On September 5, members of the Central Iowa community gathered at The Varsity Cinema for the first UpLift Community Conversation Series event – What is Basic Income? The viewing of the documentary “Raising the Floor” sparked insightful discussions about basic income concepts and approaches to improve economic stability. The event was so successful that UpLift hosted an encore showing the next week.

The documentary “Raising the Floor” is about the Chelsea EATs pilot program. This 30-minute documentary tells the story of one community’s path from food insecurity to a robust cash distribution, providing over 2,000 families with economic stability. After the film, attendees were able to discuss their initial thoughts about the Chelsea EATs approach to meeting community needs and learn more about basic income and cash transfer programs.

UpLift – The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot is the first cross-sector collaborative basic income initiative to take place in the state of Iowa. This community learning opportunity will study the impacts of an unrestricted no-strings-attached, basic income for 24 months. There are no limitations on how income payments are spent. Selected individuals are free to use the money to best meet their needs.