Community-Centered Budgeting

Hello Community Partner:

Community-Centered Budgeting is underway at www.901BUDGET.com. For the FY2024 Budget (July 2023 – June 2024), Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Budget Chairman Michael Whaley, and the Board of Commissioners are working together to prioritize resident voices in every phase of budget development.

That’s where you come in.

The Mayor’s Office of Innovation would appreciate your support in raising awareness about this year’s Community-Centered Budget project. You can help in four ways:

Start with Staff and Volunteers:  The easiest way to amplify your organization’s priorities is to have your staff members and volunteers participate. The Community-Centered Budget project takes 25 minutes to complete from a laptop, tablet, or cell phone. Schedule a time when everyone can take a moment and submit their proposed budgets OR encourage your team to submit by a certain date. (Tip: Mayor Harris will present his proposed budget on April 26, 2023.)

Spread the Word on Social Media: Whether on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok – we’d appreciate you dropping a line to your fans and followers to encourage them to weigh in on this year’s budget. We’ve included a sample Facebook post to help get you started.

Shelby County Government has a $1.5 Billion budget. This fiscal year, they’ve created an interactive tool so that you can weigh in on how to invest it. Take the 10-min Budget 101 course and then play the budget game. Your submission will be shared with Mayor Lee Harris and the Board of Commissioners. Kudos to the amazing community leaders who helped bring this initiative to life. www.901budget.com

Include #901Budget in Your Newsletter: The brief blurb above can be added to the attached social media image, or you can use the image by itself. Mayor Lee Harris presents his proposed budget on April 26 but residents can continue to weigh in through June 15 while County Commissioners deliberate.

Promote the Flyer in Your Office: If you have a community board or reception area, we’d love to be featured. Print the attached flyer or email innovate@shelbycountytn.gov, and we’ll drop off postcards that visitors can take with them.

Thank you for your collaboration! Non-profit partners who do any one of the above should send an email to innovate@shelbycountytn.gov and let us know. We want to say thank you. We also want to include participating nonprofits and community groups in our Organization Survey, which we will send out on Monday, March 27.