Springboard to Opportunities

Support Us

Blog

CEO Aisha Nyandoro has been awarded the 2024 Heinz Award for the Economy!

We are delighted to announce that our CEO, Aisha Nyandoro, has been named by The Heinz Family Foundation a recipient of the prestigious 29th Heinz Award in the Economy category.

Established by Teresa Heinz in 1993 to honor the memory of her late husband, U.S. Senator John Heinz, the Heinz Awards celebrates the accomplishments and spirit of the Senator by recognizing the extraordinary achievements of individuals in the areas of greatest importance to him by recognizing individuals for their contributions in the areas of the Arts, the Environment, and the Economy.

We are thrilled to see Aisha’s leadership in the national guaranteed income movement and her dedication to developing programs that improve the quality of life for families and support their goal of exiting poverty recognized on such an important platform. We are grateful for the opportunity for the stories and wisdom of our families to be elevated through this award.

As Aisha said herself, “My work may seem like it’s solely about financial security, but that is only one piece of the puzzle. What I’m really aiming to do in providing Black women experiencing poverty with resources is to shift deeply held, harmful narratives about who is deserving of dignity and trust in this country. That goal not only informs how our policies are shaped, but it is also transformative for the individual. Mothers in this program believe in themselves, because it is the first time someone has believed in them. And that is invaluable.”

Please join us in congratulating Aisha! You can read more about the Heinz Award and the other recipients at the link below.

Read More Here!

Defining Holistic Prosperity

In 2018, Springboard to Opportunities launched The Magnolia Mother’s Trust, a first-of-its-kind guaranteed income initiative supporting first 20 and then 100 Black mothers each year in subsidized housing with $1,000 per month for 12 months, no strings attached. Now six years, five cohorts, and hundreds of moms in, MMT is consistently recognized as a leader in the cash disbursement field; and our evaluations have not only shown that cash-based benefits are good for a family’s economic security but also lead to an enhanced sense of self-efficacy and agency, which allows families to make their own decisions around work, prioritize their children, and enhance the overall well-being of their family.

As we developed and refined MMT alongside our families over these past years, we often asked participants to describe their vision of a prosperous life. When our families talk about prosperity, they do not talk about being rich with big houses, fancy cars, or growing stock portfolios. Rather, they talk about a life free from chronic stress and worry, free time to spend with their children or on their own interests, a safe and caring community, and being able to pay their bills with a little extra leftover to put in savings or spend on a special treat. They have a deeper, richer vision of prosperity. Holistic prosperity.

So today, we are excited to release a new white paper and toolkit that defines and offers implementation strategies for a new holistic prosperity framework.

Holistic prosperity is a framework for guaranteed income and cash-based support programs that recognizes families’ own definitions of success, wealth, and prosperity, as opposed to one-dimensional measures like economic self-sufficiency. Based in the belief that families know better than anyone else what they need to succeed, this definition consists of four interconnected and interdependent pieces of a puzzle and shows that it takes more than just cash for families to feel they are living a prosperous life.

Financial Stability — The ability to meet their families’ needs and navigate financial emergencies while providing opportunities for joy and care for themselves and their families.
Time Autonomy — The ability to make decisions about one’s own time and schedule and determine who or what they want to be able to prioritize.
Dynamic Well-being — Physical, mental, and emotional health and freedom from chronic stress and anxiety.
Social Capital — Strong, supportive relationships with family, friends, and community members that support connectedness and social mobility.

Throughout the paper, you will find stories from families that demonstrate how centering family voice and expertise allowed us to create a guaranteed income program that not only gave families economic security; but truly allowed them to feel whole. Since we launched MMT in 2018, we have consistently been asked what sets it apart from other cash-based programs and how to incorporate the same principles and strategies into programs in their own communities. The holistic prosperity framework provides the tools and mechanisms to do just that.

As cash disbursement programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or other guaranteed income programs consider metrics for success and program implementation, it is our belief that these four elements should guide that process. In doing so, we are working to create policies and programs grounded in dignity, equity, and trust to ensure all families can experience a life of holistic prosperity, as MMT has been doing for years.

Read Full Report

Springboard Goes to Colombia!

One of our goals as an organization is to help the families we work with recognize the power they already have to make change within their own lives, communities, and the many policies and systems that affect their day-to-day lives. One of the most debilitating consequences of poverty is the boundaries it puts on families. They feel limited in where they can go, what they can do, and who they have access to. It is easy to believe the story that you don’t have power or agency or your voice does not matter when you are acutely aware of the limitations imposed upon you.

Over the years, we have tried to help push those boundaries for our families through various trips and opportunities to travel to conferences and convenings where residents are able to share their wisdom and experiences. Residents will often point to these trips as times when they were able to deepen their knowledge about the world and see the way their lives and stories fit into it. Some discover a new career they didn’t know was possible, learn about a new place or story they want to share with their families, or make a life-long friend—expanding their experiences and connections.

These trips have always been incredible, but for the first time, Springboard went international this past Spring!

In April 2024, nine Springboard residents who have been a part of our Fellowship programs and have either started or are working to start their own businesses and traveled to Bogotá, Colombia with members of Springboard’s staff for a weeklong program focused on women’s entrepreneurship in the global economy.

We partnered with the Aspen Global Innovators Group and Fundación Sanctuary Colombia to create an experience that both introduced our women leaders to the rich historical and cultural landscape of Colombia and allowed women entrepreneurs from the US and Colombia to meet and share strategies around how they can sustain and grow their businesses.  

While there are so many reasons we were excited about this trip and opportunity, at the top of that list was the chance for our residents to shift their own internal narratives and see new possibilities for themselves. For all these women, it was their first international experience and — for most of them — their first time even on a plane. They ended this trip not only with new connections, ideas for their own businesses, and a richer understanding of the world, but with a renewed confidence in themselves and their ability to go after their goals and push against the barriers that have been placed on them.

Thank you for your continued belief in our residents to push toward new stories.

Our 3rd Cohort MMT Evaluation is Here!

The last two years have been anything but predictable. Despite returns to offices, travel resuming, and the end of lockdowns and mandates, the economic, social, and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to play out most devastatingly in low-income communities and communities of color. Mothers in our communities were fired when they became ill and could not go to work. Schools remained virtual for many Jackson families and both childcare centers and classrooms were disrupted by unplanned closures when students were infected. Families dealt with the physical and emotional toll as sickness and loss came to their own family.

According to national data collected throughout the pandemic, material hardship, or the inability to pay for basic needs like housing, food, and utilities, was a major contributing factor to parental emotional distress. Additionally, unpredictability, particularly in the ability to provide for a family’s basic needs, affected family well-being more than even pre-pandemic household income. With cost of living expenses and inflation on the rise, families who might have been starting to feel a sense of stability at times in 2021, began to again report increased material hardship and instability.

In contrast to national trends, The Magnolia Mother’s Trust, provided consistency and a baseline of support in a world that continued to be increasingly unpredictable. Throughout the duration of the program, Magnolia Mother’s Trust participants reported an enhanced sense of self-efficacy and agency, allowing them to make their own decisions around work, prioritize the care of the children and family, and demonstrate a stronger sense of self and emotional well-being for both themselves and their children.

But don’t just take our word for it. This year’s evaluation report is filled with direct quotes, stories, and wisdom from the mothers who were a part of the program. In it you will see how the Magnolia Mother’s Trust created an enhanced sense of self for participants, provided the ability to care for their children and families in new way, and changed the way they were able to think about work and long-term careers.

We would like to thank the amazing team at Social Insights who served as our evaluation partners, conducted a thoughtful and inclusive evaluation process throughout the year, and ultimately put together this report that centers the beautiful stories and experiences of our mothers. We would also like to thank the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for believing in this work and funding the evaluation.

The full report as well as a shorter summary are available on our website and thank you to The 19th for sharing the result and the story. We hope you’ll take some time to read the highlights below in addition to the full report!

Why Monthly Payments Matter

If there has been anything predictable about the last 18 months, it’s been that everything continues to be unpredictable. With new surges in cases across the country, and particularly the South, we’ve had to put our plans for resuming in-person programming on hold. As schools get ready to resume in-person learning, we are remaining vigilant knowing that even the best laid plans could change at a moment’s notice. And we know our families, already trying to navigate complicated situations as essential workers, parents with few childcare options, and limited access to healthcare services, are feeling this more acutely than most.

But one thing that is becoming a constant for the next few months is the expanded Child Tax Credit payments. Last month, we talked about the work our staff has been doing to get the word out about the payments and making sure all families who qualify were set up to receive them. We’re happy to report that that work paid off! The vast majority of our families received their first check via direct deposit on July 15 and are ready to receive their second payment on August 15.

Consistency is key. While some may wonder why it matters that these payments are monthly, instead of one lump sum at tax time, the stories of our families show us why. For example, take Annette. Annette works as a food service worker with Jackson Public Schools. She loves her job and being around kids. She is even in school part-time to finish her elementary education degree and become a full-time teacher. However, as a food service worker, she does not get paid during the summer months – only the ten months school is in session. She was able to use her CTC check to purchase school supplies and uniforms for her two children preparing to go back to school. Receiving the benefits monthly helps hold her over during the two summer months that her kids are home, especially since it is hard to find any short-term employment with limited childcare options.

Or take I’Esha. I’Esha had been working two jobs, managing multiple cleaning crews for Red Roof Inn and working as a cashier at a local shop. However, in January, she found out that she had a high-risk pregnancy, and in order to keep both herself, her baby, and her family safe, she was forced to quit her jobs. She had worked hard to build up her savings and was able to get by for a while, but having the consistency of the CTC payments has come as a huge relief. Like Annette, she was able to purchase clothes and school supplies for her two children preparing to go back to school and will be able to use her August payment for things like diapers and wipes, expenses not covered by benefits like SNAP or WIC, for her newborn. While she hopes to go back to work and utilize her culinary degree as a chef in the future, the CTC is a lifeline for her and her children during this time.

These are just a few examples among so many of the ways these monthly checks have changed the game for families. With so much unpredictability all around us, knowing that you are going to have what you need to cover the essentials for your family each month is an incredible relief. That’s why we, along with the Marshall Plan for Mom’s, Income Movement, and so many other organizations have been calling on the Biden administration and lawmakers to make the CTC monthly payments permanent. We will continue to share the stories of our families and the impact these monthly payments are having throughout the coming months, and we hope that you’ll help us out by sharing them with your own networks and communities, as well. And together, we hope to ensure that the CTC payments become a permanent, predictable support in a very unpredictable world.

The Economic Impact of Supporting Families

Last month, the United States Supreme Court rescinded President Biden’s eviction moratorium leaving millions in jeopardy of housing instability. During the same week, the Mississippi Legislative Tax Study Committee held hearings to discuss changes such as possibly eliminating the state income tax – a move that public policy analysts note would further devastate the budget for our public services and shift the burden onto low income families. Research shows that evictions and eliminating state income taxes can be costly, and if lawmakers want to actually support families and boost local economies, new data proves there are better ways to do that.

As already underfunded public systems are being ravaged by preventable overload from the surge of the Delta variant, now, more than ever, families need support, stability, and strengthened social safety nets that center their voices and experiences.

Infusions of unrestricted cash such as stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, the child tax credit and earned income tax credits, have allowed for families to both support their needs, as well as put significant resources back into their local economies. At Springboard to Opportunities, we’ve seen the powerful impact of giving money directly to families through our guaranteed income initiative, The Magnolia Mother’s Trust (MMT) that provides $1,000 payments to 100 low-income Black mothers every month for 12 months.

If you’ve been a frequent reader of this newsletter, you already know that our data shows that families use these funds to cover bills, create savings and purchase food and basic household goods. This not only supports the well-being of these families, but translates to more money being spent at local businesses, multiplying economic growth in our state.

The expanded federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) has already contributed to a recent boost in added revenue for the state of Mississippi. The CTC which is now fully refundable and coming on a monthly schedule for the first six months, is available to more families than ever before. Recent research conducted by The Niskanen Center and the Institute for Tax and Employment Policy estimates that with these changes, the total impact of the CTC in Mississippi will be over $2 billion, supporting 7,266 full-time jobs, and adding over $18.5 million in new state revenue.

For the families Springboard serves, these funds contributed to timely necessities. Last month, we shared the stories of Annette and I’Esha, who were received their CTC funds at crucial moments when health complications and seasonal employment led to the loss of income. Initially, these mothers had to dig into their savings to keep their families afloat. However, the advanced monthly payments from the CTC have helped them afford basic necessities like school supplies and diapers – items not covered by other public benefits like SNAP or WIC.

Critics of cash programs often chide low-income families by saying they should just save — sentiments also communicated during the hearings by the MS Legislative Tax Study Committee. But mothers like I’Esha were saving. She worked two jobs to ensure that she could meet her family’s needs. Yet, that still wasn’t enough. The realities of working multiple jobs to still not make a living wage, coupled with government policies that are often inherently punitive, demonstrate the very significance of the CTC monthly payments.

Our lives do not exist in isolation. We are impacted by multiple systems and identities. Simply telling someone to “save” without recognition that most people are trying to stay housed amidst widespread housing crises, take care of families, not get sick because they likely won’t be able to afford treatment or could lose a job that doesn’t even pay them enough to live, misses the nuances of our layered experiences, and the greater burden of systemic inequities.

The expanded CTC is one step toward correcting some of these inequities and supporting much needed revenue and spending. When we support our people, everyone benefits.

In the coming weeks, Congress will be voting on a full budget package and while there will be massive numbers, multiple programs, and all sorts of policy jargon being thrown around, we encourage you to keep the stories of those like Annette and I’Esha front and center. We have proof of what works for families and businesses, and here in Mississippi, we’re already seeing the human and revenue benefits.

Let us take this opportunity to finally make a sustainably positive impact on the health, wellbeing, and livelihoods of children, families, and broader communities in this state and across this nation.