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People Powered Budgets

Democratizing Local Budgets to Transform Our Cities and Care for Our Communities

March 2021

Our local budgets should not be decided by a small minority behind closed doors. By building people-powered democratic processes that prioritize our community's needs and desires, we can leverage our local budgets to care for us and enable us to care for one another.

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Although we are constantly sold a narrative of scarcity and competition, the reality is that our world already has ample resources to care for us all. Imagine if we could gather regularly with our neighbors to decide how our collective resources can be used to support all of us and to meet shared responsibilities. What might we decide to fund? What collective, public institutions would we build? What priorities would we realize that we all share? 

We can start this work today in our cities and towns. The work of democratizing budgets is a critical first step towards building a democratic society that truly includes everyone.

Organizer's Toolkit

Ready to expand your local democracy with a people-powered budget? We’ve designed this toolkit to help guide you through the process of developing and planning your campaign. Let’s get started!

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