CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 24, 2023
Sunnyvale: Creation of a
Universal Basic Income
Pilot Program
Sources: [1] City of Sunnyvale, Universal Basic Income Study Issue Follow Up (Information Only), 2022. 2 Sunnyvale's GBI pilot study
In January 2022, the City Council of Sunnyvale
introduced Study Issue (SI) CDD 22-07 to
evaluate a Universal Basic Income (UBI) pilot
program
Dalberg Advisors has been supporting this
Study since mid-August
Today we would like to get Council input to
inform the design of a pilot program
3 Agenda
• Context for the GBI Pilot Study
•Key findings to date
•Next steps
4 Poverty in Sunnyvale
733 64
Unhoused1 Recently
housed2
Additional
residents
in
poverty3
Residents
below
federal
poverty line4
~7000 ~8000
Note: The 2022 Federal poverty level for a family of four was $27,750 as annual income.
Sources: [1] Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing, City of Sunnyvale HOME-ARP Allocation Plan Data Analysis, 2022; [2] Sunnyvale Community Services; 2023; [3] Dalberg analysis; [4] U.S. Census Bureau, Data for Sunnyvale City, 2022.
1. TBRA: Tenant Based Rental Assistance
• Objective:
− Time-limited rental assistance, maximum 2 years – coupled with case-management/employment services
− No HH pays more than 30% of income on housing
• Funding:
− HOME Investment Partnerships (HUD)
− Up to $1M per year in rental assistance
− $350k per year in local funds for case management/
administration
• Capacity:
− 40 Households (recently increased from 20)
− Administered by Sunnyvale Community Services
5 What is Sunnyvale already doing? (1 of 2)
2. Senior Rental Assistance program
• Objective:
− Support severely rent-burdened senior households
− Starting Spring 2024
• Funding:
− Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program (PLHA)
• Capacity:
− Assist 40 households @ $1,000/month
6 What is Sunnyvale already doing? (2 of 2)
7 Universal Basic Income (UBI) provides all
individuals a regular unconditional payment
Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) refers to a
similar concept for a targeted population
We use the term “GBI” in these materials
Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI)
8 20+ GBI pilots in CA1,2
100+ GBI pilots in U.S.1
4 GBI pilots by Santa Clara County3
1 GBI pilot by Mountain View4
1 GBI pilot by Destination: Home5
GBI is gaining momentum
Sources: [1] Economic Security Project, Champions for Guaranteed Income Celebrate, 2022; [2] New York Times, Guaranteed Income Programs Spread, City by City, 2022; [3] Santa Clara County, County of Santa Clara Expands Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot Program to Additional Vulnerable Populations, 2023: [4] City of Mountainview, Elevate MV | Guaranteed Income Pilots Dashboard, 2023; [5] Destination: Home, Announcing the Launch of the Silicon Valley Guaranteed Income Project, 2022. 9 GBI pilots have proven results (1 of 2)
Sources: [1] Stanford Basic Income Lab, Basic income and local government - a guide to municipal pilots, 2022; [2] Foundations for Social Change: New Leaf Project, Statement of Impact, 2021. — Higher probability of finding full-time
employment1
— Increased housing stability2
— Improved physical and mental health1
— Reduction in household income volatility1
— Increased self-determination1
10 Control group GI recipients
28%32% 37% 40%
+5 percentage
points
+12 percentage
points
2019
2020
Percentage point increase in full-time employment,
from Stockton Economic Empowerment
Demonstration1
GBI pilots have proven results (2 of 2)
Sources: [1] Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, Preliminary Analysis: SEED’s First Year, 2021.
Sources: [1] Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, The Permanent Fund; [2] Chicago Sun Times, Are guaranteed-income programs working?, 2023; [3] Bloomberg, NYC Guaranteed Income Program Goes From Pilot to Permanent, 2023. 11 Permanent Guaranteed Income
NON-EXHAUSTIVE
Current permanent UBI programs:
GBI pilots committed to continue:
• Alaska Permanent Fund1
• Cook County (Illinois) - Promise Guaranteed
Income Pilot2
• New York City - The Bridge Project3
12 • Benchmark of UBI programs
• Potential funding sources
• Pool size, application process, and amount
• Outreach process
• Administration requirements (e.g., metrics)
• Distribution process
Study Issue of GBI pilot
Sources: [1] City of Sunnyvale, Request for proposals No. F23-066 for professional services assistance for the creation of a universal basic income pilot program, 2023. 13 Agenda
• Context for the GBI Pilot Study
• Key findings to date
•Next steps
14 Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
We have interviewed 50+
stakeholders
Engage community stakeholders and
City staff
Engage external experts and potential
co-funders
Share initial findings with Council; hold
community outreach & focus group
meetings
Re-engage stakeholders as needed
and share final findingsStage 4
15 Who?
What are the strategic objectives for
the pilot?
What?
How?
Why?
Who is the pilot for?
What is the pilot design (amount,
frequency, duration, etc.)?
How will the City fund and execute it?
Four fundamental questions
16 Address
community
needs
Catalyze
permanent
GBI in
Sunnyvale
Cultivate
national UBI
advocates
GBI pilots may serve various objectives:
Compare
effectiveness
vs other
policies
Why fund GBI?
UBI
Movement
Sunnyvale
Community
Artists in
specific
neighborhoods
17 BroadTargeted
Saint Paul, MN
Parents with
income below
30% of AMI
Families
experiencing or
at risk of
homelessness
Santa Clara Co. Mountain View
Who is the pilot for? (1 of 2)
Sources: [1] Dalberg Analysis; [2] The Stanford Basic Income Lab, The Guaranteed Income Pilots Dashboard, 2023; [3] Mayors for a guaranteed income, Resources, 2022; [4] Mayors for a guaranteed income, End of Year Report, 2022.
Eligibility criteria can vary:Example pilots
• Residents with 30% of
AMI
• Domestic violence
survivors
• Low-income seniors
• Undocumented residents
• Foster youth
• BIPOC communities
• LGBTQ+ population
• Unhoused residents
• Residents at risk of
becoming homeless or
recently housed
• Low-income families
with children
• Low-income
community college
students
18 Who is the pilot for? (2 of 2)
Most mentioned by
interviewees
Less mentioned by
interviewees
— Participants: 100 – 325
— Frequency: Monthly or Hybrid (lump sum
+ monthly)
— Amount: $500 - $1,000
— Duration: 1-2 Years
— Administration costs: ~15%* of
distribution
19 What are the typical characteristics?
Note: The ranges for number of participants and duration of pilot reflect the 20th to 80th percentile of the pilots reviewed. The frequency of payments, administration costs, and range for the amount of support provided is based on expert interviews and research.
Sources: [1] Stanford Basic Income Lab, The Guaranteed Income Pilots Dashboard, 2023; [2] Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, Resources, 2022; [3] Dalberg research.
This implies min. total costs of $700K - $1.4M per year *Up to 40%
20 County &
State
How will the City fund program?
Major
employers
Philanthropic
funders
Potential sources of co-funding include:
• Appears unlikely to materialize
• May be possible
• No known design requirements
• Growing pilot fatigue
• Interest likely to be strongest in a
pilot that contributes to broader
UBI movement
21 • Defining the rigor of monitoring and evaluation
(e.g., randomized controlled trials vs tracking
basic indicators through existing systems)
• Mitigating the benefits cliff issue
• Being thoughtful about the governance
structure and how to engage beneficiaries
How will the City execute program?
Important considerations include:
22 Agenda
• Context for the GBI Pilot Study
• Key findings to date
•Next steps
Next steps
23 Next steps:
Hold outreach meetings
(tentatively scheduled for
12/14, @ 12:30 p.m. & 6
p.m.)
Organize focus groups
Provide City Council with
recommendations for pilot
design and execution
Discussion Questions:
“Why fund GBI?”
(i.e. what are the
strategic objectives)
and
“Who is the pilot for?”
Discussion & Questions
COMMUNITY OUTREACH DETAILS
Annex
26 Outreach to date (1 of 2)
Education & Youth:
• Bill Wilson Center (Pilar Furlong)
• Foothill-De Anza Board of Trustees (Patrick
Ahrens)
• Sunnyvale School District (Mike Gallagher,
Jeremy Nishihara, Paul Slayton, Bridget Watson)
Housing & Homelessness:
• Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative
(Celeste Enriquez, Oanh Nguyen)
• Destination: Home (Chad Bojorquez)
• Downtown Streets Team (Chris Richardson, Erika
Laguna, Jocelyn Chavez)
• HomeFirst (Maggie Crowder, Kelcy Fleming)
• Livable Sunnyvale (Agnes Vieth)
• Mid-Pen Housing (Dominique Cohen, Brenda
Castillo-Garza)
Community & Faith-Based Organizations:
• Our Daily Bread (Donna Beres)
• Sunnyvale Community Services (Marie
Bernard, Catherine Farry, David Hernandez)
• Helping Hands (Alpana Agarwal, Pratima
Gupta)
• Trinity Church of Sunnyvale (Ernie Morales)
• Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church (Hardy Kim)
Gender & Poverty
• YWCA (Cristal Olivas, Amie McClane)
Financial Services:
• Edward Jones (Shane Jacksteit)
Elected Officials and City Staff
• City Manager (Kent Steffens)
• Community Development Director
• Other City staff (e.g., Ryan Dyson)
27 Outreach to date (2 of 2)
National Experts:
• Jain Family Institute (Jack Landry)
• Mayors for Guaranteed Income (Cameron Burns,
Kathrine Cagat)
• Miracle Messages (Madeline Mazzocchi, Nelly
Stastny, Benjamin Henwood)
• My Path San Francisco (Margaret Libby)
• Policy Engine (Max Ghenis)
• Stanford Basic Income Lab (Sean Kline)
• The UBI Project (Jim Pugh)
• LA Community Investment for Families
Department (Aaron Strauss)
• Mountain View (John Lang)
Public Sector Funders:
• Santa Clara County (Ky Le)
• California Department of Social Services (Katie
Clarkin, Angela Vellos)
Philanthropic donors:
• Blue Shield of CA Foundation
• California Endowment*
• California Wellness Foundation
• eBay Foundation*
• Golden State Opportunity*
• Irvine Foundation
• Packard Foundation
• Rosenberg Foundation
• San Francisco Foundation
• SH Cowell Foundation*
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation
• Sobrato Philanthropies
• Tipping Point Community
• Y&H Soda Foundation
Major employers:
• Google (Javier González)
• Amazon (Kathy Duong) [Pending]
Note: (*) Engaged via email.