The City of Hickory created an inclusive community through four innovative strategies during the Bond process: City staff held 65+ informative, citizens’ briefing presentations, before the referendum; from those, a community group stepped up to get the bond referendum passed; the City created a Bond Implementation Commission of 42 diverse community members, engaging them in the bond process, developing subcommittees for each project; and, realization that online budget transparency for the bonds, and ultimately, the City budget, is a vital part of creating an inclusive and engaged community.