UBI Programs

United States

The first pregnancy income supplement program piloted in the US to Black and Pacific Islander individuals throughout pregnancy and postpartum and tests direct cash as a reproductive health intervention. Created by Expecting Justice with UCSF's Preterm Birth Initiative under a "collaborative change model" that puts affected communities in the design process, it's since expanded from San Francisco into Alameda, Contra Costa, LA, and Riverside counties with public and philanthropic funding (including Jack Dorsey's #startsmall).

United States

Workers are being displaced by artificial intelligence. The existing safety net — unemployment insurance, job retraining programs, federal workforce initiatives — was not designed for technology-driven displacement at this speed and scale. There is no dedicated federal program for AI-displaced workers. The gap between job loss and meaningful support is growing every quarter. The AI Dividend exists to close that gap now, while simultaneously building the evidence base that policymakers and institutions will need to act at scale. This is not a study. It is a working program with real participants receiving real support — and a research component designed to turn what we learn into policy.

United States

Provide students experiencing homelessness with direct cash assistance to support their transition out of high school and their access to employment and postsecondary education.

Global

Dotare empowers benefactors to directly support beneficiaries around the world by leveraging the Cardano blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies to deliver an inclusive, sustainable, and privacy-respecting financial foundation for everyone.

United States

An ARPA-funded pilot narrowly targeted at single mothers — female heads of household with a dependent under 18, hit financially by COVID-19. What sets it apart is the rigor of its research design: RAND Corporation and USC's Sol Price School of Public Policy built in a matched control group to produce genuinely comparative outcome data, while keeping the research survey itself voluntary and decoupled from eligibility — a more academically rigorous structure than many city-run cash pilots.

United States

A city-backed guaranteed income pilot providing 110 single mothers and caregivers in Birmingham, Alabama with no strings attached. Launched in February 2022 by Mayor Randall Woodfin in partnership with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), the program targets women heading households with at least one dependent child — reflecting that nearly 60% of Birmingham households with children are led by single women.

United States

A lottery-based guaranteed income pilot funded with $12 million in federal ARPA money, providing about 1,000 low-income Phoenix families with $1,000/month for all of 2022, restricted to basic necessities like housing, childcare, and food.

United States

A "cash-plus-connection" pilot from Miracle Messages pairing $750/month unconditional cash with a volunteer phone-buddy program for people experiencing homelessness. Unique for its rigorous RCT design: eligibility isn't applied for directly — participants only learn they might receive cash after being randomized into that study arm and actively engaging their phone buddy, isolating the effect of income from the effect of simply expecting it. Run with USC's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, it's one of few basic income pilots built specifically for unhoused individuals.

United States

A standing (not time-limited) cash assistance program for long-term senior tenants in rent-controlled apartments, designed to prevent displacement rather than test a hypothesis. What sets it apart from typical guaranteed income pilots: instead of a flat monthly payment, POD tops up each household to a guaranteed after-rent income floor, funded by a dedicated local sales tax (Measure GSH) rather than ARPA or philanthropy, with no research/evaluation requirement and no fixed end date — participants stay enrolled indefinitely as long as they remain eligible.

United States

se Up Alameda, a City of Alameda guaranteed income pilot program provided $1,000 per month to 150 low-income Alameda households over a two-year period from 2023 to 2025. The Alameda City Council directed the use of $4.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for Rise Up Alameda and successfully launched the program in Fall of 2023. The goals of Rise Up Alameda were to reduce economic instability for program participants, help to change local narratives and perceptions surrounding poverty and the provision of public benefits, and help to support and inform the larger discussion regarding public benefits and anti-poverty policies.

United States

An unconditional basic income pilot providing homeless individuals in Maricopa County with monthly cash payments to support a return to stable housing. The Logical Foundation partners with local service providers, A New Leaf and Tempe Community Action Agency, to randomly select participants, who receive $100–$300 per month for 6 months with no strings attached.

United States

A guaranteed income pilot built by former foster youth, for former foster youth — combining unconditional cash payments with an optional support network (case management, financial literacy, mentoring) to help young people transition out of extended foster care with real financial footing. Run by Bay Area Community Services (BACS) in partnership with Alameda County Social Services Agency, the program paired direct cash with matching savings incentives to help participants build stability that outlasts the pilot itself.