COMMON MAPS
Map version new-york activity top-down
Main site Contact
Menu
↑ parent activity group ·
research dossier

OUR CITY BUFFALO INC
BUFFALO, NY · EIN 934197525 · Form 990EZ · FY2024 · NTEE S80 · Community Improvement · Small ($100K-$1M) · ourcitybuffalo.com
revenue
$107K
expenses
$85K
net assets
$31K
employees
—
mission · from form 990

THE ORGANIZATION WORKS TO CREATE A HOLISTIC, INTERSECTIONAL MOVEMENT TO ADDRESS THE CITY'S MOST PRESSING ISSUES: HOUSING, POLICING, EDUCATION, TRANSPORTATION, FRONTLINE ARTS, IMMIGRATION, COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY.

profile · synthesized from sources

Our City Buffalo is a community-based advocacy organization working to build a more just and equitable Buffalo through grassroots organizing and policy campaigns. The organization centers intersectional justice, focusing on housing, public transportation, immigrant rights, environmental health, education, arts access, and community safety. It operates with a queer liberation lens, prioritizing Black, Brown, trans, and queer communities in its vision for systemic change.

named programs · 6 · from sources

What they call their work

A Better Budget for Buffalo
Advocacy campaign challenging city budget priorities and promoting investment in community needs over policing and surveillance
Annual Anti-Displacement Summit
Community gathering to share tools and strategies for equitable development and preventing gentrification in Buffalo neighborhoods
Intro to Small Business Food Program
Four-month workforce and entrepreneurial training for immigrants and refugees in food-related industries, including business development and commercial kitchen certification
Name and Document Change Clinics
Free legal support clinics helping queer and trans individuals update government documents to reflect their names and gender markers
No money for ShotSpotter
Successful 2022 campaign to block Buffalo Police Department funding for surveillance technology through community organizing
The State of Our City
Annual event offering a community-centered counter-narrative to the Mayor’s address, highlighting real challenges and solutions from local leaders
activities · 4 groups

What they do

  • Criminal Justice Policy Advocacy 1 activity
    • Block harmful policing technologies through community advocacy
      Organized community opposition that successfully prevented the Buffalo Police Department from securing $500,000 in funding for ShotSpotter surveillance technology in 2022.
  • Culinary Workforce Training Programs 1 activity
    • Deliver workforce and entrepreneurial training for immigrants and refugees
      Runs a 4-month training program for over 25 immigrants and refugees focused on food-related businesses, including certification to operate in commercial kitchens.
  • Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Support Services 1 activity
    • Host free name and document change clinics for transgender and nonbinary individuals
      Provides free legal and administrative support to help transgender and nonbinary individuals in Western New York update their government documents to reflect their identities, serving over 100 people to date.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Address urban issues through intersectional programming
      Runs holistic, intersectional programs addressing housing, policing, education, transportation, arts, immigration, economic development, and food sovereignty in Buffalo.
financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$107K
Contributions & grants$107K100%
Program service revenue——
Investment income$30%
Other revenue—
expenses
Total expenses$85K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits—
Grants paid out$7K
balance sheet
Total assets$31K
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$31K
1 years on record · 2024–2024
relationships · 9

Who they work with

  • Coalition for Economic Justice Partner — Community partner focused on transportation equity in Buffalo.
  • Cooperation Buffalo Partner — Collaborated on the 2024 Small Business Food Program for migrant families.
  • Frontline Arts Buffalo Partner — Community partner supporting equitable arts and culture funding in Buffalo.
  • Justice for Migrant Families Partner — Collaborated on the 2024 Small Business Food Program for migrant families.
  • Justice for Migrant Families Partner — Community partner advocating for immigrant and refugee rights in Buffalo.
  • PUSH Buffalo Partner — Community partner working on housing and environmental justice in Buffalo.
  • Pilgrim Saint Luke’s United Church of Christ Partner — Collaborated on the 2024 Small Business Food Program for migrant families.
  • Ujima Theatre Co. Inc Partner — Founded by movement ancestor Lorna C. Hill, whose philosophy guides the organization's values and approach.
  • partners and allies Partner — Collaborated with unnamed partners and allies to conduct free name and document change clinics in Western New York.
strategies · 2

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Community-Led Solutions Model
    methodology: community-led_solutions
    By centering residents in decision-making and solution development, the organization produces more effective and equitable urban justice outcomes because community members possess lived expertise and are best positioned to identify sustainable solutions to displacement and inequity.
  • Intersectional Community Action
    methodology: intersectional_community_action
    By addressing social, economic, and cultural issues as interconnected rather than isolated, the organization produces more comprehensive urban change because systemic inequities are fundamentally interwoven and require integrated strategies to dismantle.