Update

2022 in Review: Firing on all Cylinders

12. 20. 2022

Counting down the major strides we made towards establishing a guaranteed income, and catalyzing a field of changemakers fighting monopoly power.

In our advocacy for transformative ideas that rebalance economic power from the few to the many, it’s been a milestone year: we’ve provoked the conventional wisdom to shift what’s considered possible, legitimized ideas by supporting cutting-edge research and elevating champions, and won concrete policy victories for communities. As a result, ideas that were once considered impossible are now at the center of a vision for an economy where people are the authors of their own lives. 

In 2022, Economic Security Project: 

ctc

Spearheaded the campaign to make the CTC a central focus for Congress, which involved hundreds of meetings with members of Congress, coordinating two coalitions, organizing multiple actions to drive press attention, and making the case for the CTC in The New York Times with public opinion research that was widely circulated by leading pollsters.

Our coalition:

• Organized a Day of Action in partnership with the White House, headlined by Vice President Harris and Treasury Secretary Yellen, to spread the word on the impact of the CTC and EITC. 
• Led on open letter signed by 200 economists, including three Nobel prize winners, calling for extending the CTC to help families deal with rising costs due to inflation.
• Reinvigorated the CTC as a central issue in the year-end negotiations of the post-election Congressional session, which included a press conference with Congressional champions fighting for the CTC and a letter signed by 58 members of Congress committing that they wouldn’t pass corporate tax breaks in a year-end deal unless the CTC for families were also included. 

states

Secured wins in states across the country to build both power and momentum for cash. In the last few years, we’ve played a key role in helping more states than ever deliver millions to working families in their states and initiated campaigns to create new and improved state tax credits that include immigrant families and advance innovative ways to deliver cash.

Our team:

• Won a guaranteed income for young kids in California by fully removing the income requirement for the Young Child Tax Credit, a historic win for tens of thousands of low-income families who were previously excluded.
• Launched the Pilots to Policy State Fund to continue expanding state EITCs and to double the number of states with CTCs.
• Supported Economic Security for Illinois to secure a historic expansion of Illinois’ Earned Income Credit for 4.5 million workers, including nearly a million low-income immigrants, older, and younger adults who had previously been excluded from permanent tax relief. This was in addition to millions in a one-time rebate issued to the majority of the state as a result of robust coalition organizing. 

Organized the field to advance the first serious efforts to curtail the power of monopolies in 40 years, changing the national consensus around antimonopoly action and bringing together a network of organizations to wage a coordinated battle against vested monopoly interests.

In the last year, we’ve:

• Run a coalition to advance serious legislation by driving a steady drumbeat of attention to counter the roughly $200 million campaign run by the opposition. We resourced a range of organizations to join the fight, injected the voices of impacted communities, informed the press to shape coverage, and partnered with The Illuminator to show that there’s momentum for legislative reform by projecting the message, “monopolies hurt democracy, monopolies drive inequality, monopolies must go” in Washington, D.C. 
• Published From Moment to Movement: The Antimonopoly Fund, a  report to celebrate monumental antimonopoly wins we enabled and champions we supported. Covered by Inside Philanthropy, the report captures how far we’ve come and why it’s more important than ever to invest in the movement and the organizations leading the way. 
• Supported innovative research around antimonopoly issues to generate new ideas and promote scholars leading this work, funding 26 research proposals to explore new ways of understanding and fixing our monopoly problem, that were unpacked in two all-star panels.

gicp

Doubled the Guaranteed Income Community of Practice in size to a network of 500+ government officials, community organizers, researchers, funders, and artists dedicated to a singular goal of creating an income floor for all. We’ve released a steady stream of products, fact sheets, and public opinion research that directly shaped the media coverage of our issues in dozens of publications across the country.

A few examples include:

• Gathered over 250+ leaders from across the country in Atlanta at Guaranteed Income Now, where we shared updated data, heard directly from recipients from pilots across the country, and discussed what’s next for the movement. The NPR affiliate in Alabama covered our keynote speaker Dr. Bernice King, who described guaranteed income as the necessary culmination of her father Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision for economic justice. 
• Announced when we reached 100 pilots in 38 states, which included an article in The New York Times highlighting our role in leading the movement and the next step of connecting pilots to policy change. 
• Released over 10 fact sheets, literature reviews, and reports like Cash as Care and States Lead the Way, which lay out the imperative for action and feature original portraits of guaranteed income recipients, who describe the feelings of relief, joy, and community support that come along with regular cash payments. 

Watch the Guaranteed Income Community of Practice end of year highlight video here.

build

Built the field to set the conditions for the long arcs of these fights, investing over $3 million this year directly into groundbreaking research; coalitions and campaigns; new initiatives and organizations; and trend-setting narrative and cultural interventions to advance racial and economic justice and reset the conversation.

We also:

• Hosted and co-hosted major conferences like Reimagine America, Guaranteed Income Now, and Soundcheck 2022, which convened hundreds of policy leaders, organizers, politicians, and academics to articulate a vision and set the agenda on how to shift the balance of power in our economy.
• Resourced nine communications trainings for guaranteed income recipients and pilot staff and moved over $450K in narrative investments and grants to groundbreaking projects across the country. 
• Received hundreds of press hits, with coverage in The New York Times, Bloomberg, and PBS Newshour Weekend (to name a few!) 

Now is the time to harness the energy behind our issues, and ensure the gains made for families become broader, better, and more lasting. Next year, we’ll continue the work, expand our state and federal campaigns; provide technical assistance to more partners and policymakers; build even broader public support; and mobilize around new opportunities as they arise.

To achieve our mission, we’ve enlisted some of the best to join our Board of Directors with the addition of Felicia Wong and Aisha Nyandoro. Harish Patel also came on board as our new Vice President, Build the Field, and we joined forces with Economic Security for Illinois. We’re also still growing! 

We’re looking forward to the work ahead – it’s more important than ever to deliver for millions of families. Thank you for your partnership and commitment to the fight!