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.