Austin Family Stabilization Grants Fund
UpTogether partnered with the City of Austin Equity Office and St. David's Foundation, Google.org, and the Austin Community Foundation to provide $1,000 monthly unrestricted cash grants for 12 months to 160 Austin-area families facing economic hardship. Of the 160 families, 96 were funded by the City of Austin and 64 by philanthropic donors. Payments to this cohort began the week of June 3, 2024 and ran through approximately May 2025. Participants were enrolled through community partner organizations rather than a general public application, and priority was given to households with dependents.
Guaranteed Income, UpTogether, Cash Transfer, Texas, Housing Stability, No Open Application
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- UpTogether (FII-National d/b/a Family Independence Initiative)
- City
- Austin
- State / Province
- Texas
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://www.uptogether.org/
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Number of recipients
- 160
- Funding type
- Government, Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 12,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 1,000 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 12 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct deposit, Digital/Virtual payment card, Check, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay
- Benefit details
Families received $1,000 per month for 12 months ($12,000 total) with no restrictions on how funds could be spent. Funds were disbursed via UpTogether's virtual wallet system, allowing recipients to choose a virtual or physical UpTogether debit card, direct bank transfer, paper check, or digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay). A midline UpTogether report found recipients spent funds mostly on housing, groceries, and caregiving, and about half paid down debt.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Households must have income at or below 80% of Austin's Median Family Income (roughly $93,450 for a family of four in 2023-24). Applicants also had to meet at least two of the following: residence in Austin's Eastern Crescent; missed housing or utility payments; displacement within the past two years; inability to afford child care; lack of access to affordable health care; children enrolled in Title 1 schools; or being unemployed, underemployed, or not earning a living wage. Households with dependents were prioritized. Individuals who previously received funds through UpTogether's earlier Austin pilots (the 2021-22 Central Texas 12-month Pilot and the 2022-23 Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot) were not eligible to re-enroll. There was no open public application; community partner organizations enrolled eligible participants.
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Single Parent
Financial
- Income limit (annual household)
- $93,450
- Income as % of Area Median Income
- 80 %
- Employment status
- Unemployed, Underemployed
Geography
- US states covered
- Texas
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Austin
- Counties covered
- Travis
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Application Process
- How to apply
No general public application. Due to the limited number of slots, the City of Austin, UpTogether, and partnering community organizations (including groups such as Go Austin/Vamos Austin (GAVA), Austin Area Urban League, and Saffron Trust) identified and enrolled eligible families directly using their existing relationships and outreach.
- Selection process
Community partner organizations used their expertise and existing relationships with local families to identify and enroll participants who met the eligibility criteria (income at/below 80% AMFI plus at least two hardship factors), with priority given to households with dependents; prior pilot recipients were excluded.
