Activest is a leading voice for fiscal justice, which is our multilayered, critical analysis of equity in municipal finance, measured at the intersection of fiscal health and racial justice. Our research shows that communities realize stronger fiscal outcomes when they prioritize the well-being of their most marginalized residents. A fiscal justice approach offers new tools for stakeholders to advocate for disclosures and accountability that have the potential to shift financial markets.

We are a Black-owned and led firm founded in 2016, based on our work in Ferguson, Missouri following Michael Brown’s death. Over the past six years, we have honed our approach by working with a host of cities, organizers, and activist investors. This includes supporting organizers in a City of Chicago campaign to mobilize municipal investors to pressure the City to stop using proceeds from the bonds to cover police-brutality settlements. We've also collaborated with grassroots coalitions and city leaders, like our work with Bloomberg Philanthropies, where we worked with twenty-nine city mayors and budget directors on their equitable COVID-19 fiscal recovery efforts.