Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED)
SEED was the nation's first mayor-led guaranteed income demonstration, giving 125 randomly selected low-income residents of Stockton, California $500/month, unconditional cash for 24 months (February 2019 to early 2021). It targeted adults living in neighborhoods at or below the city's median household income, using a randomized controlled trial design against a 200-person control group. The program was funded through private philanthropy, led by the Reinvent Stockton Foundation in partnership with the Office of the Mayor and the Economic Security Project, with research conducted by academic partners and funded separately by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Evidence for Action program.
Guaranteed Income, Universal Basic Income, Mayor-led Pilot, Randomized Controlled Trial, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income Origin, Unconditional Cash
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Reinvent Stockton Foundation
- City
- Stockton
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 125
- Funding type
- Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 12,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 500 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Prepaid Debit Card
- Benefit details
Recipients received $500/month for 24 months via a reloadable prepaid debit card (the 'CFR Card'), issued and serviced by nonprofit partner Community Financial Resources, chosen because it worked regardless of recipients' banking status and avoided check-cashing fees. The program was originally designed for 18 months but was extended to 24 months (final disbursements running into early 2021) thanks to an additional private donation. Funds carried no strings attached and no work requirements. Spending analysis showed recipients used the money primarily on basic needs: food (~37%), general merchandise/sales (~22%), utilities (~11%), and auto costs (~10%).
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible participants were Stockton, California adults (18+) living in neighborhoods at or below the city's median household income (reported as $46,033 at the time). Eligibility was determined at the neighborhood/census-block-group level rather than through individual means-testing. 125 individuals were randomly selected to receive payments, alongside a randomly selected control group of 200 who received no payments but participated in research data collection.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Financial
- Income as % of Area Median Income
- 0.46 %
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Stockton
- Counties covered
- San Joaquin
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
SEED was structured as a mixed-methods randomized controlled trial. Research was led by Dr. Stacia Martin-West (University of Tennessee, Center for Social Work) and Dr. Amy Castro Baker (University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice, Center for Guaranteed Income Research), with research funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Evidence for Action program (~$694,000). Participants completed surveys and qualitative interviews on income volatility, employment, physical/mental health, and financial well-being. Key published findings: recipients achieved full-time employment at more than twice the rate of the control group in year one; income volatility, anxiety, and depression decreased; recipients reported improved physical health and better ability to withstand pandemic-related financial shocks. Preliminary findings were released in 2021 ('Preliminary Analysis: SEED's First Year'), with the final peer-reviewed evaluation published in the Journal of Urban Health in April 2023 ('Impact of Guaranteed Income on Health, Finances, and Agency: Findings from the Stockton Randomized Controlled Trial').
Application Process
- How to apply
SEED was a closed, timed research cohort, not a rolling-application program. Eligible residents were identified as living within qualifying (at/below median-income) Stockton census block groups; a random sample was drawn from that eligible pool for both the treatment (125) and control (200) groups. There is no current application process since the program concluded in 2021.
- Selection process
Selection used random sampling (a randomized controlled trial design) among adult residents of Stockton neighborhoods at or below the city's median household income; 125 were randomly assigned to receive the $500/month guaranteed income and 200 were randomly assigned to a non-paid control group for comparison.
