The Foundry Theater at night. (YS News archive photo)
Exhibition at Foundry Theater highlights local guaranteed income program
- Published: May 26, 2025
By El Mele
Currently on display at the Foundry Theater is a collection of photos and text outlining the experiences of participants in YSEQUITY, the YS Community Foundation’s guaranteed income program.
As the News has reported in the past, in January of 2023, Yellow Springs became the second municipality in Ohio — and the first village in the United States — to roll out a guaranteed income program to residents. Now part of 155 similar programs in the nation, the YSEQUITY program ensures that approved applicants receive $300 a month for two years, with no strings attached.
Earlier this month, following the YS Community Foundation’s annual meeting, a public event at the Foundry Theater featured the photo collection, the result of a photo elicitation project conducted by Ohio State University’s School of Social Work involving participants of YSEQUITY.
In a presentation during the YSCG event, Amy Castro, an associate professor in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice, described guaranteed income as “the idea of unconditional support because you’re a person, because you have breath, because you have life, because you’re a fellow human — not a fellow citizen, just human.”
Since the start of YSEQUITY, Castro and Stacia West, of UPenn’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research, or CGIR, have tracked its quantitative data; researchers Sharvari Karandikar, Katie Kieninger, and Ritika Kurup, of the Ohio State University School of Social Work, have been collecting qualitative data.
That qualitative data — in the form of the photo elicitation project — was presented at the YS Community Foundation’s event at the Foundry. In completing the project, researchers asked participants to take pictures to complement their answers on what they liked about Yellow Springs, its challenges and how YSEQUITY has influenced their lives.
Under a photo of a kitchen cabinet filled with colorful pots and pans, one participant is quoted as saying: “It’s really important to me to have a home and feel like that space is well-kept. … I have [pots and pans] now and they’re mine. And I’m able to display them, and I use them to cook and nourish myself. And everything that’s not those pots was thrifted. It’s something I want for my current and my future self. Not that I have to, but I chose to thrift a lot because it makes the most sense to me financially, and also, ecologically.”
Since its launch, YSEQUITY has enrolled 55 resident households in the village and Miami Township with household earnings below federally established low-income guidelines. Participants are selected from a pool of applicants in a weighted lottery that gives those who are single caregivers or significantly below the poverty line a better chance of being selected. The program does not disclose the identity of participants publicly.
Following the launch of YSEQUITY the village became the first community in the U.S. to test Gifted Savings, a philanthropic program with similarities to guaranteed income in which donors share wealth with beneficiaries in the form of investment savings accounts. The program teamed up YSCF and CGIR to undertake a Yellow Springs-based study on how donated assets held in a savings account affect those enrolled.
According to Chloe Manor, program manager for YSCF and YSEQUITY, Yellow Springs’ willingness to dive right in is what led to CGIR reaching out about piloting a Gifted Savings program in the village, which was funded by an out-of-state donor and California-based nonprofit.
As part of the Gifted Savings pilot, 20 participants were given $2,000 in investments of cash, cryptocurrency and exchange-traded funds. Those enrolled in the pilot study can withdraw up to $500 once per year during the two-year period, withdraw all of the funds at the end of two years or continue to maintain the account beyond the end of the study. In October 2024, UPenn’s CGIR released its six-month interim report on the study, which can be read online at giftedsavings.org/poverty-relief.
During her presentation, Castro reviewed data indicating the positive effect that guaranteed income has on participants, including higher Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Financial Well-Being Scores, increased confidence in reaching long-term financial goals and increased financial knowledge. She also emphasized the importance of relieving scarcity.
“When you’re experiencing chronic scarcity and you can’t pay your bills, it actually changes the way you perceive yourself and the way your mind functions,” Castro said. “Research indicates that it can sometimes mimic the symptoms of PTSD. You’re trapped in the present and therefore, you can’t think forward to the future.”
She added: “When participants started the Gifted Savings program, they were asked about their financial planning priorities, and over 55% were concerned about the next few months. After six months in the program, that decreased to 30%, and people became more focused on planning for the next year.”
Elsewhere in the country, communities and individuals continue to explore ways to implement guaranteed income. In 2016, Dolly Parton ran a program for victims of a fire in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, giving families $1,000 a month for six months and a final check of $5,000. In 2024, two guaranteed income programs were announced in Columbus, one funded by RISE Together Innovation Institute and UpTogether, and the other by The City of Columbus.
During her introductory speech at the YSCF event, YSCF Executive Director Jeannamarie Cox said she’s “really excited” about the opportunities YSEQUITY presents to benefit Yellow Springs and its residents.
“We’re a strong community, and that makes a big difference,” she said. “We’re well-connected through our values surrounding social justice, and I think that those values, tied together with our YSEQUITY program, can make a big difference.”
The photo project will be on display in the Foundry’s foyer until June 1.
*The author is an Antioch College student and a freelance reporter for the News.
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