Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative • RGMII

RGMII funds rural county-level guaranteed minimum income studies — direct cash support plus open, evidence-based research to reduce poverty across America.
Our team supports rural American counties experiencing generational poverty, economic hardship affecting families for many decades.
We fund county level studies that provide a Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) to folks while gathering sound, evidence-based scientific data. We engage with existing local rural community stakeholders — veterans organizations, communities of faith, local businesses, and neighborhood groups. So far, with $50 million, we’ve funded GMI studies in three counties — Mercer County WV, Beaufort County NC, and Warren County MS. Each participating family will receive $1,500 per month for 16 months to spend on food, business, rent, or whatever they need most.
We are working with GiveDirectly, building on their prior US GMI studies, in partnership with OpenResearch, who conducted the largest US GMI study from 2018 to 2023. We think those results show how effective direct cash transfers can be.
There are 3,143 counties in the United States; approximately 60% are rural. Over time, with resolve and careful planning, we will:
We hope that GMI can eventually become policy, because recent study data and American history tells us it works — so let’s create more data and more history together.
“It’s Basic” documentary by Michael Tubbs, founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, following several GMI pilot programs
BOOTSTRAPS docuseries by Emmy Award-winning documentarian Deia Schlosberg, following 11 households across 10 states in a groundbreaking two year basic income experiment; currently in post-production
The future of America has always been connected to the future of rural America — why can’t all of America be Beautiful?
“From those to whom much is given, much is expected.” — Mary Gates