The 37208 Demonstration

01

Target recipients in 37208 with income under $40,000

 

02

Distribute $10,000 over 10 months to up to 100 families - $1 million in total

03

Provide access to financial advisory resources and a community of support

 

04

Track the impact on individuals with researchers to publish a report

How can direct cash transfers transform a community?

This will be the first guaranteed basic income demonstration focused on a single zip code and created through the leadership and support of the community. The demonstration will not only track incomes in individual families, but also the impact of direct cash on community health.

If we solve poverty in 37208, we can solve it anywhere.

Nashville dead-ended 37208 with the construction of Interstate 40 and created the conditions for poverty there today. It has become the most heavily incarcerated zip code in America. Concentrated poverty and rapid gentrification, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the aftermath of natural disaster, and the rising cost of living in Nashville, threaten to displace an entire community.

The 37208 Demonstration will demonstrate how a guaranteed basic income can eliminate poverty, disrupt conditions that reinforce poverty, and create healthier communities.

How we’ll do it:

Stage 1: Fundraising and Community Engagement

 

MOVE is already in the process of raising funds for the experiment. If you are interested in donating you can do so here. As funds are being raised, MOVE will hold informational sessions and meetings to educate the public at large and solicit donations to support the guaranteed basic income pilot in Nashville. In partnership with Nashville Economic Justice Alliance (NEJA), MOVE will hold community information sessions and focus groups in order to educate the community about the 37208 Demonstration and allow community input to shape the project.

MOVE is committed to completing fundraising for the pilot by September 2021. At this time, MOVE will move ahead with the pilot on whatever scale is possible with the funds raised.

 

Stage 2: Recipient Selection

 

In September 2021 (or earlier if funding allows), MOVE will make an application available to people living in 37208. This application will be open to anyone in 37208 with income under $40,000.

 

Stage 3: Announcement & Orientation

When the application closes, the names of the eligible applicants will be passed onto our research partners at the Center for Guaranteed Income Research. The researchers will randomly select 100 applicants to receive direct cash transfers and invite another 100 to participate in the research as part of a control group. Once the recipients are selected, they will receive an individual orientation in the program before the distribution begins.

The application, selection, and orientation process will be complete within 60 days of applications opening in early Semptember 2021.

 

Stage 4: Disbursements

 

Disbursement of the cash transfers will begin once recipients complete the orientation. They will receive $1,000 each month until he completion of the pilot. MOVE advocates and researchers will work with recipients and in the community throughout this period and after disbursement end to gather data about the impact of the pilot for the 37208 Demonstration Report.

Disbursements will begin by November 1, 2021.

 

Stage 5: Research

 

Throughout the disbursement period, MOVE will be conducting research in partnership with Nashville Economic Justice Alliance (NEJA) and the Center for Guaranteed Income Research of the University of Pennsylvania. This will involve recipients and control group members completing periodic interviews and surveys, as well as tracking indicators of community health in 37208, such as incidents of violence and domestic violence, levels of hope, and the recipients’ ability to overcome adverse financial events.

This research will continue for 12 months following the conclusion of the disbursement. Shortly following the conclusion of the disbursement, a report of initial findings will be published followed by a final 37208 Demonstration report 12 months after the pilot concludes.

 

Stage 6: Revaluation, Assessment, & Advocacy

 

Following the disbursement, MOVE will reassess how the 37208 Demonstration addressed the needs of the community and the data gathered in the reports and make a decision about whether to pursue further pilots in Nashville. Depending on the results, further plans could involve:

  • Additional economic demonstrations either in 37208 or in other parts of Tennessee that are experiencing concentrated poverty

  • Planning for advocacy on the local and state level to raise the profile of direct, unconditional cash and a Universal Basic Income as tools to end poverty in a modern society