Blog
Meet our new staff & board members (then join them)
Our team at the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) is committed to re-shaping democracy and continues to develop to deliver on this goal. I’m honored to introduce you to seven amazing individuals who recently joined our board and staff. I’m inspired by how these new team members are showing up for a democracy that we believe…
Read MoreSchool engagement that’s almost too good to be true
Last year, we shared the very wonderful story of how Participatory Budgeting (PB) was introduced at P.S. 139, a local elementary school in Brooklyn where Miro (the son of our co-Executive Director Josh Lerner) goes to school. PB addressed a sincere need at P.S. 139: a need to connect with families at a school of nearly…
Read MoreBuilding Community and Student Power in Public Universities
Urban public universities are difficult places to find community. In what are largely “commuter schools”, students have less opportunities to connect on a daily basis. Many students balance coursework, family commitments, and multiple jobs. It’s easy for campus life to fall by the wayside. In the face of this, Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a vital…
Read MoreThis is our moment – are you in?
Our team at PBP shows up month after month to grow participatory budgeting (PB) because we – like you – know how critical it is to build real democracy. Will you join us by signing up as a PB Amplifier, to contribute the monthly donations that we need to sustain our work? This week…
Read MoreYou made it happen: Your PB2 Vote Results
Our supporters voted to fund two AMAZING projects with $20,000 of their donations. We’re grateful to these folks for enabling even more people to make informed decisions about public money! Two of our superstar PB Amplifiers Kelsey Foster and Ashley Kuenneke, made this possible. Thank you to Kelsey and Ashley for facilitating our PB2 process!…
Read MoreBuilding Participatory Democracy at International Conference
Seventeen-year-old Participatory Budgeting Youth Fellow Jacinta Ojevwe stood before an international audience at our Innovations in Participatory Democracy Conference and said, “To breathe life into this revolution, young people must be involved. That means we have to go to where young people are” just before she declared: “I am not just here for this conference,…
Read MorePBP News: BIG School PB, Conference Recap, Your Turn to Vote
PBP SPRING NEWS It’s time to elevate young leaders At the March for Our Lives, Chicago’s Mya Middleton, 16, underscored the power of youth voice: “We are the turn of this century. We are the voice of change. We are here to fix what America is falling short of.” Just weeks prior, New York’s Jacinta…
Read MoreDon’t miss this year’s PB vote season!
It’s that time of the year again: PB vote season! In NYC, the 7th annual vote week is coming up April 7-15! Residents in 27 City Council districts – more than half of the city and in all five boroughs – will decide how to spend at least $1 million per district for community improvement…
Read MoreParticipatory Budgeting for Businesses: It Justworks
Last April, Isaac Oates was leaving his local library when a stranger asked him to vote. At first he politely declined, but when the volunteer said it was about the budget and would just take a minute, Isaac took a ballot, and learned about participatory budgeting (PB). Six months later, Oates was leading a PB…
Read MoreCan you sign up as a PBNYC poll worker?
People across NYC are gearing up to vote on how to spend millions of dollars through Participatory Budgeting in New York City (PBNYC). PBNYC works because people like you volunteer to make a difference in their community. Can you volunteer as a poll worker, to help your neighbors vote in PB and build real democracy?…
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