Building Toward the Future

“While emergency cash is helpful, it is not a silver bullet. It’s just one tool in the toolkit and, ultimately, people need a lot more—we need a strong safety net, we need more benefits for more people.”

The need for these cash programs speaks to gaps in the current safety net and the need for broad structural change. Many organizations raised that their work to aid families in crisis was part of longer term “power-building” and advocacy efforts. Organizations are building partnerships and infrastructure to provide aid now, which will hopefully outlast the current crisis. This will allow for a more robust response in a future emergency, as well as increased capacity to inform policy debates and educate elected officials on the lived experience of people in their communities.

Some organizations are using this process to connect individuals to other benefits they might be eligible for. For example, some CBOs are referring recipients to rent relief programs administered by the city or helping individuals gain access to health care and food assistance. This ensures that cash assistance is not the end of the relationship with the recipient, but hopefully the beginning of connecting individuals to services they need.

Finally, many organizations are incorporating research and learnings into their cash assistance programs in order to better inform their understanding of their recipients. For example, one organization included a survey to better understand the banking needs of their applicants, which led to a transition from gift cards to direct deposit. Including brief surveys and data collection responsibly can help build a more responsive program in the future.

Building capacity and power within organizations will allow them to better serve their community going forward. Done well, these cash efforts could provide the basis for identifying and improving holes in our safety net.

*Note that if you are involved in running a cash assistance program and you have lessons of your own to share, believe that we left something out, or believe that we got something wrong, please let us know. We’ll be collecting feedback through the end of July. Thank you!