How a $500 monthly stipend for families impacted children's grades and parents' sense of self

In Jackson, Mississippi, the nonprofit-run Magnolia Mother’s Trust is a guaranteed income program providing a no-strings-attached monthly stipend of $1,000 to Black mothers living in affordable housing to help them combat poverty.

Connecticut and several other East Coast states are implementing baby bond programs to help children in low-income families generate wealth. The programs create trust funds for babies born into families on public health insurance that are managed by the state until they turn 18.

Guaranteed income programs aim to reduce poverty by providing cash to those in need with no strings attached. One of these programs in New York City, The Bridge Project, focuses on helping women of color who are mothers.

The Denver Basic Income Project provided people experiencing homelessness with no-strings-attached monthly stipends that they could spend however they’d like. At the end of the pilot, twice as many participants were in stable housing, more of them were working full time, and the nights that participants spent in shelters decreased by half.

Fund a Mom gives 40 single mothers in Jaipur, India, $60 a month with no strings attached. The guaranteed income program helps them cover necessary expenses giving them the breathing room to find paid employment.

The city of Cambridge ran a guaranteed income program to help lift low-income single parents above the poverty line. The program provided 130 parents, who were selected by lottery, with $500 a month — no strings attached.

Los Angeles’s city-run guaranteed income program provided 3,200 low-income participants with no-strings-attached payments of $1,000 a month to address economic inequity and the multigenerational cycle of poverty.

Minnesota’s community resource centers are one-stop hubs where families and soon-to-be parents can get help with everything from applying for benefits to finding child care, housing or transportation. The state now has 16 centers in seven counties, though continued state funding for these facilities is uncertain.

The Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund’s In Her Hands initiative provides monthly stipends to Black women with no strings attached, to help them combat poverty. Payments average $850 dollars per month and recipients have full control over how it is spen.

Funded by a philanthropic donation and funds raised by the city, a guaranteed income program in Durham, North Carolina, provided people who were formerly incarcerated with a monthly stipend of $600. The no-strings-attached payments are meant to decrease recidivism by helping recipients meet their needs.