Salem Launches Guaranteed Income Pilot

The City of Salem and UpTogether announce the launch of Uplift Salem, a guaranteed income pilot that will invest $500 a month in 100 Salem residents for one year. Participants will be able to spend the cash however they want. The evaluative component of this project will be conducted by two Salem State University faculty members.

"I'm excited to announce the launch of Uplift Salem, our guaranteed income pilot program to help directly address poverty in our community and contribute to the growing evidence from across the nation about the efficacy of these types of initiatives," said Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo. "We want Salem to be an affordable place for everyone, and a guaranteed income program offers an innovative approach to help achieve that goal. Hopefully, the outcome of this year-long effort will be to add to the momentum for greater state and federal support for these programs and, most importantly, to lift up some of our most vulnerable neighbors here in Salem.

Residents can get more information at salemma.gov/uplift. Applications will be open at that website starting on October 28 and will remain open for two weeks or until 350 eligible applications have been received. Eligible participants must reside in Salem, MA (including unhoused residents who spend the majority of their time in Salem) and have household or family incomes at or below 100% of the federal poverty level based on household size. Pilot members will be randomly selected from eligible applications, with members receiving their first payments by December 1. UpTogether, a national nonprofit working to disrupt the way poverty is addressed, is managing the pilot.

"We know guaranteed income works to help families achieve economic mobility. They know what's best for their families and can be trusted to make decisions that move them ahead," said UpTogether CEO Jesús Gerena.

Guaranteed income pilots and other direct cash initiatives have taken off across the country, as states and municipalities look to innovative ways to address poverty. Data consistently shows recipients spend most of the funds on basic needs and experience greater financial stability as a result of these programs.

Thomas Pineros Shields PhD, from the politics, policy and international relations department, and Sara Moore PhD, from the sociology department, are the two Salem State University faculty researchers who will evaluate the impact of the cash payments on the 100 individuals and a comparison group of 100 individuals. Both groups will be compensated by UpTogether for participation in the study. The City of Salem will utilize the learnings from this initiative to consider new ways of addressing poverty in the community and to add to the greater body of scholarship examining the impacts from such programs.

The total cost of the pilot, which is funded through American Rescue Plan Act dollars and a private contribution through UpTogether, is $685,000.

About UpTogether:

Founded in 2001 in Oakland, UpTogether is a national systems change organization working to disrupt the status quo approach to addressing poverty. UpTogether has distributed more than $210 million dollars in more than 200,000 individuals and families since 2020. We trust and invest in people.

Learn more at UpTogether.org.

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