Newark Movement for Economic Equity
The Newark Movement for Economic Equity (NMEE) was a two-year guaranteed income pilot launched by the City of Newark in October 2021, providing 400 low-income residents with $6,000 per year. The program was funded by private philanthropic sources including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, MCJ Amelior Foundation, Prudential Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Stadler Family Charitable Foundation, and Victoria Foundation. It was evaluated as a randomized controlled trial by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR), with a 478-person control group. Disbursements were delivered via prepaid debit cards administered by MoCaFi, a Black-owned fintech partner. The pilot concluded in September 2023 and results have since been folded into the New Jersey Movement for Economic Equity (NJMEE) coalition's advocacy work.
Payment cadence study, Dual-track disbursement (bi-weekly vs. lump sum), Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, Randomized controlled trial, Housing-insecure populations
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- City of Newark
- City
- Newark
- State / Province
- New Jersey
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://www.newarknj.gov/
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 400
- Funding type
- Philanthropic, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 12,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 500 USD
- Payment frequency
- Biweekly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Prepaid Debit Card
- Benefit details
Participants received $6,000 per year ($12,000 total over two years), unconditionally, split into two disbursement tracks to test payment cadence effects: Cohort 1 received $500 twice monthly (bi-weekly, $1,000/month), while Cohort 2 received $3,000 twice annually (semi-annual lump sums). Funds were loaded onto MoCaFi prepaid debit cards, with optional banking, credit-building, and wealth coaching services available. CGIR's published findings indicate both cadences boosted financial stability and improved child outcomes, but recurring bi-weekly payments additionally improved housing and food security and mental health, while lump-sum payments were also effective, especially when followed by recurring payments.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible participants were Newark residents at least 18 years old with household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level who had been adversely affected by COVID-19. Recruitment prioritized residents facing housing insecurity, including undocumented immigrants, newly housed or formerly homeless individuals, formerly incarcerated individuals, and youth aging out of foster care. Outreach was conducted with more than 30 nonprofit and municipal partners across Newark's five wards, with informational sessions held in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Qualified applicants were randomly selected from an outreach pool of roughly 1,400 residents, with unselected qualified applicants forming a 478-person control group for the RCT.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Health
- Health conditions
- COVID-19 economic impact (required to have been adversely affected by the pandemic)
Financial
- Income as % of Federal Poverty Level
- 200 %
Justice
- Justice involvement status
- Formerly Incarcerated
Geography
- US states covered
- New Jersey
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Newark
- Counties covered
- Essex
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
The pilot was designed and evaluated as a randomized controlled trial by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR), comparing a bi-weekly payment cohort, a semi-annual lump-sum cohort, and a 478-person control group. The Jain Family Institute provided early technical assistance and served on the research advisory committee, and supported the pre-launch Newark Guaranteed Income Task Force report 'Building Financial Security: Newark's Roadmap Toward a Guaranteed Income,' but CGIR led the actual outcomes research and published results. CGIR's two results reports ('Lump-Sum vs. Recurring Cash Transfers' and 'Guaranteed Income and Reconstructing Home: Housing, Parenting, and Educational Outcomes') found improved financial resilience, housing and food security, mental health, and parent-child time across both payment tracks, with some outcome differences by cadence.
Application Process
- How to apply
Applications were not open to the general public on a rolling basis; the City of Newark and 30+ nonprofit/municipal partners conducted direct outreach (informational sessions, emails, phone calls, texts) to approximately 1,400 residents across all five wards, in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, inviting eligible individuals to apply during a defined recruitment window in 2021.
- Selection process
Among residents who applied and met eligibility criteria (18+, Newark resident, income at or below 200% FPL, adversely affected by COVID-19), 400 were randomly selected to receive payments (split into two payment-cadence cohorts), with remaining qualified applicants (478) placed in an unselected control group for CGIR's randomized controlled trial evaluation.
