Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang campaigned on the promise of giving every American a universal basic income of $1,000 and now he will deliver that promise to many New Yorkers who are suffering financially due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The New York native on Friday announced that his nonprofit, Humanity Forward, has partnered up with Washington Heights-based Neighborhood Trust to give 1,000 low-income families in the Bronx at least $1 million within the next two weeks.
"Many feel like they don’t have money for groceries or rent, even as their child’s school shuts down. Our goal is to get money into their hands as quickly as possible so they can focus on keeping themselves and their families healthy," the 45-year-old entrepreneur and philanthropist said in a statement.
Humanity Forward will also be giving out $100,000, in small grants of $250 or $500, to people on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, the nonprofit said.
In addition to money being given to households in the Bronx and online, Yang's nonprofit says it is partnering with One Fair Wage to supplement an emergency coronavirus support fund for tipped and service workers across New York.
Yang introduced his new nonprofit earlier this month and said he would give $500,000 in free cash payments to the residents of one unnamed town in New York, CNBC reported.
Even though Yang ended his bid for president on Feb. 11, he outlasted senators and governors, and after initially self-funding his campaign, he raised more money than most of his rivals.
