Guaranteed Income for Artists
Guaranteed Income for Artists is a guaranteed income pilot launched in April 2021 by the nonprofit Springboard for the Arts, providing $500 unrestricted monthly cash payments to 25 artists and culture workers in the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods of St. Paul, Minnesota for 18 months. It was created as a 'sidecar' to the City of St. Paul's People's Prosperity Pilot and was funded entirely by private foundations, primarily the McKnight and Bush Foundations. The pilot has since been studied by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research and expanded into an ongoing multi-year program now supporting 100 Minnesota artists through roughly 2029.
Artists, Creative Workers, COVID-19 Relief, Neighborhood Pilot, BIPOC Priority, Culture Bearers
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Springboard for the Arts
- City
- Saint Paul
- State / Province
- Minnesota
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- +1 651 292 4381
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 25
- Funding type
- Philanthropic
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
- Prepaid Debit Card
- Benefit details
Recipients received $500 per month, disbursed via prepaid debit card, with no restrictions on use and no work requirements, for a total of 18 months (April 2021-October 2022). Payments were unconditional and intended to supplement, not replace, existing safety-net benefits. Aggregate spending data from the Guaranteed Income Pilots Dashboard shows recipients used funds mostly on retail purchases (~36%), food and groceries (~31%), and housing/utilities (~8%).
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
The original 25-person cohort was drawn from artists and creative workers in St. Paul's Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods who had previously received support from Springboard's Coronavirus Personal Emergency Relief Fund or participated in other Springboard programs. Recipients were selected via random lottery, with at least 75% of selected participants identifying as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color. No income cap, age limit, or other demographic screen was documented in public sources for the original cohort.
Demographics
- Race / ethnicity targets
- At least 75% of recipients prioritized to be Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC)
Health
- Health conditions
- COVID-19 (economic impact of pandemic on artists)
Geography
- US states covered
- Minnesota
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Saint Paul
- Counties covered
- Ramsey
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Complementary program enrollment required
- No-cost financial, student loan debt, and housing counseling offered through LSS Financial Counseling (optional add-on, not a program requirement).
- Research / participation requirements
Research managed by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) in partnership with Springboard for the Arts, studying the impact of guaranteed income on artists, culture bearers, and creative workers. Aggregate participant spending and demographic data is also tracked publicly via the Stanford/UPenn/University of Tennessee Guaranteed Income Pilots Dashboard. Findings were published in Springboard's report 'The Art of Economic Justice: An Impact Report on Guaranteed Income Pilots for Artists and Creative Workers in Minnesota.'
Application Process
- How to apply
The original cohort was not selected through an open public application; recipients were drawn from artists in the Frogtown/Rondo neighborhoods who had already received support from Springboard's Coronavirus Personal Emergency Relief Fund or participated in Springboard's other programs, then chosen via random lottery.
- Selection process
Random lottery selection from an eligible pool of Frogtown/Rondo-area artists previously connected to Springboard's emergency relief fund or programming, with at least 75% of selected recipients required to identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color.
