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Upcoming Event

Power to the People, Y’all: Screening + Panel

RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY

WHEN: TUESDAY AUGUST 4TH, 6-8PM

WHERE: CAPRI THEATER, JACKSON MS

Join us for a special community screening of Power to the People, Y’all, a short documentary by Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom.

Power to the People, Y’all is a character-driven documentary that explores aging, legacy, and resistance through interviews with five founding members of the Winston-Salem Chapter of the Black Panther Party: Hazel Mack, Dr. Larry Little, Nelson Malloy, Cynthia Norwood, and Bradford Lilley.

Following the screening, we will host a cross-generational panel discussion moderated by Tressie McMillan Cottom, bringing together local leaders whose work has long shaped—and continues to shape—the civil rights movement.

While the film is rooted in a specific place, our conversation will focus on something larger: how its lessons on community, power, and organizing travel across time and geography, and how they remain urgently relevant to the conditions we are navigating today.

We invite organizers, students, neighbors, and anyone interested in learning and dialogue to join us for an evening of film and reflection—an intergenerational exchange grounded in history, sharpened by the present, and oriented toward what’s still possible.

This event is presented in partnership by Springboard to Opportunities, Southern Poverty Law Center, Mississippi Votes, People’s Advocacy Institute, and the NAACP Mississippi State Conference.

Doors open at 5:30 PM. Screening begins promptly at 6:00 PM.

June Newsletter

Mississippi Black Women Are Naming What Wholeness Requires

READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER HERE

“Dear Springboard to Opportunities Partners,

Springboard to Opportunities is proud to help lift up a powerful new report we did in collaboration with The Highland Project and brilliant corners Research & Strategies that captures what Black women voters in Mississippi are saying about the world they are navigating and the future they want to build. The findings are clear: Black women are deeply dissatisfied with the direction of the country, but they are not disengaged. 

What stood out most in the research is the depth of vision Black women are bringing to this moment. They are naming the barriers they face — from low-wage work and rigged systems to racism, inadequate assistance and politicians who do not listen to their needs — while also insisting that a meaningful life must be about more than survival. Their answers point to joy, peace, faith, family and freedom as essential to real well-being; and they make a strong case that policy should meet people with dignity, not just urgency.

That insight matters now more than ever. As families continue to face pressure from cuts to essential supports and rising costs, this report reminds us that Black women are not asking for abstract promises. They are asking for the conditions that make a full life possible: good jobs, fair wages, affordable care, efficient support systems and leaders who actually listen. 

It is up to policymakers to pay attention, because when Black women’s voices are centered, the path forward becomes clearer for all of us. ” – Aisha Nyandoro

Articles from THE GRIO, FORBES, and THE 19TH.

We launched a new creator-led effort to help more people understand Summer EBT and related feeding programs in Mississippi. You can find them on our Instagram here!

May Newsletter

READ THE FULL MAY NEWSLETTER HERE

“Springboard to Opportunities is stepping into a literal and figurative new season with the launch of the newest Magnolia Mother’s Trust cohort, marking an exciting new phase for what is the longest-running guaranteed income program in the United States. This year’s cohort brings together our tried and true model of distributing monthly cash support to Black mothers, along with a new addition to the work that I am so excited about: for the first time, we will have former members of the program offer peer-led, paid support that is designed to strengthen connection, community and shared leadership.

As families face continued pressure from cuts to essential services like SNAP and Medicaid, the Magnolia Mother’s Trust remains rooted in trust, dignity and a future where everyone thrives. The program continues to show that direct cash, paired with community support, can help families move forward with confidence and hope — while also offering a powerful example of what it looks like to invest in people directly and without judgment or conditions. We’re proud to launch this next chapter in a program that is not only changing lives, but also helping shape what real support can look like for families nationwide”

This month’s spotlight belongs to the children of Magnolia Mother’s Trust moms, whose stories from Night of Storytelling were featured in a special Mother’s Day Front & Center series in Ms. Magazine. The series offered a moving look at how children understand their mothers’ strength, sacrifice, and love, while also showing the deep impact of guaranteed income on family life.

It was a beautiful reminder that when moms are supported, children feel that support too. The series arrived alongside the launch of the newest Magnolia Mother’s Trust cohort, underscoring how this work continues to grow across generations.

April Newsletter

A note from our founding CEO, Aisha Nyandoro ⬇️

“April is always one of my favorite Springboard months. There is so much going on in these late spring months, but the highlight for me is our annual Night of Storytelling. For the last 6 years, our Night of Storytelling has been a special place where our families get to take center stage and share their stories, passions, and true lived experiences with our partners, our board, and the greater Jackson community. After they share, they are invited to be in conversation with an invited guest to dig more deeply into their stories and expand on their experiences. But this year, we got to do something new. Instead of our moms sharing their stories, we had three of our Springboard youth take the stage to share their stories with the world. Our work has always been grounded in a whole-family approach, and as we have built our guaranteed income work and other programming, we always believed that these investments would not just bear fruit in the lives of mothers but also their children, extended families, and the communities around them.”

READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER HERE

We are working on a full video recap of the Night of Storytelling along with some behind-the-scenes interviews with our youth storytellers that will be featured on our social media and other platforms soon. But for now, watch this teaser from this powerful evening.

CEO Aisha Nyandoro’s latest op-ed for Forbes came out this month. In it, she shares how the recent government shutdown and failure to pay TSA workers should signal a larger warning about how fragile financial life has become for so many working families in America and what we need to do to fix it. 

If you’re looking to hear from us in a different format, Aisha was also just interviewed for Prentiss Hemphill’s podcast, Becoming the People. During the interview, they talk about The Magnolia Mother’s Trust, the true meaning of wealth, and a new vision for what can help communities thrive.

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We know our regular newsletter readers have already met our featured mom this month, Javonica! But she has recently been featured in our latest Front & Center piece reflecting on her time after The Magnolia Mother’s Trust (Her first piece was about a month after she started in our previous cohort.). She also shares more about having had the opportunity to share her story and go grocery shopping with Vice President Kamala Harris back in January. We promise her story and accompanying video are ones you won’t want to miss! 

With love,

Team Springboard

March Newsletter

READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER HERE

THE BIG THREE

  1. 1. Aisha’s recent Forbes contribution regarding the recent not guilty verdict in the TANF welfare scandal. See the video we made to go along with it.

2. One of our fellows, Carleen, was recently featured in this MS Today piece regarding challenges to accessing SNAP.

3. We celebrated Women’s History Month throughout all of March. We know it’s essential to lift up the realities Black women are facing in the current economy and workforce. Don’t miss this article from The 19th explaining Black women’s skyrocketing unemployment.

Reminder: Our Annual Night of Storytelling event is almost here! Wednesday April 22nd, 6PM at the Mississippi Museum of Art. RSVP here!

With love,

Team Springboard

February Newsletter

Our monthly highlights from the team here in Jackson, Mississippi

YOU CAN READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER HERE

“We’re also grateful to be reminded that we are not alone in this fight to bring true, family-supportive policies to Mississippi and work toward a state where everyone is able to thrive. We had friends and partners at our own advocacy day and have been showing up for others who are continuing to push legislators to support childcare, SNAP, and other safety net benefits. Our Big Three section ,below features highlights from some of the state advocacy work our partners are doing, and we hope you’ll take some time to learn about the many ways Mississippians are fighting to build stronger, more equitable communities.”

Yours in Service,
Aisha Nyandoro
CEO

SPRINGBOARD SNAPSHOTS ⬇️💚

Our CEO, Aisha Nyandoro, is a 2026 Elevate Prize recipient!

We’re strengthening out fellowships in 2026 and hosted out first big event with a storytelling and media training half-day workshop with our mothers.

We hosted various Valentine’s Day events in our communities. We relaunched our MISS Program which provides mental health and self-care support to our moms.

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