Just Income Cohort 2
Just Income is a guaranteed income program run by Community Spring, a Gainesville, Florida nonprofit founded and led by formerly incarcerated people, providing unconditional monthly cash payments to justice-impacted residents of Alachua County. Cohort 2 provided payments to 22 participants beginning January 2024, disbursed via GiveCard prepaid/digital debit cards. The program built on a 2022-2023 pilot cohort (Cohort 1) that was studied via a randomized controlled trial by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research. Funding comes from private philanthropic supporters rather than government sources.
Justice-Impacted, Reentry, Formerly Incarcerated, Front-Loaded Payment, GiveCard, Founded by Formerly Incarcerated Leaders, Alachua County
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Community Spring
- City
- Gainesville
- State / Province
- Florida
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- +1 352 339 9393
- info@csgnv.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 22
- Funding type
- Nonprofit, Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 7,600 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 633.33 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 12 months
- Distribution Type
- GiveCard (Digital/Virtual payment card, Pre-paid debit card)
- Benefit details
Participants received a front-loaded first payment of $1,000, followed by $600 per month for the remaining 11 months, totaling $7,600 over 12 months, with no restrictions on how funds are used. Funds were disbursed via GiveCard, a prepaid/virtual debit card platform chosen because many participants lacked bank accounts or could not link accounts to direct deposit. Disbursements for Cohort 2 began January 15, 2024, running through approximately December 2024/January 2025.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Open to Alachua County, Florida residents who, within six months of the application deadline, were released from a Florida state prison, federal prison, or county jail with a new felony conviction, or who began felony probation in Alachua County. There is no restriction based on conviction type, sentence length, or income level. Proof of Alachua County residency is required. Recipients are randomly selected by lottery from the eligible applicant pool, with most eligible applicants receiving a letter containing a PIN to proceed.
Justice
- Justice involvement status
- Formerly Incarcerated, On Probation
- Released within (reentry window)
- 0.5 years
Geography
- US states covered
- Florida
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Gainesville
- Counties covered
- Alachua
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / participation requirements
Cohort 1 (2022-2023, 115 participants + 134-person control group) was evaluated via a randomized controlled trial conducted by the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at the University of Pennsylvania, finding 31% lower recidivism and improvements in financial resilience, food security, and mental health versus the control group. It could not be confirmed whether Cohort 2 included the same formal external research/control-group design; Community Spring states it continues to conduct internal evaluations of program impact, and the seed-provided 'Summer 2025' final evaluation date for Cohort 2 could not be independently verified.
Application Process
- How to apply
Applicants apply during a defined application window announced by Community Spring; those who appear eligible based on county records typically receive a letter with a PIN to complete registration, though applicants without a PIN can call (352) 339-9393. For later cohorts the application window has run roughly November-early December ahead of the following January's disbursement start.
- Selection process
Eligible applicants are entered into a lottery and randomly selected from the applicant pool to receive guaranteed income payments; non-selected eligible applicants have historically served as a comparison/control group for research purposes.
