Let's GO DMV!
Let's GO DMV! is a guaranteed income pilot that provides $1,000/month in unconditional cash to hospitality workers in the greater Washington, DC region who lost jobs due to COVID-19. It was sparked by ROC-DC worker leader Venorica "Vee" Tucker and is led by a funder collaborative ("The Table") including iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility, Restaurant Opportunities Center-DC, Amalgamated Bank and Foundation, and Greater Washington Community Foundation (fiscal sponsor). Cash payments began in March 2022 to 69 workers and were funded through private philanthropic grants, donations, and impact investments. Originally planned for five years, the cash-payment phase was shortened to three years (36 months) due to fundraising difficulties. Capital Area Asset Builders served as the cash-distribution partner.
Hospitality workers, COVID-19 economic recovery, Worker-led/organizing origin, Funder collaborative ("The Table"), Participant-selected payment cadence, DC/Maryland/Virginia region, Racial wealth gap
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility; Restaurant Opportunities Center-DC (ROC-DC); Greater Washington Community Foundation; Amalgamated Bank; Amalgamated Foundation; Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (Philanthropy DMV)
- City
- Washington
- State / Province
- District of Columbia
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://www.letsgodmv.org/
- Phone
- +1 202 939 3390
- info@iFfdn.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 69
- Funding type
- Philanthropic, Corporate
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 36,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 1,000 USD
- Payment frequency
- Variable
- How long the program lasts
- 36 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct Deposit
- Benefit details
Participants receive $1,000 per month in unconditional cash, disbursed via direct deposit through distribution partner Capital Area Asset Builders. Per seed program data, participants could select their own payment cadence, though this specific flexibility could not be independently verified through public sources. The program was originally designed to run 5 years but was shortened by the partner collaborative to 3 years (36 months) due to fundraising and impact-investment timeline challenges. Payments began in March 2022 for a cohort of 69 hospitality workers (an initial target of 75 was not fully reached).
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible participants were hospitality workers in the greater Washington, DC region (DC, Northern Virginia, and Prince George's County, MD) who lost their jobs due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. Nearly all participants are people of color and about half are immigrants, though this appears to be a demographic outcome of worker-organizing recruitment rather than a formal eligibility screen. Participants were identified through Restaurant Opportunities Center-DC's (ROC-DC) worker organizing network. The cohort is fixed/closed; the program is not accepting new applicants.
Housing
- Recently laid off
- Yes
Health
- Health conditions
- COVID-19 (economic/job-loss impact)
Financial
- Employment status
- Unemployed
Geography
- US states covered
- District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Washington
- Counties covered
- Prince George's County
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Application Process
- How to apply
Program is closed to new applicants; the original cohort was recruited beginning in 2021 through ROC-DC's worker organizing network among hospitality workers who lost jobs due to COVID-19.
- Selection process
Participants were identified and recruited through Restaurant Opportunities Center-DC (ROC-DC), the organizing group whose worker leader Venorica "Vee" Tucker originated the pilot concept in partnership with iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility.
