Navigating Benefits to Maximize Guaranteed Income: Connecticut’s Changemaker Fund
Guaranteed income programs are designed to provide direct, unconditional cash to increase stability, reduce financial stress, help people respond to changing financial needs, and promote economic mobility. Increasingly, guaranteed income is seen as an efficient and effective support for families to address immediate needs, close income gaps, and in the best of cases, build assets. However, mounting data from over 150 national pilots— distributing more than $2 billion to nearly 50,000 families—reveal a critical challenge: direct cash payments can unintentionally jeopardize other vital safety-net benefits.
In alignment with these national findings, one program in Connecticut, supported by The Changemaker Fund and developed in partnership with the Connecticut Urban Opportunity Collaborative, implemented a community-led study to document and thwart these critical losses. The 2024 Benefits Navigation Study found that, on average, each Changemaker Fund household could lose $736 a year in public benefits, and 107 out of the 120 Changemakers showed possible public benefit losses of $78,876 annually. These findings are especially significant for households with annual incomes under $34,627. Connecticut’s Benefits Navigation Study not only has relevance to Connecticut but also offers clear actionable insights for our field and the work needed with government agencies and policy makers to protect public safety needs. The study elevates critical considerations, including:
- Community-led research, design, and implementation strategies
- Increased protection of public benefits in direct cash pilots
- Recommendations for simplification of and increased access to eligible benefits
- Public-private partnerships to advance shared goals
- Considerations for publicly funded guaranteed income pilots that meet the moment and support families with low and moderate incomes
On October 9, 2025 at 1:00-2:15 pm ET, please join Asset Funders Network, with sponsors – Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven – as we explore Connecticut’s leadership in benefits navigation, highlight the importance of cross sector collaboration to lift-up and support benefits access and eligibility, and share lessons learned to support guaranteed income access in other states.
Christi Baker, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Asset Funders Network
Liany Arroyo, Director, Connecticut Urban Opportunity Collaborative (CUOC)
Andrea Barton Reeves, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Social Services
Marianne Bullock, Senior Partnership Manager, Up Together
Accessibility Statement: Captioning will be provided. If you have additional accessibility requests or questions, please email Paula Dworek at paula@assetfunders.org. Requests for reasonable accommodations must be received two weeks before the webinar to ensure our ability to meet your request.
