Something new is growing
What if we decided together where money goes in our community?
A democratic, community-controlled investment fund in Tompkins County, New York.
A democratic, community-controlled investment fund in Tompkins County, New York.
In Tompkins County, nearly 60% of renters are cost-burdened. Nearly two-thirds of Black workers earn below a living wage. And almost half of all workers in the county earn less than what it costs to meet basic needs.
The Tompkins People's Project is building something different: a model where the people who live and work in Tompkins County set the priorities, shape the process, and direct community-controlled capital to where it's needed most.
Decisions about where capital goes are made by the community, and decision-making power is not proportional to individual wealth.
Capital deployed to locally owned businesses and cooperatives, building wealth that stays in Tompkins County and creating jobs for the people who live here.
Ongoing education and organizing that builds our shared understanding of how money moves, who benefits, and how we can shift those patterns together.