Arlington's Guarantee
Arlington's Guarantee was an 18-month guaranteed income pilot (September 2021-December 2023) that provided $500 per month with no strings attached to 200 low-income households. Most recipients were working families with children enrolled in Arlington County's Housing Grants program making under 30% of area median income, with special carve-out samples of 25 people re-entering the community after incarceration and 25 undocumented heads of household. The program was privately funded (no public dollars), included optional 1:1 coaching, and protected participants' existing public benefits eligibility. It was led by Arlington Community Foundation in partnership with Arlington County Department of Human Services, with Urban Institute providing technical evaluation support.
Guaranteed Income, Housing Grants Recipients, Reentry/Returning Citizens, Undocumented Immigrants, Optional Coaching, Benefits Protection, Prepaid Debit Card
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Arlington Community Foundation
- City
- Arlington
- State / Province
- Virginia
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- 703-243-4785
- info@arlcf.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Number of recipients
- 200
- Funding type
- Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 9,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 500 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 18 months
- Distribution Type
- Prepaid debit card (Usio Mastercard)
- Benefit details
Participants received $500 per month for 18 months, unconditionally, loaded onto a prepaid Usio Mastercard debit card requiring only a name (no bank account, ID, or other verification needed to receive the card). Households received $9,000 total over the course of the pilot. Participants were enrolled in 8 cohorts (ranging from 15 to 44 people) rather than all at once, each with staggered enrollment and card set-up. A generous donor also funded an unsolicited one-time bonus $500 deposit for every participant around Thanksgiving 2022.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
The 200-person cohort consisted of 150 households enrolled in Arlington County's Housing Grants program (working families with children under 18, household income under 30% of area median income, roughly $45,630/year for a family of four in 2023), plus two carve-out samples of 25 individuals re-entering the community after incarceration (recruited via OAR of Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church) and 25 undocumented heads of household (recruited via trusted community service providers). Participants and a comparison group were both randomly selected by Arlington County DHS from the eligible pool; the program was not open to public applications or referrals.
Family
- Family Status
- Parent
- Number of dependents (minimum)
- 1
Housing
- Housing status
- Renter
Financial
- Income limit (annual household)
- $45,630
- Income as % of Area Median Income
- 30.456 %
- Employment status
- Employed
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Undocumented
Justice
- Justice involvement status
- Formerly Incarcerated
Geography
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Arlington
- Counties covered
- Arlington
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Participants (and a comparison group) completed a baseline survey and follow-up telephone surveys every 6 months (4 surveys total over 18 months) covering food security, employment, income, savings, debt, health, and well-being; conducted with Urban Institute technical support. Participants also consented to data sharing between ACF and Arlington DHS administrative systems to verify benefits were not affected. Optional (not required) 1:1 coaching with trained community-based coaches was available; 34% of participants (67 of 200) engaged in at least one coaching session.
Application Process
- How to apply
Not open to public applications or referrals. The 150-household core sample was drawn randomly by Arlington County DHS from households already enrolled in the County's Housing Grants program. The 25-person reentry carve-out sample was identified in conjunction with OAR of Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church, and the 25-person undocumented heads-of-household carve-out sample was identified with trusted community service provider partners.
- Selection process
Arlington County DHS staff pulled a random sample of eligible households (with children, income under 30% AMI, mostly Housing Grant recipients) for both the 200-person participant group and a separate randomly-selected comparison group used for evaluation. Two smaller carve-out samples (25 returning citizens via OAR, 25 undocumented heads of household via community partners) were added because these populations would otherwise have been underrepresented.
