Guaranteed Basic Income - United Way of Massachusetts Bay

ECONOMIC INCLUSION & WEALTH BUILDING

Guaranteed
Basic Income

Time To Think Big

Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) programs offer a transformative solution to address societal challenges and promote economic stability. By providing people with a regular, unconditional income, GBI programs empower individuals to meet their basic needs in ways that they deem necessary. This approach fosters financial security, reduces poverty rates, and mitigates inequality by ensuring that everyone has access to essential resources. Importantly, GBI programs stimulate economic growth by boosting consumer spending, fostering entrepreneurship, and enabling individuals to pursue education and training opportunities without fear of financial instability. By fostering a more equitable and resilient society, GBI programs have been shown to enhance overall financial well-being, improve employment outcomes and create a more inclusive economy for all.

Guaranteed Basic Income Forum

April 10, 2024 United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Up Together hosted a forum of experts who are planning or have implemented GBI programs and can speak to the impacts of cash as a solution. Jesús Gerena from Up Together was our keynote speaker, as we talked about the barriers, successes, and new innovations happening in programs across our region.

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What does success look like for the Guaranteed Basic Income Model?

Keynote Speaker

Jesús Gerena

Jesús Gerena is CEO of UpTogether (previously Family Independence Initiative), a national organization with a bold mission of changing policies, systems, and underlying beliefs so that all people in the United States are seen and invested in for their strengths and are able to build power, reinforce their autonomy, and drive their own economic and social mobility. Under Jesús’ leadership, UpTogether has developed a model for systemic change through philanthropic and government partnerships to support a strength-based approach of centering community, cash and choice. A native of Puerto Rico, Jesús moved with his mother and siblings to Amherst, Massachusetts at just nine years old. This community was full of resources that were able to lift up opportunities for his family to achieve their goals.

Panel Moderator

Segun Idowu

A lifelong resident of Boston, Segun Idowu has served in executive-level positions for the Boston Chapter of the NAACP, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts Inc (BECMA), The chief advocacy organization for Black businesses across the Commonwealth. Segun Idowu joined the Wu Administration as the Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, in January of 2022. He is focused on making Boston a resilient, economically equitable, and vibrant city that creates opportunities to build generational wealth for all communities. In his previous role as the President and CEO of BECMA, Idowu helped transform the organization, including growing membership by 300%, shepherding key pieces of state legislation to successful ends, and directing millions in relief grants to small businesses.

Panel Participants

Doug Howgate,

Executive Director, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation

Doug Howgate is President at the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Doug began as President in January of 2023, after two years as the Foundation’s Executive Vice President. This is Doug’s second stint at MTF, having served as Research Director between 2015 and 2018. Prior to his time at the Foundation, Doug has held a number of policy positions in Massachusetts. He served as Senior Policy Advisor to Senate President Karen Spilka between 2018 and 2020, and Budget Director at the Senate Committee on Ways and Means between 2010 and 2014. He has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Massachusetts Port Authority and as a Senior Researcher at the Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center.

Geeta Pradhan

President, Cambridge Community Foundation

Geeta Pradhan, president of the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF), draws on her deep experience in philanthropy, urban planning, and community development to address the needs of Cambridge. In 2021 Geeta co-authored the Foundation Equity & Innovation Cities report, highlighting the growing income disparities amidst Cambridge’s growing prosperity. She helped envision and structure the City’s $22 million Rise Up Cambridge, the only city-wide effort to offer a non-lottery cash assistance program and is leading the research that will help make the case for policy change.   Geeta is regularly called upon to speak on issues of poverty and social change, the changing role of philanthropy, and collaborative action. Prior to her work with the city, she held leadership positions at the Boston Foundation, where she founded the Boston Indicators Project, and The City of Boston

Dr. Megan T. Sandel

M.D., Pediatrician, Boston Medical Center

Megan Sandel, MD is the co-director of the Grow Clinic for Children at Boston Medical Center (BMC), which is a multispecialty clinic for children with failure to thrive. She is the principal investigator for the Boston Opportunity System Collaborative, which helps underserved Boston neighborhoods with employment and affordable housing opportunities. Megan advocates for place-based investing—focusing on specific, disinvested neighborhoods and ZIP codes to address health inequities. She’s also the co-lead principal investigator for Children’s HealthWatch at BMC, and the medical center’s lead of a $6.5-million housing and place-based community health initiative.

Josh Waxman

Chief Operating Officer, Camp Harbor View

Josh Waxman is a values-driven leader with over 15 years of experience across the non-profit and public sectors, dedicating his work to community and driving impact and change. As the Chief Operating Officer at Camp Harbor View, Josh has helped lead the organization's evolution, reshaping it from a summer camp into a comprehensive entity that engages with young people and their families through a myriad of support services all year round. Since assuming his role in 2018, Josh has pioneered initiatives that transcend seasonal boundaries, establishing CHV as a year-round hub for leadership development, college and career access, robust clinical and family support programs. Moreover, CHV has spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives tackling economic stability and mobility, notably boasting one of the most expansive privately funded guaranteed income programs in the United States.

Doug Howgate,

Executive Director, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation

Geeta Pradhan

President, Cambridge Community Foundation

Dr. Megan T. Sandel

M.D., Pediatrician, Boston Medical Center

Josh Waxman

Chief Operating Officer, Camp Harbor View

On average, recipients of the guaranteed income reported higher incomes and lower income volatility and were better able to cover a $400 emergency expense compared to a control group of similar Cambridge residents who did not receive the direct cash.

Source: Cambridge Rise

Researchers found that recipients increased their employment rate from 36% at baseline to 40% after 12 months, while employment fell amongst the control group from 30% at baseline to 28%. Recipients also had higher rates of part-time and seasonal employment.

Source: Cambridge Rise

The risk of psychological distress fell by 23% for families receiving direct cash during the two-year program, while it increased by 8% among families not receiving payments.

Source: Camp Harbor View

The number of families who were able to save increased by 50 percent, while this number fell by 44 percent among families not receiving payments.

Source: Camp Harbor View

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