Thank you for voting in The People’s Money!
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s People’s Money vote! Over 130,000 New Yorkers cast their ballots to help decide how to invest in local projects through participatory budgeting. Your vote is helping shape a more equitable, responsive city, one where residents, not just elected officials, have a direct say in how public dollars are spent.
We’re currently preparing to reveal which ideas will receive funding in each borough, but the work doesn’t stop there. Once the results are in, we’ll work with local organizations to bring these resident-selected projects to life across New York City. Stay tuned for the winning ideas announcement!
Partner with the CEC!
As we prepare for another year of The People’s Money and CEC programming, we are excited to announce two paid opportunities for community-based organizations and groups looking to help shape civic life in their neighborhoods.
Support The People’s Money’s Next Cycle!
The CEC is looking for a small number of community-based organizations to help engage New Yorkers in the next cycle of The People’s Money. Selected organizations will receive up to $33,000 in funding to host Idea Generation Workshops in Fall 2026 and help get out the vote in Spring 2027.
We’re seeking organizations with large networks and citywide reach that have experience engaging historically underrepresented communities, including:
- Youth
- Older adults
- Immigrants
- Limited English proficient New Yorkers
- Public housing residents
- People with disabilities
- Veterans
- LGBTQIA+ communities
- Justice-impacted New Yorkers
We are also seeking organizations with specific roots in Staten Island.
🗓️ Application deadline: August 3, 2026
→ Learn more & apply here!
Become a TRIE Partner!
The CEC is seeking a community based organization to serve as a TRIE Neighborhood Organizer (TNO) in the Bronx in Fordham and University Heights. The selected organization will receive up to $60,000 in funding to lead a neighborhood coalition, strengthen local partnerships, and increase civic participation through the Taskforce for Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE) Neighborhood Initiative.
TNOs will work with residents and community partners to host The People’s Money Idea Generation Workshops, get out the vote, and help build long-term civic engagement in their neighborhoods.
🗓️ Application deadline: August 13, 2026
→ Learn more & apply here!
Questions about these opportunities? Email opportunites@civicengagement.nyc.gov.
Expanding language access during the June Primary
Casting a ballot should be accessible to every New Yorker, regardless of the language they speak. During the June Primary Election, our Voter Language Assistance Program helped make that possible by providing free, in-person language assistance at poll sites across the city.
More than 300 bilingual community members provided in-person language assistance at 50 poll sites during Early Voting and at 100 poll sites on Election Day, supporting voters in 14 designated languages across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
Beyond the polls, 14 community-based organizations helped expand access by providing hundreds of voters with in-language information about their voting rights and available language assistance services, helping ensure more New Yorkers have the information and support they need to participate in the democratic process.
Civic Leader Spotlight: Nisha Agarwal of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
In celebration of Disability Pride Month, we’re proud to highlight Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, for our July Civic Leader Spotlight.
Throughout her career in public service, advocacy, and law, Commissioner Agarwal has championed efforts to expand accessibility and strengthen communities in New York City. Before joining the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, she served as Executive Director for Policy and Communications at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Division of Mental Health.
During the De Blasio administration, she led the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs where she advanced a pioneering initiative to provide a municipal identification card to all New York City residents, regardless of their immigration status, known as IDNYC. She also led the establishment of Cities for Action, a national network of mayors and county leaders who advocate for more pro-immigrant federal policies. She has continuously worked to strengthen civic engagement and expand opportunities for New Yorkers to participate in shaping the decisions that impact their lives. Through her leadership, Commissioner Agarwal has helped build a more accessible and inclusive city where all New Yorkers have the opportunity to be heard.
The Civic Engagement Commission is looking forward to working in close partnership with Commissioner Agarwal and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities to strengthen the reach, inclusivity, and accessibility of CEC programs.
CEC partners with Decidim to advance open source democracy
We are thrilled to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Decidim, the democratically managed open source platform that powers The People’s Money.
This partnership builds on a shared commitment to using open source technology to create more transparent, accessible, and engaging opportunities for people to participate in democracy. We’re proud to be joining a global network of governments and organizations advancing this work, following recent agreements between Decidim, the City of Barcelona, and the Federal Government of Brazil.
The announcement comes as our Chair and Executive Director Sarah Sayeed joined civic leaders from around the world at Open Source Week at the United Nations for the “Cities, Democracy, and Open Source” panel. Dr. Sayeed shared how open source tools help New Yorkers take part in city decision-making. Check out our interactive platform for The People’s Money at participate.nyc.gov, powered by Decidim.
Coming this summer: “What’s in Your Borough?”
As we prepare to announce the winning ideas from this year’s People’s Money vote, we’re also celebrating the projects selected by New Yorkers in 2025 that are currently in full swing across the five boroughs. In our latest “What’s in Your Borough?” YouTube series, we visit the 20 winning projects from last year’s vote to see how resident ideas have become real community investments.
From performing arts for youth to workforce development, housing advocacy, and more, the series highlights the impact of participatory budgeting and the power New Yorkers have to shape the future of their communities.
The series launches this summer, but while you’re waiting, check out last year’s series and learn how New Yorkers’ choices in 2024 shaped their boroughs.
Help improve public meetings in New York City!
How can public meetings better serve New Yorkers? That’s the question behind the Better Public Meetings project, a national initiative supported by the Luce Foundation that New York City is participating in.
Public meetings, from hearings to board meetings and other community engagement events, play an important role in local decision-making. Through this project, cities are exploring ways to make these meetings more accessible, welcoming, transparent, and effective for residents.
In partnership with the National Civic League and Perfect City, we’re looking for feedback from New Yorkers about their experiences participating in public meetings and events, including those hosted by us, the NYC Civic Engagement Commission. By completing this ActiVote survey, you’ll help identify what’s working well and where there are opportunities to improve public engagement across the city.
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