Long Beach Pledge Cohort 1
The Long Beach Pledge (Phase 1 / Cohort 1) was a guaranteed income pilot administered by the City of Long Beach's Department of Economic Development that provided 250 single-parent households with children in the 90813 zip code $500 per month for 12 months, from May 2023 through April 2024. It targeted very low-income, single income-earner families living below the federal poverty line, with eligibility criteria designed by a Community Working Group to concentrate impact in the Long Beach neighborhood hardest hit by COVID-19. The program was funded through the Long Beach Recovery Act (American Rescue Plan Act dollars) and implemented in partnership with the Fund for Guaranteed Income (F4GI), which ran the application, payment, and enrollment platform. It was evaluated through a randomized controlled trial led by the California State University, Long Beach Research Foundation. It was affiliated with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and was later followed by a second, separately funded 2024 cohort.
Guaranteed income, single-parent households, COVID-19 economic recovery, randomized controlled trial, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, F4GI payment platform, zip-code targeted
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- City of Long Beach Department of Economic Development
- City
- Long Beach
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://longbeachpledge.org/
- Phone
- 562-570-6099
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 250
- Funding type
- Government, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 6,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 500 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 12 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct Deposit, Prepaid Debit Card, PayPal, Venmo
- Benefit details
Recipients received $500 per month for 12 consecutive months (total $6,000), disbursed by F4GI via participants' choice of direct deposit, prepaid debit card, PayPal, or Venmo. Funds had no spending restrictions; recipients most commonly used payments for food, rent, utilities, and overdue bills, with some going toward children's needs, clothing, and activities. Selected households were the treatment group in a randomized controlled trial; a companion control group of eligible-but-not-selected applicants received no payments but took part in the same evaluation surveys. The Cohort 1 final evaluation (Sept. 2024) found significant gains in food and housing security, reduced debt, greater digital access, and better parent/child physical and mental health, though many effects diminished within two months of the program ending.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
To qualify, applicants had to reside in Long Beach's 90813 zip code, be a single income-earner household, have at least one dependent child under age 18 (or be the primary/expecting caregiver of one), and have gross household income below 100% of the federal poverty level for their household size. Eligibility criteria were developed by a Community Working Group to target the zip code most economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 2,800 applications received, 250 eligible single-parent households were selected to receive payments; eligible non-selected applicants formed a control group for the CSULB evaluation. Families deemed ineligible were referred to other available city resources.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
- Language
- English, Spanish, Tagalog, Khmer
Family
- Family Status
- Single Parent
- Number of dependents (minimum)
- 1
Financial
- Income as % of Federal Poverty Level
- 100 %
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Long Beach
- Counties covered
- Los Angeles
- ZIP / postal codes covered
- 90813
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Research / participation requirements
The pilot was evaluated by the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) Research Foundation (Drs. Mariya Mileva, Seiji Steimetz, Kerry Woodward, and Kris Zentgraf) via a randomized controlled trial. Both the treatment group (recipients, n=184 at baseline, 174 by mid-program after 10 opted out) and a control group (n=79 eligible non-selected applicants) were sent baseline (April 2023), mid-program (Nov 2023), and post-program (July 2024) surveys, plus two rounds of qualitative interviews (38-43 recipients); survey participants received $50 debit e-cards as compensation. Key findings from the Final Preliminary Report (Sept. 30, 2024): guaranteed income significantly improved food security, reduced debt, increased high-speed internet access, improved housing security/stability, increased job satisfaction with no disincentive to work (a few recipients saw significant income increases), reduced stress and physical pain, and improved children's physical/emotional health and healthcare access - though many of these benefits began fading within two months after payments ended.
Application Process
- How to apply
Applications were accepted online via the Long Beach Pledge website (longbeachpledge.org) during a defined application window that opened in November 2022. Applicants submitted eligibility documentation (residency, household income, dependent status) through F4GI's real-time enrollment platform; 2,800 applications were received.
- Selection process
F4GI verified eligibility (90813 zip code residency, single income-earner household, children under 18, income below 100% of the federal poverty level) among the applicant pool, then randomly assigned eligible single-parent households to a treatment group (received the $500/month payments) or a control group (received no payments) as part of a randomized controlled trial; ultimately 250 households were selected to receive funds, with the remainder serving as the study's control group.
