Mission-driven fintech platform supports millions of gig and non-standard workers nationwide; unique approach enables program leaders to quantify impact of innovative cash grants
Steady Impact, which works with cash assistance programs across the country to streamline distribution and quantify impact, announced that its platform has been selected to administer the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) pilot program in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Steady’s unique technology will support the distribution of funds directly to program participants and will also help the initiative’s leaders measure its impact on participants’ financial health.
“What sets Steady apart is not just their commitment to the mission of this program, but also their deep experience working with the gig and non-standard workers that we aim to serve,” said Kristin Seefeldt, associate director of the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions team. “With Steady’s help, we’re contributing to an evidence base about guaranteed income programs — and hopefully strengthening Ann Arbor’s community and economy in the process.”
Co-founded by Shaquille O’Neal, Steady launched in 2017 with the goal of harnessing the potential of emerging technology to alleviate poverty, and now helps more than 6 million users – with a high concentration of non-standard (e.g., gig, contingent, and other non-W2) workers – track and boost their income. As Steady’s social impact arm, Steady Impact has distributed $115 million to more than 700,000 individuals through partnerships with city governments and community-based organizations from Atlanta to Santa Fe to Baltimore. The company’s proprietary technology also helps program leaders measure the impact of cash assistance on recipients’ financial health.
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“Our work is about helping forward-thinking government and nonprofit leaders maximize the impact of cash assistance initiatives. We believe in using data for good, leveraging it to inform policymaking that can create economic opportunity for workers who are too often locked out of our systems and our safety net,” said Dr. Lexi Gervis, VP of Steady Impact. “We’re humbled to be part of this program, and to play a role in a collaborative effort to support entrepreneurs and gig workers throughout Ann Arbor.”
Led by the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions team, GIG A2 will choose 100 participants to receive monthly payments of $528 for two years. Applications for the program, which prioritizes Ann Arbor residents who are entrepreneurs, self-employed people, small business owners, and gig workers, were taken in early October, and participants will be selected later this fall.
Steady was founded in 2017 to make data work for the non-standard workforce. Today, the platform helps more than 6 million gig workers nationwide track and boost their income, and supports cities and communities with direct cash assistance and impact measurement through its social impact arm, Steady Impact. To date, Steady has delivered cash assistance to over 700,000 gig and non-standard workers nationwide, including more than $115 million through guaranteed income partnerships in cities from Atlanta to Baltimore to Sacramento.
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