Born Well
Born Well is a $1 million public-private initiative led by San Diego Foundation (SDF) with San Diego County to reduce disparities in maternal and infant health. Within Born Well, SDF partnered with the County's Perinatal Equity Initiative and Infant Health Program to pilot a guaranteed income track (the 'Born Well Guaranteed Income Program') providing $750/month for 12 months to 25 pregnant participants in the County's Black Infant Health Program. The pilot is funded by SDF and Alliance Healthcare Foundation and operated through a coalition including the County's Maternal Child and Family Health Services Branch, Neighborhood House Association, Jewish Family Service of San Diego, and the community-based Black Women's Resilience Project (a project of By Any Beans Necessary, with partner Motherful). Applications for the 25-slot cohort opened February 15, 2026, with a random selection ('Opportunity Drawing') around February 24, 2026.
Guaranteed Income, Pregnancy, Maternal Health, Black Infant Health Program, Perinatal Equity, San Diego County, Debit Card Distribution
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- San Diego Foundation
- City
- San Diego
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- +1 619 235 2300
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 25
- Funding type
- Government, Nonprofit, Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 9,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 750 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 12 months
- Distribution Type
- Debit Card
- Benefit details
Selected participants receive $750/month loaded onto a debit card on the 1st of each month for 12 consecutive months (total $9,000 per participant). Funds are unrestricted, do not need to be repaid, and are treated as a tax-exempt charitable gift not counted as taxable income. California exempts guaranteed-income payments from CalFresh, CalWORKs and Medi-Cal benefit calculations for up to 12 months, though other federal benefits (e.g., SSI, housing vouchers) may be affected. Only 25 slots exist per this pilot cohort, filled via a random 'Opportunity Drawing' among verified eligible applicants.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Applicants must be 1-39 weeks pregnant, a current participant in the County's Black Infant Health Program (BIH), a San Diego County resident (any zip code), between 0-300% of the Federal Poverty Level in household income, and at least 18 years old. Participants must remain enrolled in BIH and remain San Diego County residents for the full 12-month program or lose eligibility. Selection is by random lottery, not first-come-first-served, among applicants who pass identity, income and residency verification.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
- Sex
- Female
- Gender
- Female
- Race / ethnicity targets
- Black/African American (targets Black Infant Health Program participants, Born Well overall focuses on Black mothers and babies as the highest-risk group)
Family
- Family Status
- Expecting
Health
- Health conditions
- High-risk pregnancy
Financial
- Income limit (annual household)
- $167,160
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Counties covered
- San Diego
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Complementary program enrollment required
- Black Infant Health Program (BIH)
- Research / participation requirements
The pilot is designed by San Diego Foundation and the County of San Diego Perinatal Equity Initiative, in collaboration with the County's Infant Health Program, to learn how unrestricted cash affects pregnancy and birth outcomes for high-risk women already receiving other supports (e.g., BIH case management/group support). Jewish Family Service of San Diego was tasked with developing participant selection and distributing funds; on-the-ground application intake and staff support is now run through Black Women's Resilience Project. The County's Office of Evaluation, Performance, and Analytics has been reviewing outcomes across the County's guaranteed income portfolio, though a program-specific public evaluation report for this pilot was not located.
Application Process
- How to apply
Online application opened February 15, 2026 at the Born Well Guaranteed Income Program site (resilience-projects.com), operated by Black Women's Resilience Project on behalf of the coalition. Applicants submit documents to verify identity, annual household income, and San Diego County residency; a JotForm application (https://form.jotform.com/253346271033046) is used to apply.
- Selection process
After eligibility verification, applicants are entered into a random 'Opportunity Drawing' (lottery) to fill the 25 available slots; the drawing for this cohort occurred around February 24, 2026, with results communicated within 2-3 weeks of application submission.
