Mississippi basic income pilot to provide 15 black mothers with cash

Springboard to Opportunities

• Starting in December, a basic income pilot in Jackson,
  Mississippi, will give $1,000 a month to 15 black mothers.
• Aisha Nyandoro, who is overseeing the year-long pilot, said
  researchers will analyze how the income affects the participants’
  lives. 
• The pilot, Magnolia Mother’s Trust, will also include
  opportunities for leadership training and counseling with a
  social worker.
• Magnolia Mother’s Trust is supported by the philanthropic
  network Economic Security Project, which has provided $1 million
  to another basic income trial in Stockton, California. 

An upcoming basic income pilot will provide 15 single black
mothers in Jackson, Mississippi, with a monthly income of $1,000
for a year. 

While at least six major basic income initiatives have formed in
North America, Europe, and Africa over the past few years,
the Magnolia
Mother’s Trust in Mississippi is the first pilot to
focus on low-income black women. In general, universal basic
income programs provide people with regular cash payments
regardless of income level. 

Mississippi
is the poorest state in the country, and more
than 80% of residents in Jackson are black. Nationwide,
black women live in poverty at higher rates than almost any other
group of Americans.

Magnolia Mother’s Trust, set to launch in December, is supported
by Economic
Security Project, a philanthropic network co-chaired by
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and Peers.org co-founder Natalie
Foster, among others. The pilot is being led by Aisha Nyandoro,
the CEO of Springboard To
Opportunities, which supports families living in affordable
housing.

Nyandoro told Business Insider that while she would have liked to
start with more than 15 participants, the need to fundraise
before launching the pilot made that more difficult. Magnolia
Mother’s Trust will contribute to the larger body of research on
basic income, Nyandoro said, but she also hopes the pilot will
help secure more funding for future projects. She wants to
eventually run a three-year program with 100 families.

Springboard to Opportunities

While the trial in Jackson is underway, Nyandoro said Springboard
To Opportunities will examine whether the income makes a
difference in participants’ lives and whether it leads to greater
engagement in the local community. 

In addition, the group will provide monthly opportunities for the
mothers to connect with each other and receive leadership
training. A social worker will be available for one-on-one
counseling as well.

“Especially in these low-income communities, we know that there
is a lot of instances there have been traumatic events and
traumatic episodes that our families have had to deal with,
unfortunately,” Nyandoro said.

The Jackson pilot will add to a growing number of basic income
experiments around the world — some of which have recently been
delayed or stopped for a variety of reasons.

Y Combinator, the largest startup accelerator in Silicon Valley,

delayed its basic income study after a pilot in Oakland,
California, partly because it needed to make sure participants
did not lose any state benefits they were already
receiving. 

Earlier in the summer, the provincial government in Ontario,
Canada, decided
to end a three-year basic income pilot for 4,000 residents.
Residents
expressed shock and outrage at the program only lasting one
year, and the Toronto Star
reported in late August that the basic income will end in
March 2019, one year earlier than promised. 

Foster, the Economic Security Project co-chair, told Business
Insider that it was disappointing to see the Ontario pilot end
after a change in government leadership.

“Making sure that we are able to live up to the promises we make
to people in the pilot is one of the most important things,”
Foster said. “Certainly that’s part of any project that Economic
Security Project takes on, is making sure we can fulfill what we
promise.”

Economic Security Project
has also pledged $1 million toward another basic income
trial, a 100-person, 18-month
pilot starting next year in Stockton, California.

Foster said while each of these pilots is set up differently,
Springboard To Opportunities is a “perfect place” to run a basic
income pilot because the organization has a lot of experience
helping low-income people.

Springboard to Opportunities

According to a
2018 report by the Federal Reserve Board, 40% of Americans
are unable to cover an unexpected $400 expense, and a
2017 report by the Roosevelt Institute said a universal basic
income would boost the American economy.

As Magnolia Mother’s Trust and the other trials produce results,
Foster said more cities will likely begin running their own
pilots.

“Aisha will show what’s possible in Jackson when single mothers
have breathing room to make sure their child can go out for
football because finally they can afford the uniforms, or not
take the third job and be able to have just a little bit of extra
time with their family,” Foster said. “I am really looking
forward to the stories that will likely come from Jackson.”

Nyandoro said she and other basic income advocates are all
learning from each other — running a pilot is like building and
flying a plane at the same time, she said. The Jackson pilot, she
said, will have enough funds raised before it begins, so
participants won’t need to worry about losing their income early.