If I also had a fair bit of time, community micro-grants are my favorite. Solicit ideas for improvements, offering 100-1000 bucks each. Select several, widely publicize what will be done.

Next favored, run a citizen assembly on a community issue (if you can do it cheap, have some money to allocate as an agenda item).

Finally, if the point is to ask what I want done… Right now it is probably homeless shelters and food pantries in the US. Lots of grants drying up.