Partnership for the Public Good

One of CEJ's core values is Coalition Building. Parallel to that and just as valuable is community based economic development. A few years ago, as part of a state effort to develop regional economic development plans, CEJ in bringing together over 20 organizations to vision a revitalized Buffalo. This initial meeting was the birthplace for the Partnership for the Public Good, a project of CEJ.

The Partnership for the Public Good's (PPG) premise is that Buffalo does not need to start from scratch in seeking revitalization and it does not need to chase silver bullets or throw itself on the mercy of big business. Rather , we need to patiently cultivate assets such as our highly skilled workforce, many universities, historic architecture, location near the border, waterfront, cultural diversity, locally owned, independent business, active non-profit community, and rich hostory. The deep and broad collaboration was launched to promote a community-orientsed vision of reitalized BUffalo. PPG is a thing-and-do tank that will perform research and advocacy and will support the efforts of the broad array of organizations working to breath new life into Buffalo.

Last year, PPG crafted a 10 point platform that over 30 organizations endorsed. The platform encopassed city, county, and state legislative issues ranging from housing and vacancy, living wage expansion, good government reform and investments in our arts and culture.

Just recently, the PPG developed a 2009 platform. Representatives from 30 different organizations participated in crafting this document and already organizations are endorsing the plaform to demonstrate public support.

To find the full list of 2009 priorities and more information on the Partnership please refer to the wiki site.