Baltimore’s Young Families Success Fund
The Baltimore Young Families Success Fund was launched in 2022 by the city’s mayor with funding from the city, as well as the non-profit CASH Campaign of Maryland. The program, which was designed to cushion the blow from covid-related economic turmoil, has consistently delivered $1,000 a month to 200 participants and, as a result, has invested nearly $5 million in the community. Survey results suggest that participants spend the money on regular essentials, including groceries, car payments, and bills.
While not specifically organized around race, the experiment targeted mostly young, low-paid, African American residents, whose income hovered around $15,000 a year. One 21-year-old mother of two, for instance, said that she was able to afford rent as a result of the cash payment, whereas she had previously struggled to make ends meet.
