15 Years: Lesson 3: Trust is Key
In 2025, Long Beach, California, announced the third year of its citywide youth-run PB process. In this interview, we discuss the history of participatory budgeting in the second largest city in Los Angeles County and how relationships of trust – between elected officials, residents, and activists – have been crucial to its success.
15 Years: Lesson 2: If you can spend it, you can (and should!) do PB with it
There were, and still are, plenty of reasons to focus PB on capital funds and projects. But other budgets and types of projects are important, too. More and more, we are seeing municipalities (and schools) fund program and service projects in particular through PB. If you can spend it, you can do PB with it.
15 Years: Lesson 1: School PB is an Onramp to Civic Education
School Participatory Budgeting is an innovative and highly malleable civic learning process designed to build student agency, collaboration, and critical thinking skills while creating equitable opportunities for students to participate in authentic, impactful decision-making opportunities within their school communities and prepare for civic life.
Introducing a New Series – 15 Years: Where We’ve Been & Where We’re Going
We are excited to debut a new multimedia series sharing lessons on practicing PB from our staff, board, practitioners, and field of participants that we believe are important to reflect on now.
PBP 2024 Winter Newsletter
Our next newsletter has landed! We are excited to take a moment to offer some exciting updates from our circles, give you the latest, and share what we’ve been up to this winter.
PBP 2024 Highlights
2024 has been a full year for our organization, as we have navigated transitions and taken on new opportunities with our democracy work. Check out our highlights from the year!
Post-Election Reflection: A Thread of Hope for Us Democracy Nerds
Post election, our Development Manager Jane pulled on intriguing threads of unmet needs, the MAGA movement, democracy, and how PB can begin to build the mass movement for justice and democracy.
PBP Summer 2024 Newsletter
As the seasons change, we are excited to take a moment to reflect on the beginning of 2024, share a bit about what we’ve been up to, and let you know how you can get involved as we welcome spring.
PBP Spring 2024 Newsletter
As the seasons change, we are excited to take a moment to reflect on the beginning of 2024, share a bit about what we’ve been up to, and let you know how you can get involved as we welcome spring.
Tools for Participatory Democracy: Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership
The Spectrum of Community Engagement to Community Ownership is a valuable organizing tool we can use it to grow our practice of participatory democracy and push for greater community-led decision making.