This December, 15 Black single mothers will receive the first of a monthly $1,000 check as a part of a year-long initiative called Magnolia Mother’s Trust. It’s a part of a pilot where these women in Jackson, Mississippi, receive a basic income and additional opportunities for support including leadership training with the other participants and private counseling with a social worker.
Magnolia Mother’s Trust is funded by a network called the Economic Security Project, which aims to “end poverty and rebuild the middle class.” Aisha Nyandoro, the CEO of Springboard to Opportunities, an organization that works with families in affordable housing to “help them advance themselves,” will spearhead the project.
While there are only 15 participants in the pilot, the folks behind this pilot hope to learn more and expand the basic income to more Americans. Nyandoro hopes this is only the beginning.
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.
It looks like this is a good partnership. Nyandoro has been working with low-income families for a while now and it’s great that an organization that’s on the ground is getting monetary support to make this a reality.
This isn’t Economic Security Project’s only foray into funding a basic income program. Another basic income trial program in Stockton, California, will receive $1 million from them for an 18-month pilot with 100 participants.