Community-Based Roads to Prosperity Program
United Way Bay Area's Community-Based Roads to Prosperity Program is a guaranteed basic income (GBI) pilot that gave 100 Alameda County families $18,000 in unconditional cash transfers over up to 18 months, alongside optional financial coaching through UWBA's SparkPoint centers. Recipients were low-income adults (18+) who had previously used services at SparkPoint Oakland, SparkPoint Fremont, or SparkPoint at Chabot College and were selected via random lottery. The pilot is funded by a $3 million grant from the Albertsons Companies Foundation (Safeway Foundation) as part of its Nourishing Neighbors program. UWBA's in-house data and evaluation team is studying how GBI, paired with optional coaching, affects participants' financial outcomes compared to a matched control group.
SparkPoint financial coaching, GBI-plus-coaching research design, matched control group, Alameda County, lottery selection, immigration-status-agnostic eligibility
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- United Way Bay Area
- City
- San Francisco
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- +1 415-808-4300
- contact@uwba.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 100
- Funding type
- Corporate, Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 18,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 1,000 USD
- Payment frequency
- Variable
- How long the program lasts
- 18 months
- Distribution Type
- Prepaid/virtual payment card. Seed data names Community Financial Resources (CFR) as the distribution partner, this could not be independently confirmed on UWBA's official program pages, though CFR is a known distribution partner (prepaid Visa 'Focus' card via US Bank) for comparable Bay Area GBI pilots.
- Benefit details
Total benefit is $18,000 per family over up to 18 months, structured as a $3,000 upfront lump-sum payment followed by $1,000/month for 12 months, then tapering amounts for the final 6 months. Funds are unrestricted and can be used for any purpose (debt, savings, basic needs, etc.). Recipients are also offered optional, no-cost one-on-one financial/career coaching through SparkPoint, plus paid research surveys ($100 Visa gift card each) at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months and 6 months post-program. First payments went out November 15, 2024.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible applicants were Alameda County residents age 18+ who had received services from SparkPoint Oakland (at EBALDC, Laney College, or West Oakland Job Resource Center), SparkPoint Fremont (at Fremont Family Resource Center or Union City Family Center), or SparkPoint at Chabot College prior to July 31, 2024. There was no income requirement, and eligibility applied regardless of citizenship or immigration status. The 100 recipients were chosen via random lottery from eligible client rosters; once enrolled, there are no additional program obligations, though recipients are encouraged (not required) to use coaching and complete research surveys.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, Union City, and unincorporated communities of Ashland, Castlewood, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Happy Valley, Hillcrest Knolls, San Lorenzo, Sunol
- Counties covered
- Alameda
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Complementary program enrollment required
- SparkPoint Financial/Career Coaching (optional, not required to receive cash payments)
- Research / participation requirements
Research and evaluation are conducted in-house by UWBA's data & evaluation team, building on longitudinal SparkPoint program data. Optional surveys (available in English, Spanish, and Chinese) are administered at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months, plus 6 months post-program, to both the 100 GBI recipients and ~100 comparison-group participants, each compensated $100 per survey via Visa gift card. The study examines: (1) how GBI affects quality of life and financial outcomes; (2) how GBI affects engagement with SparkPoint services; and (3) how financial coaching engagement modifies GBI's impacts. Early reported results (as of mid-2026): GBI+coaching participants (average household income ~$33,000) saved an average of $2,500 during the program, compared to ~$1,000 for the comparison group.
Application Process
- How to apply
There was no open/rolling application. Eligible individuals were existing SparkPoint clients (served prior to July 31, 2024) at one of three specific SparkPoint centers in Oakland, Fremont, and at Chabot College; eligible clients were automatically entered into a random lottery rather than submitting a separate application.
- Selection process
100 recipients were randomly selected via lottery from the client rosters of SparkPoint Oakland (EBALDC/Laney College/West Oakland Job Resource Center), SparkPoint Fremont (Fremont Family Resource Center/Union City Family Center), and SparkPoint at Chabot College. An additional ~100 non-selected, eligible individuals served as a comparison/control group for the research study.
