
2 Values
3 Governance:
a. Roles
b. Open Meetings
c. Annual General Meeting
d. Subscriptions
4 Cyclos
5 How to trade
6 Paying for trades
7 Contacting other Members
8 Social Events
1 Letsbuzz Principles
1.1 LetsBuzz is one of many similar LETS schemes around the country and has links with neightouring schemes in Hemel Hempstead (Hemplets) and Milton Keynes (MKlets).
1.2 Letsbuzz is a very open, informal organisation which tries to avoid having lots of rules telling members how they should trade and behave.
1.3 However, there are certain principles and values which underpin the organisation which all members should try to uphold.
1.4 The principles of Letsbuzz are:
a) it is a non-profit organisation;
b) members agree that their personal data (as given in their application form to join Letsbuzz) may be held in a computer database and in Cyclos and disclosed to other members;
c) each member is entitled to know every other member’s buzzard balance;
d) members may be charged a buzzard membership fee and a sterling fee from time to time at rates agreed at Annual general meetings (see governance in section 3 below);
e) although Letsbuzz allows offers and wants to be advertised in Cyclos, Letsbuzz as an organisation offers no guarantees as to the value, condition or quality of goods and services offered; and
f) members are responsible for their own tax liabilities if any should occur as a result of their trading. Letsbuzz has no authority or obligation to report trading to HMRC.
2 Letsbuzz Values
2.1 The Letsbuzz values are:
a) everyone has something to offer, whatever their age, sex or religion or ethnicity; whether they are in paid work or unemployed;
b) small is beautiful and by keeping Letsbuzz local, trust amongst members can flourish and a community of members can develop;
c) the environment is cherished and protected;
d) trading without money puts people before profit; and
e) everyone is encouraged to participate thus making Letsbuzz a more democratic organisation.
3 Governance
Roles
3.1 Letsbuzz is run by members who volunteer to take on roles in the organisation and who are known as “officers”:
a) the Coordinator who organises open meetings, the annual general meeting (AGM) and looks after administration generally;
b) the Buzzard Treasurer who maintains each member’s buzzard account and the central buzzard account;
c) the Sterling Treasurer who looks after the Letsbuzz sterling account; and
d) the Membership Secretary who enrols new members and maintains the membership list.
3.2 The number and type of officers required varies from time to time depending on the needs of Letsbuzz and the availability of members.
3.3 Officers are appointed at the AGM (see below) and their appointment lasts for one year, although officers can be reappointed for successive years.
3.4 Although the officers carry out specific roles, Letsbuzz thrives because all members can volunteer their time, their efforts and their ideas.
Open Meetings
3.5 Open meetings are held at least every 2 months and more often if required. The agenda varies from meeting to meeting but a typical agenda includes reports on trading activities, authorisation of buzzard and sterling expense claims, details of new members and planning for social events.
3.6 Letsbuzz officers are generally required to report to open meetings and attend if possible but all members are invited to attend and contribute and all members, whether officers or not, have equal standing at the meetings. This is why they are called open meetings.
3.7 Open meetings are held at members’ houses and any member can volunteer to host them. The host and minute taker are each paid 6 buzzards from the central Letsbuzz account.
AGM
3.8 All of the members attending open meetings can make routine decisions about the items on the agenda but important decisions about the way Letsbuzz is run are reserved for the AGM when longer notice is given of the agenda and more members attend.
3.9 At the AGM the Letsbuzz accounts are presented for approval officers are appointed for the coming year.
Subscriptions
3.10 New members have 10 buzzards credited to their accounts when they join, to encourage them to start trading.
3.11 Each year members pay 12 buzzards to the Letsbuzz central account. This helps to pay for members who host open meetings and other ad hoc services provided by members.
3.12 In addition, from time to time members are asked to pay a small sterling subscription to Letsbuzz. Although Letsbuzz generally does not have a lot of expenses, it does have to pay sterling for some activities, for example, for a venue for its AGM. At the AGM each year, members review the sterling account and decide whether Letsbuzz has sufficient funds for the coming year or whether it needs to ask for a subscription from its members.
4 Cyclos
4.1 LetsBuzz operates through a website called Cyclos which is used for the organisation’s administrative functions, including:
a) its membership database;
b) payment and banking;
c) advertising offers and wants;
d) communicating with other members;
e) advertising events and meetings;
d) recording minutes; and
e) access to Letsbuzz publications, including the newsletter and this handbook.
4.2 A Cyclos account is opened for each member by the membership officer and each member is given a membership number and login details. Members can manage their own password, contact details and profile; upload a picture if they want to; advertise their offers and requests; send messages to other members and pay for trades.
4.3 Cyclos contains instructions about how to use its various functions and help can be obtained from a number of members who have administrative roles.
4.4 While Letsbuzz uses Cyclos for its internal functions, Letsbuzz maintains a public presence through its own website (www.letsbuzz.org.uk) and a Facebook page.
5 How to Trade
5.1 Members advertise their offers and requests in Cyclos so other members can review and respond to them, for example, if they have a glut of vegetables they want to offer or need a lift to the hospital.
5.2 Members can initiate a trade, contacting another member by sending a message in Cyclos, by telephone or by email. This can seem daunting for new members but, as they get to know the others, these contacts become more informal. People have joined Letsbuzz because they want to trade so they should not feel reluctant to contact other members.
5.3 At the same time, however, there is no obligation to accept every single trade offered or requested.
5.4 Goods and services are paid for using the Letsbuzz currency, buzzards. There is no set rate for trading; members are free to agree any price they want between them for the goods or services they trade. Six buzzards per hour is the norm for work done but it is not mandatory.
5.5 Members can charge a mix of buzzards and sterling where they have incurred sterling costs. For example, it is reasonable to charge sterling for petrol as well as buzzards if you are offering a lift or to charge sterling at cost for ingredients if you’re baking a cake.
6 Payment
6.1 Once a trade has been completed the “buying” member should pay the “selling” member in buzzards in Cyclos. This is like completing an on-line bank transfer and each member’s account is automatically adjusted as a result.
6.2 If they wish, members can also use buzzard “cheques” to pay for trades. These are completed in the usual way and can then be given to the buzzard treasurer who will process them in Cyclos.
6.3 Members can use Cyclos at any time to check their buzzard balance.
6.4 Members are not required to be in buzzard credit at all times. The system accommodates some members being in credit and other members being in commitment and the position of individual members will change from time to time as trading ebbs and flows.
6.5 In Letsbuzz, we tend to think more in terms of members’ commitment to trading rather than their buzzard balance. If a member has a high negative balance, it suggests they are taking a lot out of the Letsbuzz system and maybe not responding to other members’ offers to trade. Equally, however, a member with a high buzzard balance is offering a lot of themselves but maybe not using the goods and services of other members enough.
7 Contacting other Members
7.1 The principal means of communication is through Cyclos which members can use to send message to other individual members.
7.2 Each member’s profile also contains a telephone number so members can also telephone to arrange trading.
7.3 Of course, as members get to know each other, they can get in touch using email, telephone or any other means they choose. The more members trade and get to know each other, become friends even, the more informal the contacts become.
8 Social Events
8.1 Although social events are not fundamental to Local Exchange Trading Systems, in Letsbuzz they have become both a helpful way of allowing members to get to know each other (which in turn encourages trading) and a much appreciated part of the organisation’s activities.
8.2 Letsbuzz has organised events such as barn dances, picnics, “bring and share” meals and nights out at local restaurants. Where possible, trading is also arranged at these events.
8.3 Over the years Letsbuzz members have set up various interest groups such as a book group, a music group, a film group and a board game group. Some of these are still running and some have grown and taken on a life of their own.
