Residents of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who applied to receive monthly payments of $528 under a program for low-income small-business owners and entrepreneurs will see their next check in three days.
One hundred applicants were selected to participate in a two-year guaranteed income pilot program called Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor, led by the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions team. The payments started going out in January to selected applicants, and they will be sent out on the 15th of each month, depending on when weekends or holidays fall, Kristin Seefeldt, the associate director of Poverty Solutions, told the Washington Examiner.
“This guaranteed income pilot is about celebrating residents who do much to strengthen our community but are still struggling to make ends meet,” Seefeldt said in October. Seefeldt is also an associate professor of social work and public policy at the University of Michigan.
Applications closed last year, but interested candidates had to be residents of Ann Arbor and at least 18 years old. Applicants must have had an income at or below 225% of the federal poverty line, and those who receive or could qualify for federal assistance (such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Pell Grants) likely qualified.
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“Unlike food stamps, where you can only use the money to buy food, with guaranteed income, the recipient can direct payments however they want,” Seefeldt told Current magazine. “You could pay bills, save, or buy birthday presents. It’s supposed to reflect a sense of providing people with dignity and acknowledging their decision-making is valid.”
The guaranteed income money was available to those who identified as an “entrepreneur, owner of a formal or informal small business, independent contractor, provide paid services informally, or a gig worker” in various industries.
