It is the end of the year – and what a year it has been! Through it all, the first PB Seeds New Jersey cohort was such a bright spot, full of learning, connection, and commitment to community leadership. It’s safe to say our first cohort was a huge success, and I am so excited for next year’s cohort in Summer 2025!
PB Seeds is a learning cohort program built on the idea that when we learn together, collaborate honestly, and bring our communities’ priorities to the forefront, we can equip advocates for success and catalyze powerful campaigns for participatory democracy.
PBP wanted to bring the tools of participatory budgeting to leaders across the state committed to community power – and ensure there was time for deep learning so folks can take those tools and create winning campaigns to shift power. The way New Jersey has embraced PB Seeds has been nothing short of inspiring, and I’m really grateful for the partners we have in NJ.
We kicked things off at our program launch event in June, and the applications for the Fall 2024 Cohort went live! We were joined by Mayor Kevin Kane and Councilperson Annette Jordan from Freehold, NJ and Ben Solitaire from the NYC Civic Engagement Commission who offered their insights and support for the cohort. Ben talked about the possibilities that PB advocacy opens up, including shifting culture and institutionalizing community-led decision making, while the Freehold PB team invited the learning cohort to join them in September to see PB in action.
In August, we co-hosted a powerful webinar NJ Health Care Quality Institute on how PB has transformed the way citizens interact with public health structures, and how it can really be a powerful starting point to heal wounds. At the event, Steering Committee Member from Denver Health Max Gatz shared how this civic engagement process was able to bring people pushed to the margins into the center.
Finally, we got things started with our learning sessions in September! Our first session was in person in Freehold, NJ and we had an opportunity to introduce the program, get to know one another, and then experience PB in action during a Freehold PB voting event at a community fair!
We had eight incredible NJ community leaders join us for an intensive series of five sessions to learn all about PB and how to advocate for it in their communities. Read about our participants and check out their bios!
During each session, we dove deep into an aspect of the participatory budgeting cycle and shared our experiences, insights, and real life examples of PB advocacy in action. We covered topics like storytelling, ensuring PB is impactful, needs assessments, and outreach and engagement strategies. And advocacy planning of course! We lifted up and got real about several examples of PB advocacy campaigns and PB processes that we have supported over the past few years and the held plenty of time for discussion.
We covered so much, participants had incredible questions, and our inaugarl cohort brought enthusiasm, deep expertise, and a commitment to make community-led decision making real for their communities!
"I learned participatory budgeting is really for the people and am now working to bring it to Trenton because it can be a powerful tool to engage people in my city."
One of my favorite parts of the Seeds curriculum was our Mock PB process during the trainings! Our cohort participants got chance to design their own process, submit ideas, and vote on them. All their projects were focused on mental health. The winning project was providing mental health for children and youth living in poverty. See the full idea here.
At the end of our final session, which was in person in Pleasantville, NJ, we all cheered, said goodbye, and the seeds were planted! Our first cohort graduates remain connected throguh shared learning and are planted in their communities newly equipped to grow PB and bring really transformative, inclusive, equitable democracy to New Jersey!
I’ll see you all in the new year for PB Seeds NJ Summer 2025 Cohort – keep an eye out for the application coming soon!
Nisha Thompson
Nisha is a community organizer who has extensive experience building movements to increase government transparency using open data, community engagement, and policy advocacy. A NJ native, she worked locally and nationally in the US and in India bringing people together to work on improving the relationship between citizens and government. Her passion is working with volunteers, demystifying complex processes, and engaging people in innovative ways. She works for PBP as the NJ Advocacy Manger for the Seeds program, which aims to build PB demand all over the state.
