The Madison Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Advisory Task Force held its kickoff meeting on Tuesday June 1, 2021. The Task Force members learned more about the history of the initiative, current partnerships, and project timelines.

The group was joined by former Stockton, California Mayor Michael Tubbs, founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income – a coalition of mayors from around the country pushing to advocate for a national guaranteed income program. Madison’s Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway joined Mayor’s for Guaranteed Income in summer 2020, and Madison became a pilot city thanks to the generous support of Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey’s $600,000 donation and over $400,000 in generous monetary and in-kind donations from local organizations and businesses.

Strategic implementation partnerships made to-date were also announced on the call, with Mayor Satya lauding the involvement of many local partners who have stepped up and joined forces with the City in support of the guaranteed income pilot. The participation of these partners has resulted in a multi-sectoral collaborative representing local government, philanthropy, non-profits, and academia. The announced partners were:

  • Give Back Foundation – Fiscal Agent
  • TASC – Benefits Distributor
  • UW-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty – Operational Partner
  • University of Pennsylvania, Center for a Guaranteed Income Research – Research Partner

Task Force Members shared a variety of reasons why they were excited to serve on this task force, ranging from lived experience to academic expertise in the areas of poverty, poverty research, and poverty alleviation policies as well as other guaranteed income pilots that have occurred around the world.

“I’m grateful to the Task Force members for agreeing to help guide this important project. They will bring needed perspectives and help build coalitions across our community. Because of the expertise of our task force members and the invaluable partnerships of community organizations, I’m hopeful that this pilot will not only serve Madisonians now but through our rigorous research outcomes, will help make the case for a national guaranteed income program” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway.
 

Task Force members include:

Alder Jael Currie

Alder Tag Evers

Former Alder Shiva Bidar

Laura J. Dresser

Stephen J. Young

Erica L. Nelson

Sabrina V. Madison

Martha Cranley

Karen M. Coller

Walter Williams

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