By Danae King
Thirty-two Ohio mothers will receive the first of 12 payments of $500 this week.
The payments, funded by the nonprofits RISE Together Innovation Institute and UpTogether, are part of what organizers say is the first unconditional guaranteed income program in the city.
Called Ohio Mothers Trust, the initiative is intended to aid single mothers with an income at or below 80% of the area median, according to organizers. That would be $74,400 for a family of three, according to the city.
“Ohio Mothers Trust aims to show that providing unconditional cash support to mothers can significantly boost the financial stability and overall well-being of families,” Danielle Sydnor, CEO of RISE Together, an organization that works to end poverty in Columbus, said in a statement.
It can also be an investment for Franklin County, as childhood poverty cost the county $5.2 billion in lost economic activity in 2021, Sydnor said.
That loss comes from reduced earnings, crime, health and child welfare impacts, according to a December 2023 RISE Together report.
“Providing families the resources they need is an investment in their future and the future health of our community,” Sydnor said.
Where is the money coming from?
Motherful, a grassroots collective of some 600 single mothers in the Columbus area, identified and selected the participants from members of its collective who applied for the program. They will be routinely surveyed to learn about how the program impacts their lives.
“A lot of single moms don’t have resources they can depend on,” said Lisa Woodward, co-founder and co-director of Motherful. “They need cash because it’s not a two-income household.”
The $500 payments are money they can count on, without hoops to jump through or strings attached, she said.
“You just have to be a single mom,” Woodward said. “Be a sister in our community.”
Motherful was founded in 2018 and has a resource garage and food pantry available to members at its Gahanna location. It works to support, empower and nurture single-mother families in various ways, including by providing community, education, resources and more.
It started when Woodward and fellow single mother Heidi Howes met and wanted to create a list of resources for single moms and found there weren’t any. So, they created Motherful.
“Ever since the beginning, we always knew getting money to moms is an important thing,” Woodward said. “We operate with no boundaries. … We want moms to just get the money and feel free.”
RISE Together and UpTogether are both funding the initiative, which costs $211,200. UpTogether is a national change organization originally founded under the name Family Independence Initiative in Oakland, California, in 2001.
Since 2020, UpTogether has given out more than $210 million to more than 200,000 people through managed direct cash programs nationwide.
Though Ohio Mothers Trust is a pilot program, the concept has been tested with other types of recipients, Woodward said.
“It does work,” she said. “Direct cash works. I feel like we’re giving dreams away.”
Ohio Mothers Trust is investing in mothers, said Astar Herndon, UpTogether’s Midwest Partnership director, and trusting them to make the best choices for their families.
“Moms, after all, know what their families need,” Herndon said.
Woodward said there’s more Motherful wants to do, including future cohorts of women getting cash support.
“It’s just the start,” she said. “We intend to use the results of this initiative to advocate for broader, unrestricted cash investments for families across Franklin County.”
‘A great opportunity’
Angelique Scales joined Motherful years ago as a volunteer, helping other moms.
Today, the 37-year-old is the one who needs resources after going through a divorce.
The single mother of three who lives on Columbus’ North Side is one of the 32 mothers who will get help through the Ohio Mothers Trust.
“I’m very, very grateful,” Scales said of being a recipient of the trust. “It’s just helping me get back on my feet, as a stepping stool.”
Scales, who is a self-employed creative director and consultant, hopes to use some of the money to invest in herself and her business so she can be a better mother. Just getting more money toward her family’s bills helps her do that, she said.
“This initiative means I can actually knock off some major goals for myself,” Scales said.
But it’s more than the money. Scales also feels understood and supported as a single mom — an identity she said comes with some stigma.
“It’s a great opportunity to pour back into us,” she said. “They’re really supportive of us getting what we need as single moms.”
