Providence Guaranteed Income Pilot Program
The Providence Guaranteed Income Pilot Program provided 110 low-income Providence, Rhode Island residents with $500 unconditional monthly cash payments for 18 months (November 2021-April 2023). Launched by Mayor Jorge Elorza as part of the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income coalition, it was administered by Amos House and evaluated by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research. The initial 12 months were funded entirely by private philanthropy (including Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, United Way of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Foundation, and others); a six-month extension was funded with $500,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds via the City of Providence. Participants were selected by lottery from a pool of more than 4,000 applicants and split into treatment and control groups for research purposes.
Guaranteed Income, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), Randomized Control Trial, ARPA Funding, Rhode Island
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Amos House
- City
- Providence
- State / Province
- Rhode Island
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://amoshouse.com/
- Phone
- +1 401-272-0220
- info@amoshouse.com
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 110
- Funding type
- Philanthropic, Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 9,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 500 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 18 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct Deposit
- Benefit details
Payments of $500/month were unconditional, with no work or education requirements. The first 12 months (Nov 2021-Oct 2022) were funded entirely by private philanthropy; a six-month extension (through April 2023) was funded by $500,000 in City of Providence ARPA funds. Participants were split via a second lottery into a treatment group (received payments) and a control group (did not receive payments but participated in research and received stipends for research activities). The City worked with the RI Department of Human Services to prevent guaranteed income payments from affecting other benefits such as RI Works, Child Care Assistance, LIHEAP, and emergency rental assistance.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Open to Providence, RI residents age 18 and older with household income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (about $53,000 for a family of four or $25,760 for a single person in 2021). The lottery used to select participants from the 4,000+ applicant pool was weighted to favor families with children and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) applicants so that the participant pool would be representative of Providence residents living in poverty.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
- Race / ethnicity targets
- Lottery selection was weighted to favor Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) applicants, though this was not a strict eligibility requirement
Financial
- Income limit (annual household)
- $53,000
- Income as % of Federal Poverty Level
- 200 %
Geography
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Providence
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Research was administered by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR), which ran the lottery, managed the treatment/control study design, and evaluated impacts on economic volatility, employment, physical and mental well-being, civic engagement, and parental engagement in children's education. Both treatment and control group members completed surveys, focus groups, and interviews and received stipends for participation. Key findings (published in CGIR's evaluation report, available via guaranteedincome.us) showed improved financial resilience, increased workforce participation, reduced homelessness, and increased parental engagement at school among recipients; participants' pre-pilot average monthly income was $1,094, so payments represented roughly a 46% average income increase.
Application Process
- How to apply
Applications were accepted online and by mail during a one-week open application window (August 15-21, 2021). The program is no longer accepting applications; it concluded in April 2023 with no announced next cohort.
- Selection process
The Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR), based at the University of Pennsylvania, independently conducted a lottery to randomly select 110 participants from the pool of more than 4,000 eligible applicants, weighted toward families with children and BIPOC applicants. A second lottery then sorted selected participants into a treatment group (received the $500/month payments) and a control group (did not receive payments but participated in research activities for stipends).
