Our team supports rural American counties experiencing generational poverty, economic hardship affecting families for many decades.
We fund county level studies that provide a Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) to folks while gathering sound, evidence-based scientific data. We engage with existing local rural community stakeholders — veterans organizations, communities of faith, local businesses, and neighborhood groups. So far, with $50 million, we’ve funded GMI studies in three counties — Mercer County WV, Beaufort County NC, and Warren County MS. Each participating family will receive $1,500 per month for 16 months to spend on food, business, rent, or whatever they need most.
We are working with GiveDirectly, building on their prior US GMI studies, in partnership with OpenResearch, who conducted the largest US GMI study from 2018 to 2023. We think those results show how effective direct cash transfers can be.