Miracle Money California
A "cash-plus-connection" pilot from Miracle Messages pairing $750/month unconditional cash with a volunteer phone-buddy program for people experiencing homelessness. Unique for its rigorous RCT design: eligibility isn't applied for directly — participants only learn they might receive cash after being randomized into that study arm and actively engaging their phone buddy, isolating the effect of income from the effect of simply expecting it. Run with USC's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, it's one of few basic income pilots built specifically for unhoused individuals.
Homeless
Headquarters
- City
- Los Angeles
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Application status
- Closed
- Number of recipients
- 105
- Funding type
- Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Crypto
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 9,000 USD
- Total Amount Per Year
- 9,000 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 12 months
- Distribution Type
- Debit Card, Direct Deposit
Eligibility
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Housing
- Housing status
- Homeless
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles
Participation
- Research / data sharing required
- Yes
- Research / participation requirements
Participation in research is mandatory for everyone enrolled in the study, regardless of group assignment. It starts with a ~45-minute baseline survey covering demographics, homelessness history, health, employment, and income, followed by five quarterly follow-up surveys (~25 minutes each) over 15 months — participants earn a $30 gift card per completed survey. A purposively sampled subset of 20 Miracle Money recipients also complete in-depth qualitative interviews (30–60 minutes) shortly after their first payment and again near their last, earning $30 per interview. Separately, 20 volunteer phone buddies are interviewed once about their experience. The research is run by USC's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work (Center for Homelessness, Housing, and Health Equity Research) in partnership with Miracle Messages, under IRB oversight, as a randomized controlled trial comparing outcomes across the three groups — funded by Google.org and the Homeless Policy Research Institute.
Application Process
- How to apply
There's no direct application for cash — Miracle Money is only accessible through Miracle Friends. Miracle Messages staff recruit unhoused individuals via site visits to partner shelters, transitional housing, and street outreach in San Francisco, Oakland, and LA County, explaining the Miracle Friends phone-buddy program and signing up anyone interested (this requires having a phone). Interested individuals are then referred to the USC research team, who confirm eligibility. Enrollees complete a baseline survey and are randomly assigned to one of three groups: Miracle Friends only, Miracle Friends + possible Miracle Money, or a 15-month waitlist. Those in the Miracle Money arm aren't told about the cash upfront — they only learn they're eligible after being actively matched with and engaging their phone buddy (at least one contact per month). At that point, they complete an application with AidKit, the payment processor, to begin receiving their funds.
