Real money, real power. This is more than a catchphrase, it is a requirement of participatory budgeting (PB). Of course, PB requires one more key ingredient: real people participating and leading the way. Participants from the cycle 7 PBNYC vote. PB is driven largely by volunteers who take on the responsibility, commitment, and power of…

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Happy Holidays from all of us at PBP! After a busy 2019 launching exciting new projects like Democracy Beyond Elections and PBCan, and working with incredible communities like students in Merced and educators in NYC, we took some time in November, during our staff retreat, to look at the big picture. We want to extend a big thank you…

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Young people need safer and more supportive schools. Whether in Parkland, Florida, or in communities of color that face violence daily, students are demanding more of a say in how their schools are run. This spring, we showed how schools can take student voice to the next level: Invite students to directly decide school spending…

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On Valentine’s Day, we bring you a story of love and democracy. Catherine Zinnel used to be the coordinator for participatory budgeting (PB) in New York City Council Member Brad Lander’s office. She met her now-husband Neil Reilly when he got involved as a PB volunteer. PB brings people together. For Catherine and Neil, PB…

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Marijel walks by an old neighborhood park every day on her way to work. She fondly recalls visiting the park as a child, running around with friends, laughing away the sticky summer days. These days the park reminds her more of a vacant lot than a place for kids to hang out. While attending one…

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VICTORY: NYC Voters Approve Citywide PB Last week was big for democracy, from the re-enfranchisement of 1.4 million voters in Florida to an upsurge in turnout across the US. It was also a big moment for participatory budgeting: New York City voters approved a city charter revision that will create a citywide PB process! In…

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Come celebrate taking participatory budgeting to the next level! For the past decade, we’ve built a movement in NYC – and across the country – to expand democracy and civic engagement. We’ve won big this year! From Mayor de Blasio’s announcement that all public high schools will launch participatory budgeting (PB) to NYC voters approving…

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We did it! Yesterday was a big day for democracy, from the re-enfranchisement of 1.4 million voters in Florida to an upsurge in turnout across the US. It was also a big day for participatory budgeting: New York City voters approved a city charter revision that will create a citywide PB process! In a landslide vote,…

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