Baby Bonds Demonstrations: From Pilots to Policy
The Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy is convening leaders from seven states with active efforts to develop and test infrastructure for scaling and replicating Baby Bonds programming and policies. These pilots will serve as useful learning opportunities to drive state and federal Baby Bonds policy.
As part of a burgeoning national movement, these demonstration projects represent a broad range of geographies—spanning both urban and rural areas—and political contexts. Some pilots are under construction and others are already underway.
With multiple pilots occurring in states with legislation either introduced or passed, this cross-site work provides a structure for statewide policy adoption, generating additional evaluation data, programmatic momentum, and political will to move the work forward.
This page will serve as a resource and guide for practitioners and policy makers to follow and learn from the pilot work.
Baby Bonds Pilots & Small-Scale Programs
Lead Organization: Destination: Home
Program: Baby Bonds for Children Born into Homelessness
Goal:
- Build generational wealth for children born into homelessness, while demonstrating a model for public-sector replication
Duration: Two years of cohort enrollment; aiming to launch in late 2025/early 2026
Population served: 50 newborns born a year over two years (for a total of 100 beneficiaries) whose parents were homeless at the time of the child's birth
Cash transfers: $20,000 per child invested for growth over 18 years
Additional services: Each youth will receive support from a dedicated financial advisor to help them develop a financial plan to support their short and long-term goals
Policy: Pilot to policy track
Coming soon!
Lead Organization: The Connecticut Project representing the Wealth Solutions Accelerator
Program: Accelerated Baby Bonds pilot in the Dixwell neighborhood of New Haven
Duration: 3 years
Population served: 100 people will be considered and 30 will be chosen
Age range: Young adults ages 18-35
Funding plan: $1.7 million over three years
Cash transfers: Up to $20,000 cash for wealth building
Use of funds: Home ownership, repair, small business, education, or retirement savings
Additional services: All participants will be paired with a financial advisor and local wrap around services.
Policy: Connecticut was the first state in the U.S. to pass (2021) and fully fund and implement (2023) Baby Bonds legislation. The Connecticut Baby Bonds Trust began enrolling its first beneficiaries in July 2023.
Contact: Kate Reeves, katereeves@ctproject.org
Lead Organization: Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund
Program Name: Freedom Futures
Goals:
- Substantially improve financial stability, wealth positions, wealth trajectories, and other key outcomes for program participants through cash transfers and wrap-around services
- Generate learnings for state and national Baby Bonds proposals and programs
Duration: 4 years
Population served: An initial cohort of 50 participants with the goal of expanding to 250 participants
Age range: ~18-25 at enrollment
Cash transfers: Provide a Baby Bond of $40,000 and a guaranteed income of $500 per month
Use of funds: Baby Bonds can be used for higher education, homeownership, entrepreneurship, and/or seeding a retirement account. Use of funds may expand after community engagement. The guaranteed income is unconditional.
Additional services: Financial advising through Edward Jones, individualized "wealth building plans," and connections to community-based programs to advance financial stability and wealth building goals
Evaluation: Likely a mixed methods evaluation with a comparison group and 1-2 years of follow-up
Policy: Build on the successful introduction of a Baby Bonds bill during the 2023-24 legislative session by launching a coalition, forging relationships with key legislators, and developing supporting research (economic impact analysis)
Website: thegrofund.org/baby-bonds
Contact: Amit Khanduri, amit@thegrofund.org
Lead Organization: Partnership for Community Action in partnership with Abriendo Puertas / Opening Doors, Prosperity Works, and Money Byrd
Goals:
- Reduce the racial wealth divide in New Mexico
- Develop a comprehensive evaluation framework for Baby Bonds pilot
- Lay the foundation for statewide universal Baby Bonds legislation in 2025
Population served: 15 enrolled in pilot. Rolling entrance, with ongoing fundraising for up to 400 children at $13,000 per child ($6 million total)
Age range: Children ages 0-5 whose parents have completed PCA family engagement curriculum and meet income recommendation (400% Federal Poverty Line)
Use of funds: Baby Bonds can be used for education, homeownership, entrepreneurship, or seeding a retirement account.
Additional services: Financial Capabilities Course, developed in partnership with Money Byrd and Abriendo Puertas / Opening Doors, is a comprehensive multi-generational tool designed to enhance families' financial security. Rooted in economic equity, this resource supports families to build upon financial foundations and achieve long-term financial well-being.
Evaluation: Evaluation framework designed to engage local and national partners in its creation. The framework will share implementation processes, measure program impact on financial security and economic mobility for participants in the New Mexico pilot, and contribute to national research on financial security and wealth-building initiatives.
Policy: Establish a fund to support a universal state Baby Bonds program serving ~22K births per year
Website: forcommunityaction.org/baby-bonds/
Contact: Teresa Madrid, teresam@forcommunityaction.org
Lead Organization: Greater Washington Community Foundation
Program Name: Brilliant Futures
Goals:
- Contribute to narrowing of the racial wealth gap in two priority neighborhoods
- Contribute to national body of work
- Create model for future initiatives
Population served: Two kindergarten classes each in two school districts, up to 400 total students
Funding plan: $1,000 at enrollment in kindergarten and up to $1,000 each year from 1st grade through 12th grade
Use of funds: Ongoing education and training, homeownership, entrepreneurship, or retirement savings
Additional services: Each school has a community based organization assigned to it to build relationships with the enrolled families and provide services based on their needs
Evaluation: Initial mixed methods evaluation of the 2 year pilot phase; ongoing evaluation plan to be determined after 2 year pilot phase evaluation concludes
Website: thecommunityfoundation.org/brilliant-futures
Contact: Amanda Koba, akoba@thecommunityfoundation.org
Lead Organization: Invest STL
Program Name: Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place
Goals:
- Prevent displacement of long-term Black residents
- Increase the ability of long-term residents to build wealth
Duration: 3 years (pilot launched in 2023)
Funding plan: $2,000 for immediate needs and $20,000 for investing, per household
Population served: 50 Black households in the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods of St. Louis. It focuses on adults 25 years of age and older who have at least six years of established residency within these neighborhoods. Finally, Rooted was open to households with low to middle incomes, earning between 10% and 120% of the area median income.
Use of funds: $2,000 to address immediate financial needs (such as paying down debt or creating an emergency savings account) and a $20,000 investment to purchase a home within the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods, complete home repairs or upgrades within these neighborhoods, start or build a small business within these neighborhoods, or add to an investment account.
Additional services: Each household is paired with a financial planner/advisor to develop a wealth-building and estate plan. Beneficiary deeds, title searches, and detangling performed, as needed. Access to small business, real estate, home improvement, credit building, and other experts to help inform investment decisions along the way.
Evaluation: Independent evaluation by Urban Institute
Policy: Local effort modeling for local and national replication as a key anti-displacement and place-based investment strategy
Website: https://www.investstl.org/rooted/
Contact: Michelle Witthaus, mwitthaus@investstl.org
Lead Organization: Mobility Capital Finance, Inc. (MoCaFi)
Program Name: Level Up
Goals:
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Launch a Baby Bonds pilot program that supports wealth-building opportunities for 300 low-income seventh graders in target neighborhoods
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Partner with community-based organizations, partners, and thought leaders to design a Baby Bonds program that materially disrupts the cycle of poverty for low-income children in St. Louis
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Leverage learnings from pilot program to catalyze policy that advances the adoption of a Baby Bonds framework at the local, state, and federal level
Duration: 10 years, starting with 7th grade enrollment (year 1), followed by a vesting period (years 1-6) and withdrawal period (years 6-10)
Population served: 300 income-eligible 7th graders enrolled in target St. Louis County area school districts (Ferguson-Florissant, Normandy, Hazelwood, University City, and Hancock Place) and St. Louis Public Schools
Funding plan: $5,000 invested on behalf of each participant in a pooled investment account until withdrawal at age 18-23. Optional parent/guardian contribution via separate 529 accounts. $4-$5 million in funding secured for first cohort of 300 students, with a goal to launch larger annual cohorts via additional philanthropic fundraising.
Use of funds: Funds used for homeownership, small business, education, investing, or retirement savings
Additional services: Throughout the program, participating households will receive financial coaching and resources related to financial health and long-term planning for allowable use of funds.
Policy: Local effort focused on local, state and national replication
Lead Organization: The Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer
Program: The Rhode Island Baby Bonds Trust Act would create a $3,000 trust for each Rhode Island child ages zero to one born to a family receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (“TANF”) funds through the state-administered Rhode Island Works Program. Using its financial expertise, these trusts would be managed and invested by the Office of the General Treasurer—in cooperation with third-party managers—until the child reaches 18 years of age. On turning 18, the child would be able to use the seed capital and accrued interest for approved wealth-building activities.
Duration: Permanent
Population served: Approximately 150 individuals across Rhode Island each year.
Age range: A child is an eligible beneficiary if their families began receiving TANF funds before their first birthday. Individuals can make a claim for Trust assets between the ages of 18 and 35.
Funding plan: Governor Daniel J. McKee has included the Rhode Island Baby Bond Trust Act in his proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Under that proposal, the Baby Bond Trust Act would be funded through unclaimed property remittances to the state general fund.
Use of funds: Proceeds from the Rhode Island Baby Bond Trust Act can be used to pursue higher education or vocational training in Rhode Island, purchase a home in Rhode Island, start a business with a principal place of business in Rhode Island, or for other investments in financial assets or personal capital that provides long-term wages or wealth, as defined by regulation promulgated by the General Treasurer.
Policy: The Baby Bonds Trust Act represents a long-term investment, not in stocks and bonds but in the people of Rhode Island. Alongside Governor McKee’s efforts to raise incomes for all families, the Baby Bonds Trust Act will be a momentous leap towards closing wealth gaps that have—in many respects— existed since this state’s founding. This Act also represents an investment in the state itself. By law, these funds would be spent entirely in Rhode Island. As such, this investment would engage a new segment of the population to spur new economic activity to generate economic growth. It further provides an incentive for children raised in Rhode Island to stay in Rhode Island, a problem that policymakers have sought a solution to for decades.
Contact: Robert Craven, Jr., Robert.CravenJr@Treasury.RI.gov
Program: Legislation passed in June 2024. Design is pending.
Contact: Becky Wasserman, Becky.Wasserman@vermont.gov
More details coming soon!
Lead Organization: Office of the Washington State Treasurer
Program: Washington Future Fund Pilot (proposed)
Goal:
- Pilot and study the impacts of capital assistance to achieve homeownership, entrepreneurship, and post-secondary education.
Funding plan: Eligible Washingtonians may apply for grants funded by existing Treasury Service Account dollars for a pilot reducing capital barriers for homeownership, entrepreneurship, or post-secondary education.
Evaluation: Participants will take part in at least two impact evaluation study interviews facilitated by the University of Washington and participate in financial coaching during the study period. The Office of the State Treasurer will submit a report to the legislature regarding the economic impact of the grants on participants by June 30, 2027. The impact analysis will help inform legislators as they consider enacting the full Washington Future Fund program in 2028.
Policy: Legislation to establish the pilot is pending: HB 1661 & SB 5541
Contact: Matt Zuvich, matt.zuvich@tre.wa.gov
More info: Washington Future Fund Pilot (PDF)