About the Center
A North Texas research and policy organization committed to the principle that public dollars should reach the communities they were intended to serve.
02 — The Problem
Every year, North Texas governments allocate billions in spending that shape whether working families have access to housing, transit, healthcare, and economic opportunity. The decisions are made in language and processes most residents cannot easily access — and the communities most affected by them have the smallest formal voice in shaping them.
The Center for Budget Equity was founded in 2025 to close that gap. We are independent, non-partisan, and rooted in the North Texas communities we serve.
03 — Principles
What we believe, and how it shapes the work.
I. Lived expertise is expertise.
The people closest to a problem hold knowledge that quantitative analysis alone cannot capture. We design programs that treat residents as co-authors of policy, not just sources of testimony.
II. Transparency is a precondition for equity.
Public dollars cannot reach communities equitably if the decisions about them are made in language and processes those communities cannot access. Plain-language analysis is foundational, not optional.
III. Community time is real labor.
Asking residents to participate in budget processes without compensation reproduces the very gaps we work to close. We pay community fellows for their time and treat partner organizations as partners, not free labor.
IV. Non-partisan, independent, locally grounded.
Public finance equity is a question about whether public resources reach the people they are meant to reach. That is not a partisan question. We work across the political spectrum and with all levels of government.
04 — Leadership
Founded and led from the community we serve.
Emmanuel Togba
Founder & Executive Director
Emmanuel Togba founded the Center for Budget Equity in 2025 to bring rigorous, accessible analysis of public financial management to the North Texas communities he calls home.
His work combines public finance expertise with a commitment to community-grounded practice: equipping residents and frontline organizations with the tools to understand and engage in the budget decisions that shape access to housing, transit, healthcare, and economic opportunity across the region.
Emmanuel is based in Joshua, Texas. CBE is currently building its founding board with leaders across Johnson, Tarrant, and Dallas counties.