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❤️ Nonprofit & Community

Free Community Idea Box Template

Let residents and members pitch changes, programs and small fixes — sorted by theme, upvoted by neighbors, answered in public.

open to all residents
~1 min
public answers
Live Preview

Quick answer

Use it to give residents one formal place to pitch improvements — from small fixes to new programs — where neighbors can second ideas and your team sorts them by theme and answers in public; visible response is what makes a suggestion box work.

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About this template

The best program ideas in a community arrive as gripes at the shop counter and remarks after the meeting — and evaporate there. This idea box gives them a real intake: a resident pitches an improvement, others second it, and your team sorts by theme and answers in public. Visible response is what turns a suggestion box from decoration into governance.

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Live Preview

Sample form preview — live and ready to fill in.

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Fill it in to see how responses flow.
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What's Included

Everything you need to run this template.

1

One idea, one entry

Gripes become assessable proposals with a location.

2

Neighbor backing

Seconding shows weight without a vote count arms race.

3

Theme queue

Staff triage by theme, not by who shouted first.

4

Public answer

Every idea gets a status and a reason, visible to the block.

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How It Works

From copy to deliverable in four steps.

1

Use this template

Copy it in and set themes for your neighborhood or member base.

2

Open the call

Run it against your budget cycle or planning season.

3

Sort and second

Staff themes the pile; residents back what matters to them.

4

Answer in public

Accept, merge or decline with a reason — the log stays visible.

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Who Is This For

Pick your role — see how it fits your workflow.

1

Community organizers

Turn after-meeting grumbling into a managed pipeline.

2

Residents

See your idea get an answer, not a mailbox.

3

Program staff

Spot the improvements your design missed.

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Key Features

What makes this template work as a professional deliverable.

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Sample Questions Inside

A preview of the real questions in this form — exactly what respondents see.

  1. Your name or neighborhood handle (optional)
  2. What would you change?
  3. Where does it matter?
  4. Theme (safety / green space / events / services / other)
  5. Who benefits most from this?
  6. Would you help run it? (yes / no / how)
  7. Anything else we should know
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Frequently Asked Questions

When should you collect ideas instead of running a survey?
Early — when the question list isn't written yet. A survey tests what you already thought to ask; an idea box surfaces what you didn't.
Is this different from the community needs survey?
Yes, and they chain: the idea box opens the conversation, the needs survey then measures how wide the support runs.
Do people need to register to submit?
No account needed; a handle is optional. Identity stays with your workspace only.
Is it free to use?
Yes. Copy it into your FormLM workspace, set themes to your programs, and open the seasonal call.
What stops a troll from flooding it?
Theme queue plus public answers: staff merge or decline with reasons, and seconding weight reveals real support versus noise.
Does this replace participatory budgeting?
No — it feeds it. Exported entries and seconding counts are your intake record for the formal process.

Let the block file its ideas where they get answered

One intake, theme-sorted, publicly answered — from gripe to governance.