YSEQUITY, an initiative supported by the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, accepts applications during two timeframes each year – May 1-15 and November 1-15 – to provide 15 residents of Yellow Springs and Miami Township with $300 each month over a period of 24 months ($7,200 in total per individual). YSEQUITY is the second guaranteed income program in Ohio and the first documented program in a village in the United States. The goal is to add 15 residents each spring and fall (30 per year).

Guaranteed income, also known as basic income, is a social and economic justice approach which provides assistance to families in need with minimal bureaucracy, filling gaps left by existing social safety net programs. GI’s approach is founded on trusting that participants know how to best meet their own needs and are in need of financial assistance in order to meet their own goals. Hence, assistance flows in the most efficient way possible: giving people in need cash that they can use to meet their needs.