The Economic Security Project focuses on preventing and ultimately fixing poverty in America. Natalie Foster is president and co-founder of the organization which was created in 2016.
“We saw that there was an influx of people coming into our office asking for resources. They needed help with rent, they needed food, clothing, job referrals, and so we as a team kind of [thought], what is the best way to help our community at this moment,” Foster says.
The Economic Security Project’s main goal is founded upon the idea that everyone in America should have the right to a guaranteed income. Through their first few projects, Foster learned that guaranteed income is proven to reduce “inequality, provide opportunity, and make us more free.”
In 2021, according to the Economic Security Project’s website, the federal Expanded Child Tax Credit (a set amount of money given to children ages 6 to 17) pulled 3.6 million kids out of poverty. In 2022, a Day of Action was organized with the White House, where the word was spread on the impact of CTC and EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit).
More recently, the article “Longest-running Guaranteed Income Initiative Distributes First Checks” stated that, “The Magnolia Mother’s Trust, led by Aisha Nyandoro, paid the first of $1,000 monthly payments to a cohort of 20 Black mothers living in affordable housing in Jackson, Mississippi.”
And, with the single parents or families who needed extra help before and during the pandemic, The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) “gave 125 randomly selected families in Stockton, California $500 per month for 24 months,” the Economic Security Website says.
Stephanie Bonin, who works for the Economic Security Project, says, “During Covid, everyone in the United States who had kids got a monthly check of a certain amount, and so all of a sudden [there was] this pilot of guaranteed income.” Guaranteed income impacted the larger community. She adds, “Everyone was in this massive, you know, race to make sure that people were taken care of, which is beautiful and wonderful.”
Guaranteed income is not new, although the Covid pandemic certainly made it a federal government focus. State governments have worked with various organizations to end poverty, child hunger, and other human rights violations related to low minimum wages.
The Economic Security Project’s website states, “Participants found they had resources and time for things like job training . . . [t]hey also reported enhanced well-being, and less anxiety and depression.”
One thing Bonin pointed out was that The Economic Security Project “had 3.1 million people sign a petition to ask that the monthly checks continue, and we asked them to video themselves saying why these checks made a difference in their lives and send us the video to upload it. And it was really amazing.”
The visual difference that is seen is something Bonin looks for every day. “A lot of my work over the years has been being able to collect those stories,” Bonin says.
“What I know is that money gives you agency, meaning you have control over your life and your life’s decisions. And so that’s really powerful to me,” she continues.
The Economic Security Project, who has worked with the federal government in the past, is currently partnering with the Biden Administration to campaign for the Child Tax Credit, providing cash for children.
You don’t only have to be a part of the Economic Security Project to participate in this movement for change in how we see money. You can donate using a button at the top right corner of their website: https://economicsecurityproject.org/. According to their homepage, all donations go to advancing strategies that will help “create an economy that works for everyone.”
