Compton Pledge
The Compton Pledge was a two-year guaranteed income pilot that delivered $9.3 million in unconditional cash to 800 low-income households in Compton, California, making it one of the largest city-based guaranteed income programs in the U.S. Recipients were randomly selected without an application, including undocumented and formerly incarcerated residents, and received $300-$600 per month (scaled by household size), distributed either bi-weekly or quarterly. The program was privately funded through donations raised by the Fund for Guaranteed Income (F4GI), in partnership with the Office of the Mayor of Compton and the Jain Family Institute (research/design partner). Payments were made through a custom digital platform offering direct deposit, PayPal, Venmo, or a prepaid debit card. An independent randomized controlled trial (with researchers from JFI, NYU, Columbia, and Stockholm University) studied outcomes such as employment, spending, and financial well-being.
Guaranteed Income, Tiered/Variable Payments, Racial Justice, Undocumented Residents Eligible, Formerly Incarcerated Eligible, Unbanked Inclusion, City-Sponsored Pilot, Payment Frequency RCT
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Fund for Guaranteed Income (F4GI)
- City
- El Segundo
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://comptonpledge.org/
- info@f4gi.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 800
- Funding type
- Philanthropic, Nonprofit
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 14,400 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 600 USD
- Payment frequency
- Variable
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct Deposit, PayPal, Venmo, Prepaid Debit Card
- Benefit details
Payments were split across two randomized tracks to study frequency effects: about half of the 800 participants (397) received $300-$600 per month, delivered bi-weekly, while another 389 received the equivalent amount, $900-$1,800, in quarterly lump sums; a small pre-pilot cohort of 14 participants received one lump sum per year. The exact dollar amount scaled with household size. Over the full two-year pilot, this totaled roughly $9.3 million disbursed to 800 families (highest tier of $600/month over 24 months = $14,400 per recipient at the top end). Funds could be received via direct deposit, PayPal, Venmo, or a fee-free prepaid debit card, and participants could switch payment methods at any time at no cost.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligibility was limited to low-income residents of Compton, California, drawn from existing lists of program applicants, community-based organization members, and welfare waitlists, then randomly selected via lottery with no application required. There were no barriers based on immigration status, prior incarceration, or banking status - a Social Security Number or ITIN was not required, and a Compton residential address served as the primary identifying information. The program specifically prioritized reaching undocumented, formerly incarcerated, and unbanked residents who are commonly excluded from other safety-net programs. Participation did not disqualify recipients from other government benefits, and a 'Hold Harmless Fund' covered anyone who faced financial losses due to participation.
Demographics
- Language
- English, Spanish
Financial
- Banked status
- Unbanked
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Undocumented
Justice
- Justice involvement status
- Formerly Incarcerated
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Compton
- Counties covered
- Los Angeles
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Research / participation requirements
An independent randomized controlled trial, led by the Jain Family Institute with academic partners including NYU, Columbia, and Stockholm University, evaluated the program, including a randomized comparison of monthly/bi-weekly vs. quarterly payment structures. Recipients could optionally participate in surveys/interviews and the community storytelling initiative (Voices of Compton Pledge); participation in research beyond receiving payments was not mandatory to receive funds. Published findings (2023 Implementing the Compton Pledge report; subsequent NBER working paper 'Household Responses to Guaranteed Income') found recipients, especially single mothers, worked more and earned about $317/month more, worried less about eviction, but the cash did not significantly move overall mental or financial well-being; male recipients reported feeling less financially secure than female recipients despite receiving equivalent support.
Application Process
- How to apply
No application was required. Eligible low-income residents were identified from pre-existing lists (community-based organization membership rolls, welfare waitlists, and other resident lists) and randomly selected via lottery on a rolling basis. Selected residents received an email/SMS invitation with a unique link and had a two-week window to complete a roughly 3-minute, 3-step online enrollment (basic info plus choice of payment method).
- Selection process
Random lottery selection from aggregated lists of low-income Compton residents (via community-based organizations, welfare waitlists, and city records), designed so the resulting 800-person cohort was demographically representative of the city in terms of race, gender, household size, citizenship status, and formerly-incarcerated status. Enrollment ran on a rolling basis from December 2020 through March 2021 and reached 100% of the 800-person target.
