Economic Security Project (ESP) is an American progressive non-profit organization focused on economic issues, primarily guaranteed income and antimonopoly action. Founded in 2016 with the aim to “make our economy work again for all Americans,” ESP has provided seed funding and organizational support for guaranteed income pilot projects across the country, and has advocated for the expansion of cash tax credits and for more robust antimonopoly action. Their efforts have contributed to the increased visibility and political viability of guaranteed income. Since its founding, ESP has helped to set in motion over 100 guaranteed income pilots, whereas there had been only 12 pilots at the time of its founding.
In an opinion piece in the The New York Times, Farhad Manjoo wrote: “One of the main backers of guaranteed income is the Economic Security Project […] The Economic Security Project has also been a leading political champion of the expanded Child Tax Credit. The group says that both developments — its experience with pilot projects running so far and the success of the expanded Child Tax Credit — are helping to prove a fundamental idea: Giving people money works.”
The Economic Security Project has solicited bids for paid editors on Wikipedia.
History and overview
Economic Security Project works by convening and organizing other philanthropists and non-profit organizations around its mission of creating a more equitable economy, while also giving grants and campaigning in support of a guaranteed income and anti-monopoly action. The organization was founded in 2016 by Chris Hughes, Dorian Warren, and Natalie Foster. Chris Hughes is a co-founder of Facebook and founder of Jumo. Dorian Warren is the co-President of Community Change, as well as a scholar and organizer. Natalie Foster is an Aspen Institute Fellow and an organizer and was a co-founder of Rebuild The Dream and Digital Director at Organizing for America. Signatories of the organization’s initial statement of belief included Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, and Alaska State Senator Bill Wielechowski.
When the organization was founded, its goal was to "research, experiment, and inspire others to think through how best to design cash programs." That mission came to include doing issues advocacy and providing seed funding. ESP successfully collaborated with local government officials and local nonprofits to conduct guaranteed income pilot programs such as the SEED program and Magnolia Mother’s Trust. The organization was pivotal in expanding the Child Tax Credit during the pandemic. ESP Founder Chris Hughes published an op-ed in the New York Times titled It’s Time to Break Up Facebook, which helped launch ESP’s Antimonopoly Fund providing seed funding to anti-monopoly organizations.
Initiatives
Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration
The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) was a two-year-long guaranteed income pilot program in Stockton, CA that paid 125 participants $500 a month, starting in February 2019. This was the first ever mayor-led guaranteed income initiative, spearheaded by Michael Tubbs. Economic Security Project funded the project with an initial $1 million grant. No public funds were used. Participants were selected based on their annual income; they had to be at or below the city’s annual median household income to qualify. Originally intended to be an 18-month-long program, the program was extended for six additional months to help recipients whether the COVID-19 pandemic and to study the effects of the additional cash during that time period.
Research by Stacia West and Amy Baker on the impacts of the guaranteed income payments showed that recipients were more likely to find work than the control group, showed less depression and anxiety, experienced less income volatility, and were more likely to engage in goal-setting and risk-taking.
Magnolia Mother’s Trust
The Magnolia Mother’s Trust is an ongoing guaranteed income program in Jackson, Mississippi administered by Springboard to Opportunities, led by CEO Aisha Nyandoro. Funded entirely through philanthropic donations, with some of its funding provided by Economic Security Project, The Magnolia Mother’s Trust began in December of 2018 and initially offered $1,000 a month for 12 months to a group of 20 Black mothers living in public housing. The program was expanded to include 110 mothers in March 2020, and served 100 mothers in April 2021. Surveys of participants show that the cash helped the recipients achieve their educational goals, provide more resources for the education of their children, and spend more time with their families.