Luke Hohmann, Founder and CEO FirstRoot - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukehohmann/ ISSIP Award Talk - https://issip.org/issip-2022-excellence-in-service-innovation-award-program-awardees/

1. Saving Democracy:
How Giving Youth Money Can Save Democracy
luke.hohmann@firstroot.co | @lukehohmann | 408-529-0319
F I R S T R O O T . C O

2. We tell our youth that
knowledge is power.

3. But they see that power
comes from money.

4. We tell our youth to get involved.

5. But they can’t vote.

6. How can anything change
if so few people
control so much money?
How can you make
a change if you can’t vote?

7. Power may come
from money.
But change comes
from people.

8. FirstRoot is building the
world’s first platform for
democratic financial
decision making
in schools.

9. How?
We give students a real money budget.
We support them as
they decide how to invest it.

10. They make real change happen
in their school with real money.

11. They harness Money Power.

12. OK - Time for the “normal” presentation!
T I L L I D E N . C O M

13. About @lukehohmann
Husband and Father
Serial Entrepreneur Philanthropist
Author and Agile Software Development leader

14. FirstRoot helps schools use
Participatory Budgeting
to teach financial literacy and
civic engagement.

15. How does
ParticipatoryBudgeting work?
Participatory Budgeting(PB) is ademocraticprocessin which
studentsaregiven real moneytocollaborativelyinvest in theirschool.
Do
Decide
Design
Dream
Discover
1 2 3 4 5

16. Problem and Impact: Wealth and income
inequality is increasing and causes massive harm
The US is an
egregious outlier

17. Opportunity:
Closing the wealth
and income gap can
create $2.5T to $4.0T
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/the-economic-impact-of-closing-the-racial-wealth-gap

18. Why? Civic Engagement and trust in
democratic institutions is dangerously low

19. Typical budgets are $2K to $10K
School principalor
school district budgets
PTAandPTOs
Corporate Social Responsibility Programs
Non-Profit Partners

20. Using FirstRoot youth create
amazingresults
Purdue Polytechnic
Indianapolis, IN
$2,500(Principal)
Mini-library,New pergola
TheAcademy of
American Studies
Huegel Elementary
Madison, WI
$1,500(FirstRoot, Parent)
Tree, Soccer net,
Fidget toys
The Academy of American Studies
Queens, NY
$2,000(FirstRoot)
Femininehygieneproducts, 3Dprinter,
Science lab equipment

21. Ithasbeenso wonderfulto see thestudents'enthusiasmfor theopportunity to
improvetheir schoolwhileexploring design thinking!They are grappling with
thereal-world challengesof digginginto thecostsandlogistics of project
proposals to evaluatetheir feasibility.”
SHANA CASH
PPHS– ParticipatoryBudgetingTeacher

22. A teacher or administrator creates an account
on the FirstRoot platform.
—
How does
it work?
—
FirstRoot guides students through all phases of the PB program:
Student create, refine, vote and fund on proposals.
The teacher configures the PB program, such as establishing the
budget, guidance on proposals, and who can participate.
The teacher purchases student-funded proposals.

23. Proposal guidelines: Capital expenses are preferred
Capital Expenses
• Gym equipment
• SAT Test prep study guides
• 3D Printer
• Science / lab equipment
• Bathroom improvements
• Band equipment
• Facilities upgrades
Operating Expenses
• Creating a school garden
• Initiating a new program
• Changing an ongoing
program that would incur
future expenses

24. The Student Experience
Ideation

25. The Student Experience
Refinement and Voting

26. Civic Engagement is built into FirstRoot
Schools run their
participatory budgeting
programs together
Proposals are created
through creativity &
collaboration
Students learn civics
and drive unity across
all communities
Proposals that affect
multiple schools are
shared among all

27. 2010
Founded to deliver Participatory Budgeting to global enterprises
2012 2019
More than $3 Billion administered
Acquired by
More than $1 Billion administered
Founded to delivery Participatory Budgeting solutions to governments and schools
Deep and rich history
providing PB solutions
2020

28. Global trends create future opportunity
ParticipatoryBudgeting is used around the world
ParticipatoryBudgeting is
endorsed by the United Nations
https://democracyspot.net/2012/09/10/mapping-participatory-budgeting-and-e-participatory-budgeting/
https://sdgs.un.org/goals

29. Discussion
luke.hohmann@firstroot.co | @lukehohmann | 408-529-0319
F I R S T R O O T . C O