by Ken Coleman

A two-year project aimed at providing monthly payments to 100 current and future Ann Arbor entrepreneurs with low and very low incomes kicked off this month. Over 1,000 people applied in Oct. 2023.

Powered by Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) is a two-year guaranteed income pilot program to provide monthly payments of $528 to 100 entrepreneurs who were selected randomly. Payments started being issued this month. 

“This guaranteed income pilot is about celebrating residents who do much to strengthen our community but are still struggling to make ends meet,” said Kristin Seefeldt, Poverty Solutions assistant director, during an announcement of the program. “Pilot participants are vital to the success of the research study, which will allow other communities across the country to learn from Ann Arbor’s approach to guaranteed income.”

The city of Ann Arbor selected U of M in October to implement the pilot and study its effects. The effort is funded with federal dollars from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 signed by President Biden and has to be expended by the end of 2026.

Seefeldt added that the program is a “reliable monthly payment with no strings attached.”

Here are the eligibility requirements, according to GIG A2: 

• You must live in Ann Arbor and have an income at or below 225% of the federal poverty line. (For a household of three that’s $55,935).  
• You must be an entrepreneur, owner of a formal or informal small business, independent contractor, provide paid services informally or are a gig worker.

“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 said. “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.”

In addition to implementing Ann Arbor’s guaranteed basic income program, Poverty Solutions also will evaluate it to determine whether the monthly payments: 

• Positively contribute to participants’ social determinants of health, specifically through increased housing, food, and transportation security, improvements in physical and mental health and access to care, and improvements in access and quality of child care;
• Help small businesses and entrepreneurs stabilize and/or grow their businesses, or not;
• Allow entrepreneurs the time and resources to focus on their business, or not; and 
• Contribute to the positive economic growth of the community, or not.

To assess the program’s impact, Poverty Solutions will conduct a randomized controlled trial that compares outcomes for the 100 participants in the guaranteed basic income program to outcomes for 100 entrepreneurs that do not receive the additional income.