Giving Compass' Take:

•  Fast Company reports on a basic income pilot program in Jackson, Mississippi, that will give black mothers living in poverty a monthly stipend of $1,000 a month.

• What sets this pilot apart from others is the specific nature of it. Will it work? If it does, how could such a program be scaled in other parts of the country?

• In general, universal basic income is still far away, but the concept can still inspire bold new ideas.

In America, black women are disproportionately likely to live in poverty. While the official poverty rate in the U.S. hovers around 12%, it increases to around 21% when you factor in gender and race. Motherhood, and the exorbitant costs of raising a childhood in America, further compound the issue.

A new year-long basic income pilot launching in December in Jackson, Mississippi, aims to address the wealth disparities around race, gender, and motherhood by equipping black mothers with $1,000 a month. The pilot, called Magnolia Mother’s Trust, will launch with 15 women receiving the stipend. Aisha Nyandoro, the CEO of Springboard to Opportunities, a Jackson-based nonprofit leading the program, aims to eventually scale it to reach at least 100 families ...

Most basic income programs so far haven’t been universal, and have focused giving recipient’s funds to low-income people. But Magnolia Mother’s Trust is the first to target an even more specific demographic. In aiming to support specifically black mothers, Nyandoro wants to call attention to the issue of entrenched, systemic poverty in communities — particularly Jackson, where 80% of the population is black, and around 30% lives below the poverty line — and how deliberate, focused financing can help alleviate some of the associated pressures.

Read the full article about the basic income program aiming to help black mothers by Eillie Anzilotti at fastcompany.com.