Guaranteed Income (GI) is a simple but powerful concept: giving community members direct, no-strings-attached cash so they can take care of what matters most. Research shows that when families have the financial breathing room they need, stress goes down, stability grows, and new opportunities open up. At Monument Impact, we believe deeply in GI because we’ve seen how it can ease the strain of daily life and honor that families who know best what they need.
Guaranteed income is a way to show trust, care, and respect for the people in our community. With the support of the City of Concord, John Muir Community Health Fund, Latino Community Foundation and additional funders, our commitment to listening to our community has helped us build two pilot programs: Elevate Concord and Elevate East County. Through these efforts, we’re supported over 120 families, offering support that creates space for hope, possibility, and a little more ease in everyday life.
In partnership with the City of Concord, we launched ELEVATE Concord in 2023: a pilot program provided cash to 120 randomly selected single parent families with no strings attached.
On November 6, 2023, ELEVATE Concord’s participating families received their first payment of $500. These monthly payments continued for a year. Recognizing the high cost of housing in Concord, ELEVATE has also provided participants a one-time gift of $2,500 to help stabilize their housing. To be eligible for ELEVATE Concord, applicants had to meet the following criteria:
We were grateful for the opportunity to facilitate Concord’s first Guaranteed Income pilot. See below for some of the demographics of our participants and our learnings from the program.
Elevate East County is our second Guaranteed Income pilot and is intended to address the unique needs, assets, challenges, and contexts of East Contra Costa community college student parents. Through providing a guaranteed income of $500 month for 12 months to 20 young families, Elevate East County will foster stability for student parents, support their persistence in school, and help sustain healthy and vibrant communities.
Recent data from Contra Costa’s community colleges shows that the County’s student parents face significant caregiving, financial, and academic pressures and are disproportionately affected by basic needs insecurity. They are nearly twice as likely to leave school for preventable reasons, and financial difficulties are the top reason they’re unable to persist and graduate.
Throughout the program period, Monument Impact will promote additional ways to support participants, including building awareness of their services and other relevant community resources and convening workshops to foster skills and connections amongst participants.
The program evaluation will assess how 12 months of unconditional financial assistance impacts the lives of pilot participants. Focal areas include housing, health and well-being, finances, academics, employment, family, parenting, relationships, and food security. All participants are invited to take part in the evaluation process, but they are not required to do so; they receive their monthly guaranteed income payment regardless of their participation in the evaluation. If they do elect to complete the survey, they are paid $50 for each one. The final report will share findings with Elevate East County’s partners and community members. We also hope it will build support for more programs like this so we can foster more equitable opportunities and pathways to mobility and stability for all.
Elevate East County embodies the belief that: prioritizing the well-being and success of student parents can create a ripple effect that uplifts and empowers all community members.
“The very low incomes of our ELEVATE Concord participants provides an insight into the hidden poverty in Concord and the dire need for cash assistance. And, with the high rents here, it’s no wonder that 46% of our families rent a room in someone else's home.”
Julia Quintero, Project Manager, on the demographics of our ELEVATE participants
Contact Julia Quintero, ELEVATE Project Manager at julia@monumentimpact.org.
You can find more information about Guaranteed Income here and check out other guaranteed income data resources below.
