Cambridge RISE (Recurring Income for Success and Empowerment)
Cambridge RISE was an 18-month guaranteed income pilot launched in September 2021 by then-Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, the City of Cambridge, and the Cambridge Community Foundation, providing $500/month unconditional cash payments to 130 single-caregiver households with children. It was a randomized controlled trial (130 treatment, 156 control) executed by the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at the University of Pennsylvania, and affiliated with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI). The $1.6 million program was funded by a coalition of public and philanthropic/corporate donors including the City of Cambridge, Harvard University, MIT, The Boston Foundation, Biogen, and others. It concluded in March 2023 and directly informed the city's larger successor program, Rise Up Cambridge.
Guaranteed Income, MGI Pilot, Randomized Controlled Trial, Single Caregivers, Predecessor to Rise Up Cambridge
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- City of Cambridge (in partnership with Cambridge Community Foundation)
- City
- Cambridge
- State / Province
- Massachusetts
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- +1 617 349 4000
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 130
- Funding type
- Government, Nonprofit, Philanthropic, Corporate, Research Pilot
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
- Direct Deposit, Prepaid Debit Card (via UpTogether platform)
- Benefit details
Participants received $500 per month for 18 months (total of $9,000 per household), disbursed via the UpTogether cash-transfer platform with no strings attached and no restrictions on use. A control group of 156 similar households received no payments and was tracked for comparison as part of the RCT design. Published results (CGIR, March 2024) found the treatment group had higher employment (36% to 40%, vs. a decline in the control group), greater financial stability, lower housing cost burden, higher food security, and better child educational outcomes.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible participants were Cambridge, MA residents aged 18+, who were single (unmarried) caregivers of at least one child under age 18, with household income below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Participants were randomly selected via lottery/RCT process from the eligible applicant pool; not all eligible applicants received payments (156 were assigned to an unpaid control group).
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Single Parent
- Number of dependents (minimum)
- 1
Geography
- US states covered
- Massachusetts
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Cambridge
- Counties covered
- Middlesex
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Research was designed and managed by the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at Penn's School of Social Policy & Practice, commissioned as part of the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI) network of pilots. Participants in both treatment and control groups were surveyed over the pilot period. Final report released March 2024 found increased employment, income stability, reduced housing/food insecurity, and improved child educational outcomes among recipients relative to the control group.
Application Process
- How to apply
Applications were accepted during a defined open enrollment/sign-up period in 2021; eligible applicants were then randomly selected via lottery into either the treatment (paid) or control (unpaid) group as part of the RCT design. The pilot's application window is closed; it is no longer accepting new applicants.
- Selection process
Random selection (lottery) from the pool of eligible applicants into treatment (130 households, received payments) and control (156 households, no payments) groups, using a Randomized Controlled Trial methodology designed and executed by the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy & Practice.
