UBI Piloters Network
Newsletter 29, July, 2026
The Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth
This Roadmap was developed in consultation with over 400 experts from trade unions, movements, UN agencies, universities, policy bodies, and civil society institutions around the world, including Vibhor Mathur, Diana Bashur, Nicholas Langridge and Dr Patrick Brown,
Basic income at a level sufficient to allow a dignified life, provided universally and unconditionally, can help to eliminate poverty by guaranteeing access to necessary resources. It’s multiple beneficial feedback loops include improved public health, and, in a longer-term perspective, cost savings for the public purse by reducing aggregate health expenditure. In contrast to mainstream ‘welfare’ policy, a universal basic income can enhance recipient dignity and well-being by reducing the stress and stigma associated with poverty and targeted or conditional benefits. Further, a substantive body of work suggests that basic income enables investments in human capital by removing financial barriers to (further) education, whilst also facilitating upgrades in fixed capital in the form of people’s housing or productive assets.
Bootstraps, a docuseries
Exploring the human experience of Universal Basic Income (UBI) through open discussion and a docuseries following 11 households whose lives were transformed by a groundbreaking 2.5-year basic income experiment.
Over 8 years and $2.7 million in the making, the Bootstraps docuseries follows 11 diverse American households for two and a half years as they participate in a groundbreaking basic income experiment. The award-winning film team is currently in post-production, turning thousands of hours of intimate footage into a multi-season TV show, anticipating release on a major streaming network in 2026.
To leverage the series to its fullest potential, the team is planning a national impact campaign of at least 100 free public screenings/events, a behind-the-scenes podcast, social media campaign, educational materials, and more to accompany the show’s release.
Comingle-The money sharing Network
The Comingle web platform, designed to facilitate a scalable, community-funded, permanent UBI program, is now operational in beta testing with several dozen members pooling incomes to create their own basic income floor. The platform is preparing to begin its scaling push to grow its membership into the thousands in the latter half of 2026.
The US-based Income To Support All (ITSA) Foundation and the Canadian UBIworks are teaming up to co-host a Bootstraps screening and Comingle impact campaign launch event for attendees of the annual BIEN Congress and others from the Toronto-area UBI movement in the Toronto area in August. The event will take place immediately after the Congress’s closing ceremonies at the historic HotDocs Cinema on Saturday, Aug 22. If you’ll be in town for the Congress, make sure to include this special event in your plans!
The Bootstraps/Comingle/ITSA team will also be attending the Piloters Network event the day before the Congress (Aug 19), excited to discuss the next generation of direct cash efforts, UBI infrastructure, and potential collaboration on research and other opportunities.