Budget Equity Project
The Budget Equity Project empowers community leaders and policymakers with research, tools, and frameworks to promote public budgets that uplift historically underserved and excluded communities. With billions in federal funds and annual local budgets at stake, these budgets serve as a keystone for advancing racial and economic equity throughout local government.
We define budget equity as the just and fair allocation of government resources to create the conditions for all residents to participate and thrive. This requires an intentional focus on those who are underserved by public institutions and disproportionately impacted by systemic racism and inequities. By advancing budget equity, local governments can reduce the predictive power of race, ethnicity, and other social identities on health, economic mobility, and life outcomes, fostering more inclusive and prosperous communities.
Through this research and action project, we are tracking how local governments are using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to advance racial and economic equity and highlighting exemplary investments and innovative approaches. Additionally, we are developing a prototype budget equity assessment tool to help community leaders advocate for more equitable budgeting practices and investments.
Advancing Equity Through the American Rescue Plan Act
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provided cities and counties with an unprecedented $130 billion in flexible recovery funds to use for COVID-19 pandemic relief and longer-term, transformational investments. Guided by the federal government’s groundbreaking equity policy, local governments were encouraged to target resources to the communities of color, Tribal communities, and low-income communities disproportionately negatively impacted by the pandemic and systemic inequities. Recognizing ARPA’s potential contribution to building more equitable communities, the Institute has been tracking how cities and counties have been spending their ARPA funds and documenting best practices and lessons learned.
Community-Driven Budget Equity Assessments
Community advocacy and voice are critical to ensuring equitable local budgets, but the lack of transparency, combined with the speed and complexity of the budget process, makes it difficult for organizations serving the most marginalized communities to effectively participate and influence decisions. To help strengthen local budget equity advocacy, we are partnering with Civilytics and nine community-based organizations to develop and pilot a local budget equity assessment in fall/winter 2024. Our community partners and pilot locations include:
- African American Roundtable (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
- Committee for a Better New Orleans (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- The Directors Council (Des Moines, Iowa)
- Engage Miami (Miami-Dade County, Florida)
- Mano Amiga (Hays County, Texas)
- People’s Budget Orange County (Orange County, California)
- Poder in Action (Phoenix, Arizona)
- Re-Imagine L.A. (Los Angeles County)
- Texas Jail Project (Harris County, Texas)
View the full suite of data tools and analyses at budgetequity.org >>