Guaranteed Income

A guaranteed income is a monthly, cash payment given directly to individuals. It is unconditional, with no strings attached and no work requirements. A guaranteed income is meant to supplement, rather than replace, the existing social safety net and can be a tool for racial and gender equity.

Individual artists and culture workers have little to no safety net to rely on. Many work as freelancers or gig workers, leading to unpredictable income. This issue is exacerbated for artists who are BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, or live in rural or underinvested urban areas.

The pandemic exposed these challenges, prompting Springboard to expand its emergency relief fund to assist over 2,500 artists and help 80 communities nationwide establish local emergency funds. While we are proud of our emergency response efforts, we recognize that such measures are not a long-term solution. Systemic change and bigger policy ideas are crucial.

Guaranteed income policies offer a promising approach to addressing systemic poverty at both local and national levels. We advocate for including artists in these economic justice movements, both as beneficiaries and as key allies in driving systemic change.

Inspired by the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot led by the City of Saint Paul, we are excited to advance direct, unrestricted, noncompetitive financial support for artists and culture workers.

We are collaborating with private funders at local, regional, and national levels to advance this initiative, without utilizing any public funds. We deeply appreciate the McKnight Foundation’s generous support for this phase of our program expansion.

• Mayors for Guaranteed Income: https://www.mayorsforagi.org/
• Guaranteed Income Pilots Dashboard: https://guaranteedincome.us/
• Stockton Demonstration Project findings: https://www.stocktondemonstration.org/ 
• Peoples Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot in St. Paul: https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/financial-empowerment/peoples-prosperityguaranteed-Income-pilot 
• Guaranteed Income Pilot in Rural Georgia: https://dailyyonder.com/guaranteed-income-initiative-to-focus-on-rural-black-women-in-georgia/2022/05/23/
• Other guaranteed income pilots working with artists:
• Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA/Bay Area:https://ybca.org/guaranteed-income-pilot/
• Creatives Rebuild New York: https://www.creativesrebuildny.org/
• Power of Cash Narrative Change Fellowship: https://www.economicsecurityil.org/fellowship