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CSI + Mowat report one fresh benefit of a basic income

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Yuliya Tsoy

Yuliya Tsoy

The Centre for Social Innovation and the Mowat Centre teamed up to release a new report with a fresh angle on how a basic income could evolve to help people and planet.The report draws on a demographic survey of CSI members to look at the incomes and backgrounds of social entrepreneurs.

Some of the key findings:

1. Many social entrepreneurs report satisfaction with their careers, make decent money and have strong family support systems that help them do this work

2. However the situation for low-income social entrepreneurs is often much different: with reports of greater financial insecurity and long hours, often on non-aligned work.

The upshot is that a basic income could help people who face financial barriers become social entrepreneurs, using their experience and relationships to tackle hard social problems.

Our participation in the report is motivated by our belief that greater social inclusion is essential for greater social innovation. Ontario has started a basic income pilot project and it could have a big impact on social innovation in our province, and around the country. We hope this report will contribute to the conversation about how a basic income can develop from here.

Click here to learn more about the report’s key findings and explore it in depth: Basic Impact. Click here to check out an article featuring interviews with Sam Wise, a social entrepreneur working out of CSI Regent Park, and Tonya Surman, CSI’s founder and CEO, in the Toronto Star.

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