Giving Compass' Take:

• Peter Kotecki reports that the Magnolia Mother's Trust is providing a basic income of $1000/month to single black mothers in Mississippi as a pilot for a program they hope to expand. 

• Is this experiment large and diverse enough to provide any useful information? What are the risks and advantages of such a small pilot program? 

• Learn about the challenges that surround basic income pilots. 

An upcoming basic income pilot will provide 15 single black mothers in Jackson, Mississippi, with a monthly income of $US1,000 for a year.

While at least six major basic income initiatives have formed in North America, Europe, and Africa over the past few years, the Magnolia Mother's Trust in Mississippi is the first pilot to focus on low-income black women. In general, universal basic income programs provide people with regular cash payments regardless of income level.

Mississippi is the poorest state in the country, and more than 80% of residents in Jackson are black. Nationwide, black women live in poverty at higher rates than almost any other group of Americans.

Magnolia Mother's Trust, set to launch in December, is supported by Economic Security Project, a philanthropic network co-chaired by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and Peers.org co-founder Natalie Foster, among others. The pilot is being led by Aisha Nyandoro, the CEO of Springboard To Opportunities, which supports families living in affordable housing.

Nyandoro told Business Insider that while she would have liked to start with more than 15 participants, the need to fundraise before launching the pilot made that more difficult.

Read the full article about Mississippi's basic income pilot by Peter Kotecki at Yahoo Finance.