Executive Summary

Poverty is a policy choice and in order to create a better quality of life for individuals and families, current policies and practices need to change. With additional support, UpTogether can continue to invest directly in Illinois families, amplify their stories, and rally for systems change. The Guaranteed Income fund will invest up to $500 per month for 24 months into Illinois residents that are currently members on the UpTogether Community platform. While being enrolled in the fund, members will answer survey questions and share stories that will be used as evidence to support narrative and policy change at the state and federal level.

Organizations may provide budget and employee data based on this proposal or the organization as a whole. For more information on this proposal or organization, please email us.

Accomplishments

In partnership with Google.org and the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services, UpTogether launched in Chicago in 2018 with 37 families. Families received unrestricted cash that totaled up to $3,200 while engaging in support groups and advancing their self-determined goals. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, UpTogether began investing in emergency relief one-time payments to meet the needs of the community rapidly. With the support of Cook County, the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing, and local and national partners, we invested over $35 million into more than 10,000 Cook County households. In 2021, UpTogether recognized the need to shift back to its traditional model of investing in families over a longer period to have a deeper impact. As of today, it has added 869 families to the UpTogether fund which has led it to invest nearly $40 million in over 30,000 households across the State of Illinois. Currently, it has approximately 90,000 members located in Illinois on our platform.