Dear neighbours,

We have some really exciting news. We are receiving £969.30 from a project that we have been working on with a campaign group called the Basic Income Conversation. That means we will be able to distribute this money very soon and grants in December will be funded by supporters for a basic income!

For anyone curious to know a little more about the project, we’ve shared some more details below:

The Basic Income Conversation believe everyone has a right to financial security so they campaign for something called a basic income.

A basic income would guarantee financial security for all. It has five core characteristics:

As you may have read in our previous announcement about the project earlier this year, we decided to team up with the Basic Income Conversation and several other London solidarity funds because there are many overlaps between what we do in our solidarity funds and a basic income. For example, we give neighbours cash so they can spend it on whatever they need to - no questions asked. Our cash payments are also unconditional - it’s a core value of what we do in the solidarity funds to ensure our funding has no strings attached. Our only criteria for funding is proof of address in Newham. 

Key differences are that we can’t make regular payments to absolutely everyone, and basic income payments would be a lot bigger than the £50 we are able to give. Currently there are no government policies to provide a basic income, but we think that financial security for everyone should be the future! So that’s why we wanted to team up with the Basic Income Conversation.

Over the last couple of months, the Basic Income Conversation and London solidarity funds raised £3590 from supporters of a basic income! This money has now been shared amongst the London solidarity funds so we can share this money with neighbours in need. Here in Newham we're getting a big chunk of that.

To say thank you for this support, throughout December we’ll be sharing some information about the campaign for a basic income. Please help us spread the word about the need for a basic income so we can help make financial security for everyone a reality!

We’ll also be asking neighbours who receive funds in December to help by filling in a short survey. Those neighbours will also be invited to express an interest in joining a small paid focus group. Participants in the focus group will be paid £45 plus any travel expenses for a 90 minute focus group session as the Basic Income Conversation really want to make it worth neighbours’ time and energy to help evaluate the project.

We hope that answers any questions you might have, but please do email us at [email protected] if not!

The Newham Solidarity Admin team