Guaranteed Income

A Strategy for Achieving Economic Stability and Mobility

Economic mobility—the ability to improve or lower one’s economic status over a lifetime—is a key determinant for overall well-being and building wealth.

Imagine a region where everyone has the financial freedom to pursue their dreams, support their families, and contribute to society without the constant stress of making ends meet or the inability to address an unexpected expense— this is the goal of guaranteed income.

Across the country, cities and counties have urgently moved to pilot an approach called guaranteed income—a monthly cash payment given directly to individuals for a specified period of time, with no strings attached and no work requirements. As part of strategic vision to support economic mobility, we are working to close the racial wealth gap in the Greater Washington region through guaranteed income and other wealth building initiatives.

Guaranteed income does not replace existing supplemental or government benefits, but provides an extra boost that can lift people out of the safety net and into a more stable life. Guaranteed income can enable a person to pay down debt, move into permanent housing, further their education, secure a better job, or stop working a second job and instead be home for family dinner and homework time.

Guaranteed income provides increased flexibility and financial freedom so participants can live with dignity and be prepared to overcome any barriers. The income received can be used to address basic needs, pay down debt, move into permanent housing, further their education to secure a better job, or to offset income from a second job so participants can spend more time with their families.

For more, read the Recap of our ‘In Pursuit of Economic Justice’ Conversation with National Leaders in the Guaranteed Income Movement.

The Big Payback

The positive impact of guaranteed income has been studied for decades, with evidence indicating that cash transfers are an effective anti-poverty measure with an array of benefits to social well-being.

The most well-known pilot in the United States launched in 2019 in Stockton, California. The pilot known as the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) provided unconditional cash payments to 125 people over a two-year period. SEED is also among the most rigorously evaluated pilots in the nation—confirming that when people have cash, their lives improve in significant ways.

For example:

  • Those who received guaranteed income experienced less income volatility than those in a control group who did not receive the cash payment—permitting the beneficiaries to stabilize and plan for the future.

  • Once basic needs like food and utilities were covered, recipients of guaranteed income demonstrated increased emotional and financial capacity related to goal setting and risk taking, thereby shifting their prospects for employment.

  • As a result, the income served to boost employment. Over the first year of the pilot, full-time employment among recipients increased by 12%, while those in the control group saw only a 5% increase in full-time work.

  • The income enabled recipients to pay down debt, key to positioning them for financial stability. Over a one-year period, the number of recipients making regular payments on their debts rose from 52% to 62%. In contrast, those in the control group paying down debt sank from 48% to 44%.

  • Pilot participants who received the regular payments reported decreases in anxiety, depression, and extreme financial strain, a greater ability to cope with unexpected income shocks, and more optimism about their future.

Our Plan for Guaranteed Income Pilots in Greater Washington

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is already an early adopter and investor in guaranteed income pilots in our region, including Let’s Go DMV!, Arlington’s Guarantee, MoCoBoost-Montgomery County’s Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot, and Thrive Prince George’s.

Each of the four pilots has been designed locally to serve a particular community, with payments varying from $500 to $1,000 monthly for a period ranging from 18 months to five years. But all share the goal of providing a stable financial base and a way for families in need to move forward. 

Pilots are funded through public-private partnerships between local government, private donors and philanthropic organizations like The Community Foundation. The Community Foundation’s Guaranteed Income investments are funded through a designated fund within the Fund for Greater Washington.

For example, Thrive Prince George’s is a $4 million guaranteed income pilot that provides participants with payments of $800 per month for 24 months. Despite being one of the wealthiest majority Black jurisdictions in the U.S., Prince George’s County also has the lowest household income in this region. Recognizing the needs of individuals and families in Prince George’s County who are seeking a path toward financial independence, this program supports 50 young people (ages 18-24) who have aged out of the foster care system and 125 seniors with low incomes (age 60+) who are also caregivers.

We are confident that these pilot programs will demonstrate that guaranteed income stimulates economic mobility and help close the racial wealth gap. As we provide financial support for these guaranteed income programs, we will also be building consensus and political will to make guaranteed income a publicly funded instrument of community prosperity.

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Learn more about the impact of Guaranteed Income Pilots across our region!