Overview toolkit on guaranteed income in the U.S.

As interest continues to grow in guaranteed income among cities, counties, nonprofits and the wider public, JFI has fielded many questions about the landscape of this policy movement, existing research, and how to contribute to it by piloting or otherwise. This toolkit, an abridged version of which is available here, is designed to provide a concrete starting point for anyone interested in supporting a guaranteed income for their community, particularly by launching a guaranteed income pilot. It begins by answering some of the key questions that arise in this undertaking, including what guaranteed income is, why it is gaining attention right now, what the open questions are that a pilot might answer, and what is involved in the creation of a local pilot.

For those who are interested in creating a pilot accompanied by a research program, it outlines the current state of guaranteed income research and describes how new research can be designed to make a valuable contribution and avoid repeating findings. It also provides advice on how to design an effective messaging strategy to maximize the impact of your pilot through storytelling, consistent framing, and thoughtful communication of research results. 

Finally, it provides an overview of the current state of the guaranteed income movement including ongoing and planned municipal pilots, past examples of guaranteed income in practice, and a description of the network of lawmakers, advocates, and philanthropists pushing the movement forward today. 

Special thanks to Charles de la Cruz, Halah Ahmad, and Stephen Nuñez for their work aggregating JFI’s expertise and wider literature to create this resource. 

Download the abridged toolkit here, and please reach out to us at jfi@jfiresearch.org to access the full version of this resource.