The money is the Office's own City appropriation. The City set aside $2 million in FY23 before the Office existed, appropriated $2 million again in FY24 and moved the unspent FY23 money into a PB Special Revenue Fund, so the Office began with $4 million; its annual operating appropriation has been about $2.13 million (FY25 $2,132,323; FY26 $2,134,250; FY27 recommended $1,891,561), from which staff, vendors and partners are paid and the balance flows to projects. The pilot cycle (FY25, 2024-2025) funded six projects for $2 million, the sixth only partially; the FY26 cycle (2025-2026) funded eight for $2.2 million; the FY27 cycle (2026-2027) plans $2 million drawn from accumulated Special Revenue Fund balances. In May 2024 the Finance Cabinet and Administration fixed the pilot cap at $2 million so that at least $2 million could be guaranteed for three cycles; the Board and the Better Budget Alliance repeatedly asked for more, a Board member called the $2 million campaign a possible over-promise, and the City Council passed a non-binding resolution to use the available funds. For FY26 the Council moved $200,000 from the Office's contract services line into the project line, producing the $2.2 million cap but cutting money for partners and evaluation. The EOB Annual Review notes the pot is $2 million of a $4+ billion general fund and says a continued $2 million limit would likely challenge the mission. Eligible projects are one-time expenses that create no permanent positions, implemented by a City department receiving direct appropriations; programs and services anywhere and physical improvements on City-owned property qualify, works on private, state or federal property (DCR, MBTA) do not, nor does anything expanding surveillance or policing; gift cards to residents are barred by the State's anti-aid amendment and only nonprofits can receive implementation grants. Winners are funded in vote order until the cap: in the pilot the sixth project, bus-stop benches, received $150,000 of the $450,000 requested.