GiveCard, a payments platform revolutionizing social impact programs, has announced an extension of its partnership with the City of El Monte to continue running its successful Guaranteed Income pilot program. The extended partnership will continue to provide financial support to the existing 125 low-income participants from the first year of the pilot, focusing on helping single parents, mothers, and their babies as they progress through the program.

The Guaranteed Income pilot was initially launched to support low-income single mothers with children in El Monte, California, and provided financial assistance through GiveCard’s platform to help participants cover essential needs. Throughout the program, the RAND Corporation and the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California played a key role in conducting enrollment and surveys, analyzing the program’s impact on participants' well-being. GiveCard’s platform enabled real-time tracking and detailed reporting of spending data, which demonstrated the program’s positive outcomes and helped the City of El Monte secure an extension for the program.

“Partnering with the City of El Monte has been such a privilege,” said Lurein Perera, CEO of GiveCard. “Our mission is to provide the best tools for cities and all types of organizations to manage guaranteed income payments efficiently and transparently. The City of El Monte’s success is a testament to the power of real-time data in driving social impact and securing lasting support for these initiatives.”

The City of El Monte selected GiveCard from six other providers for its cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and robust real-time reporting and analytics. The GiveCard platform allowed the City to deliver payments via physical or virtual prepaid cards to large batches of recipients, while providing detailed insights showing that participants primarily used the funds for essential needs such as food, rent, gas, and children’s clothing or school supplies. Participants reported significant improvements in their mental well-being, citing reduced financial stress, improved home environments, and the ability to plan ahead rather than live in survival mode. Many also noted that their children’s mental health improved as financial pressures eased at home​.

“We gave GiveCard a very tall order,” said Jessica Medina, Management Analyst at the City of El Monte. “We needed partners that provided the robust reporting we needed to assess this program accurately and to do so in a way that provided dignity and empowerment to program participants. These are real people, not just numbers on a spreadsheet, and GiveCard delivered massively on that proposition while providing robust enough data that helped us secure even more funding for the project.”

RAND Corporation’s involvement ensured that the program's impact was thoroughly tracked, including participant enrollment and detailed surveys on socio-emotional and financial outcomes. With support from the team at USC’s School of Public Policy, RAND demonstrated the broader benefits of guaranteed income on participants' well-being and the surrounding community.

“Our research demonstrated a clear link between the financial support provided by the Guaranteed Income Pilot and improvements in participants’ mental health, financial stability, and overall well-being,” said Beverly Weidmer, Senior Survey Director at RAND Corporation. “The data helped validate the positive outcomes of the program and will be invaluable as the City of El Monte moves forward with the extension.”

The success of the initial pilot and detailed insights provided by GiveCard’s platform has enabled the City of El Monte to secure additional funding to extend the program for its existing participants. Additionally, the program’s impact has drawn attention from neighboring cities and Los Angeles County, with the City of Pomona having launched its own guaranteed income pilot. Further, El Monte is now using GiveCard’s data to submit proposals for further financial assistance programs to take place.

This growing momentum showcases the scalability and replicability of The City of El Monte’s model, which could strengthen the partnership between GiveCard and cities across California.

About GiveCard

GiveCard is revolutionizing how organizations move money. Our specialized prepaid debit card platform and program management tools make it simple and efficient to launch, scale, and measure the impact of fund distribution initiatives. From non-for-profit organizations running cash assistance programs to companies managing customer reimbursements, GiveCard empowers organizations to help more people and operate more efficiently. Founded in 2018, GiveCard has enabled the distribution of millions of dollars to thousands of individuals. For more information, visit www.givecard.io.

Antonella Eljach antonella.eljach@deeptech.agency