Nonprofit that worked on Compton Pledge will administer Long Beach’s guaranteed income pilot program

The City of Long Beach approved a contract with the Fund for Guaranteed Income (F4GI) Tuesday to administer the City’s impending guaranteed income pilot program. 

El Segundo-based F4GI has previously administered three other guaranteed income programs: the Compton Pledge, the Chicago Future Fund and the Community Love Fund—a guaranteed income program for 21 incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women. 

The overarching themes of guaranteed income programs are to “lift residents out of poverty, reduce economic inequalities […] and to provide payments that stimulate the local economy,” according to Nick Schultz, executive director Pacific Gateway Workforce.

Long Beach’s guaranteed income pilot program will give a $500 monthly stipend for one year to 250 to 300 families living in the 90813 zip code—a move that is expected to impact “thousands” of residents, according to Schultz. 

The zip code has ”the highest concentration of poverty in the City of Long Beach” where “one in every four families lives below the federal poverty line,” Schultz said. 

The zip code has a median household income 25% lower than any other zip code in the city—around $38,449 annually according to 2019 Census estimates. The area contains the Washington, Willmore, Lincoln and Cambodia Town neighborhoods. 

Schultz emphasized that there are no restrictions on how participants can spend the extra $500 monthly income.

“Some findings of recent GI pilots, specifically the Compton Pledge, saw folks use the funds to buy groceries, pay rent, start small businesses,” Schultz said. “Three participants in the Compton pledge actually started their own nonprofit.”

To qualify for the program, residents must be single head-of-households living in poverty, such as single mothers. 

“It really excites me to what our success stories will be here in the city of Long Beach,” Councilmember Mary Zendejas said. “And I know [90]813 is in my district and I can already see all the positive impacts that it’s going to bring to all those single parents that we’re addressing.”

The pilot program is funded by $2 million from the Long Beach Recovery Act. Schultz said that his department will continue to seek out grants that could provide matching funds to expand the program.