With ongoing support from the Wells Fargo Foundation, Prosperity Now partnered with the East Los Angeles Community Corporation (ELACC) to implement a short-term, basic income initiative that centered on families adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. ELACC works in the East Los Angeles community through economic development efforts such as affordable housing and advocacy for street vendors. Our initiative served 72 households who each received $500 per month over 5 months to help stabilize their precarious financial situations. We hoped to target low-income families in the area to help stabilize individual household finances and increase the resilience of the culture in East LA by boosting the local economy.

Outlined below are the key phases and decision points we considered in the design and implementation of this program. It is important to note that a key to success in this project was ELACC’s strong standing in the community and their bilingual Spanish-speaking staff who are trained in cultural sensitivity. Grassroots organizations like ELACC hold an ability to connect with clients meaningfully, as they have already built trust in the community and deliver high-quality services in the client's native language.

Design and Launch

Who will be served through this pilot?

ELACC focused on three target populations for this project: street vendors, mariachi musicians, and tenants already connected to the organization. Via their partnerships with the Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign and the Mariachi associations, ELACC was able to develop a list of potential participants for the program. Many of these participants are undocumented and thus were ineligible to receive federal or state-sponsored aid, like unemployment or stimulus payments. Additionally, two-thirds of our target population were small business owners, who were unable to access federal or private bank loans due to their status as informal workers. The final list prioritized those in need or left out of existing aid.

How to best distribute the funds?

ELACC distributed the funds using reloadable pre-paid cards. Writing checks was burdensome internally, and, more importantly, most of the participants were unbanked or underbanked and relied on check-cashing services that charged a significant amount. The cards were more efficient to distribute and reload, which helped reduce administrative burden. Participants could use the cards virtually anywhere and could opt for a cash withdrawal for a small fee.

How do clients get enrolled?

Participants completed a Google form, also made accessible in Spanish, that simplified program enrollment and collection. ELACC was able to receive a 100% completion rate on their survey form by texting the survey to clients and calling those who needed help completing the form.

How did we explain the program particulars to clients?

A client agreement detailed the program expectations and was explained at an introductory Zoom webinar. This call allowed participants to ask questions and learn of other ELACC support services and further build trust with the organization.

Program Implementation

How did the clients receive their money?

As a safety measure, ELACC distributed the pre-paid cards in person. Additionally, they distributed a bilingual guide showing clients how to activate their cards and use the cards at the register. ELACC staff was available during this process for questions about overall usage.

How did we keep clients engaged through the program duration?

There were many touch points with clients to check in on their progress.

• Midpoint webinar:  This was used as a check-in point for questions and to raise issues. Additionally, ELACC shared education materials focusing on credit building for this webinar.
• Credit Score: ELACC also pulled credit scores for those with SSNs. Due to the population type, we were not able to pull credit scores for all participants.
• Financial Coaching: All participants were offered the opportunity to have one on one coaching session with an ELACC financial coach. Participants who had a credit score pulled were given a follow-up session on credit score education and other financial resources.

Program Close-Out

Without renewed funding, ELACC staff pointed clients to alternative resources they could apply to around the city. They also used the opportunity to showcase other ELACC services, including financial education and coaching to continue improving their financial health.

Conclusion

All the decisions made for the design of the program were centered around client needs, from the chosen distribution method of gift cards, to keeping folks engaged via webinars. Moreover, while distributing the money was our main objective, ELACC was able to couple this program with their existing financial coaching services and financial education courses.

To learn more about the design and impact of this work, read our full report here.