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aisha

CEO, Aisha Nyandoro, testifies before the U.S. House Ways & Means Work & Welfare Subcommittee

“With so many families in poverty, we come in telling them what it is that they need or what they don’t need or how they must govern their lives. We tell them to take their baton back. But we shouldn’t have their baton to begin with.”

Dear Partners, 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to share the impact of our work in front of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Work & Welfare, where we discussed the need to reimagine the current TANF system. 

As I told Ranking Member Danny Davis, the current system is like putting a band-aid on a geyser. 

For years, we have wanted to share with lawmakers the stories of our families, their experiences with programs like TANF, and their insights and expertise that could make them better. I am grateful for the opportunity to have done just that.

Through powerful stories from our families and the successes of The Magnolia Mother’s Trust, I was able to show that programs centering dignity, trust, and family voice can provide powerful alternatives to our current paternalistic and punitive safety net programs. While the focus of the hearing was on recent stories of fraud, it was also an opportunity to challenge legislators to think beyond the current structure and protocols of TANF and reimagine a program based on family’s expressed needs and expertise.

As I said yesterday, “We keep talking about doing an audit of financial spending. How about we actually do an audit of what a family’s needs are? How about we actually have a panel with families to say what is it that they need? What are you dreaming of, and how can we meet you there?”

Once again, I’m honored to have had this opportunity and am continuously grateful to you all for your continued support and belief in the work we do at Springboard To Opportunities. Let us continue to work together to uplift the voices of families and reimagine programs like TANF by taking ourselves out of the equation and instead putting families at the center.

Yours in Service,
Aisha Nyandoro
CEO

Watch Aisha’s Testimony

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aisha, Newsletter, The Magnolia Mothers Trust

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!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aisha, Newsletter

Magnolia Mother’s Trust Marks a History-Making Three Cycles of Paying Black Mothers $1,000 a Month

The Mississippi fund is the longest-running guaranteed income program in the United States.

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: aisha

Guaranteed Income Is a Blueprint for a Better Social Safety Net: ‘Give People Money—Not Vouchers, Not Subsidies’

For low-income families looking to receive benefits from state or federal welfare agencies, bureaucracy can prevent them from getting the food, housing and money they need to survive.

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: aisha

Biden Has Helped the Quiet Revolution of Giving People Money

Among the big changes ushered in by the pandemic was a quiet revolution in American welfare policy.

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: aisha

How the Magnolia Mother’s Trust Is Changing Lives

Aisha Nyandoro and Tamika Calhoun talk about the Magnolia Mother’s Trust, how it changed Calhoun’s life, and what people get wrong about families on public assistance.

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: aisha, The Magnolia Mothers Trust

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