Chicago Future Fund (Round 2)
The Chicago Future Fund (Round 2) is a guaranteed income pilot founded and administered by Equity and Transformation (EAT), a Chicago nonprofit built by and for Black system-impacted residents. Round 2 provided 100 formerly incarcerated residents of Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood with $500 monthly unconditional cash payments for 12 months (March 2023-February 2024), expanding on EAT's initial 2022 pilot of 30 participants. Fund for Guaranteed Income (F4GI) served as the payments/implementation partner, and the program's evaluation was led by Professor Ashley Baber of Augsburg University. The program is described as privately/philanthropically funded; EAT also publicized an intended corporate partnership with FTX US announced in May 2022, though it is unconfirmed whether that funding materialized in Round 2 following FTX's collapse later that year. EAT's stated mission is to use guaranteed income to humanize poverty, reduce recidivism, and build a stronger, safer Chicago.
Guaranteed Income, Justice-Impacted, Formerly Incarcerated, Reentry, West Garfield Park, Black Chicagoans, F4GI Payments Platform
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Equity and Transformation (EAT)
- City
- Chicago
- State / Province
- Illinois
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://www.eatchicago.org/
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 100
- Funding type
- Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 6,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 500 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 12 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct deposit to bank account, PayPal, Pre-paid debit card, Venmo
- Benefit details
Participants received $500 per month for 12 consecutive months (total $6,000 per participant), disbursed via F4GI's payments platform, which supports direct deposit, PayPal, Venmo, and pre-paid debit cards. Payments were unconditional, unrestricted cash transfers with no spending requirements or work mandates. F4GI's own materials state Round 2 distributed $600,000 total across 100 residents, consistent with the $500/12-month figures. This was more than triple the cohort size of EAT's Round 1 pilot (100 vs. 30 participants), though on a shorter per-participant timeline (12 months vs. Round 1's 18 months).
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligibility centered on being a formerly incarcerated ('justice-impacted') resident of Chicago, with program framing and F4GI materials specifically describing West Garfield Park, a majority-Black West Side neighborhood, as the target community. Age, income, and race/ethnicity were cited as eligibility factors, consistent with EAT's mission to serve Black, system-impacted Chicagoans. Specific numeric thresholds (income limits, minimum age, asset limits) were not identified in publicly available sources.
Demographics
- Race / ethnicity targets
- Black/African American
Justice
- Justice involvement status
- Formerly Incarcerated
Geography
- US states covered
- Illinois
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Chicago
- Counties covered
- Cook
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Program evaluation led by Professor Ashley Baber, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Augsburg University (confirmed via Augsburg's faculty directory). F4GI's program materials indicate outcomes such as recidivism, income volatility, and physical/psychological wellbeing were tracked over time as part of the Chicago Future Fund's evidence-building effort. The seed-provided final evaluation report (dated August 2024) is hosted at eatchicago.org but is currently password-protected and could not be independently verified for content.
Application Process
- How to apply
Not specified in available public sources for Round 2 (Round 1 application/eligibility timeline was covered by WTTW in Feb 2022, but a distinct Round 2 application process was not documented in accessible sources).
- Selection process
Not specified in available public sources.
