Highest agreement
“There should be a "community economy" the way there is a creator economy, that is recognized and resourced”
91% agree · 0% disagree · 9% pass · 33 votes
What do community builders need to thrive?
A live conversation with NYC community builders during Community Week NYC.
Your voice is critical to understanding what it really means to build community: no one knows the hard work it takes behind-the-scenes better than you do. Together we are asking, in public and in real time, what you as community builders need to do your work, and what would have to change for that work to be properly resourced.
The conversation is built around two questions:
- What skills, resources, and infrastructure do community builders need to sustain and grow their work?
- What would a community economy — grants, residencies, civic infrastructure — look like in practice?
Why are we doing this? Community is civic infrastructure, and it is currently under-resourced, under-recognized, and under-invested in. This conversation is a first step toward building the evidence base for change — and we need you to be part of it.
What's emerging
1251
Votes
44
Statements
52
Participants
Polis groups participants by how similarly they vote. Below are the patterns that have emerged so far — statements both groups agreed on, and what distinguishes the two clusters of voters from each other.
Most divided
“Philanthropy, not government, is the most realistic source of sustained support for community work in NYC.”
23% agree · 23% disagree · 54% pass · 35 votes
Most engaged
“Community builders should be paid for their work, not just reimbursed for expenses.”
74% agree · 13% disagree · 13% pass · 38 votes
Points of consensus
Statements both opinion groups agreed on most strongly.
-
“There should be a "community economy" the way there is a creator economy, that is recognized and resourced”
91% agree · 0% disagree · 9% pass · 33 votes · agreed across both opinion groups (lowest group agree rate: 90%)
-
“A robust community enterprise means listening to people and adapting based on their needs.” — submitted by a participant
88% agree · 8% disagree · 4% pass · 25 votes · agreed across both opinion groups (lowest group agree rate: 88%)
-
“Not a must but nice to have: impact measurement for their groups, data collection. This could also be beneficial for grant applications” — submitted by a participant
86% agree · 0% disagree · 14% pass · 29 votes · agreed across both opinion groups (lowest group agree rate: 80%)
-
“We need to help people outside the Community community understand the benefit of Community.” — submitted by a participant
81% agree · 0% disagree · 19% pass · 16 votes · agreed across both opinion groups (lowest group agree rate: 77%)
-
“It's difficult to find truly affordable NYC venues for private member events.” — submitted by a participant
78% agree · 5% disagree · 17% pass · 18 votes · agreed across both opinion groups (lowest group agree rate: 75%)
Opinion groups
Polis identified two clusters of voters based on patterns in how they voted. Each group is characterized below by the statements that set them apart from the other group — what was statistically distinctive about their voting, not what every group member voted.
Polis identifies these clusters from overall voting patterns across all statements. With Group 1 at only 14 people, the specific distinctive statements below are directional rather than definitive — useful for surfacing questions, not for drawing conclusions about types of community builders.
Group 1 · 14 participants
-
Most distinctively disagreeD with
“I spend more time on logistics (marketing, outreach, finding venues, making materials, follow-up) than on the actual community work I care about.”
50% of this group disagreed (n=12), vs 0% of others (n=21)
-
Most distinctively disagreeD with
“I would do this work full-time if I could financially.”
33% of this group disagreed (n=12), vs 0% of others (n=19)
-
Most distinctively disagreeD with
“NYC should create a fund that pays community builders directly for the time they put in, not just reimburses event costs”
25% of this group disagreed (n=12), vs 0% of others (n=21)
Group 2 · 29 participants
-
Most distinctively agreeD with
“The administrative side of community work (insurance, permits, legal, payments) is or would be a real barrier for me.”
89% of this group agreed (n=19), vs 0% of others (n=12)
-
Most distinctively agreeD with
“I spend more time on logistics (marketing, outreach, finding venues, making materials, follow-up) than on the actual community work I care about.”
90% of this group agreed (n=21), vs 8% of others (n=12)
-
Most distinctively agreeD with
“A peer network of other community builders would matter more to me than a one-off grant.”
86% of this group agreed (n=21), vs 31% of others (n=13)
This is a small sample (52 voters, 2 groups). Findings are suggestive of patterns in the conversation, not definitive about NYC community builders as a whole. The full conversation is available on Polis.
Last updated: October 16, 2026. Conversation data via Polis, CC BY 4.0.
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About Community Week NYC
Community Week NYC is a citywide celebration of belonging that spotlights the organizers, spaces, and communities connecting New Yorkers. From May 9–17, 2026, communities across all five boroughs will host events built on a shared belief: that being intentional about belonging builds deeper relationships, healthier cities, and stronger local economies. Presented by Sugary NYC and week nights.
About RadicalxChange
RadicalxChange Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to democratic innovation and institutional design through operational partnerships and experimental projects between academia, government, art, technology, and beyond.
Join us at “The Future of Social Connection” on May 15 2026, where Jack Henderson will present a report-back from the engagement. The findings will feed into advocacy for better support for community builders in NYC — helping make visible the role community builders like you play, and the very real challenges you face along the way.
Contact: info@radicalxchange.org (RadicalxChange) and hello@communityweek.nyc (Community Week NYC).
Community Week participant? RxC is offering a free online workshop later — get in touch.