THE deadline to score monthly payments of $850, distributed via a new and unique program, is quickly approaching.
Those chosen to participate in the first-of-its-kind program will see their initial round of no-strings-attached payments in the coming weeks.
A first-of-its-kind program will soon hand out monthly payments worth $850[/caption]
The Creative Growth Fellowship Program will offer a stipend for up to 200 individuals, handing them $850 payments each month for 12 months.
The “first-of-its-kind” guaranteed income program, run by the Office of Arts and Culture, is aimed at lending a financial helping hand to artists to help them pursue and advance their career in the field.
Artists from a number of disciplines will benefit from the program, with each participant receiving $10,200 over the payment period.
This means that a collective total of $2.04 million will be distributed to the chosen artists, selected from a pool of applicants living within the City of Sacramento.
Unfortunately, the program’s application deadline already passed on June 20, and there are currently no plans for a future second round of payments, per the Creative Growth Fellowship Program’s website.
The applications that have already been submitted are being reviewed currently, with the review period beginning on June 21, 2025 and ending in just days on August 31, 2025.
Once the roughly 200 artists are selected, they will receive their monthly payments from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2026.
The lucky individuals selected to participate in the guaranteed income program will soon be notified by staff at the Office of Arts and Culture.
The office has advised applicants to check their email and text messages regularly, as well as their spam folders.
THREE REQUIREMENTS
In order to qualify for payments from the Creative Growth Fellowship Program, applicants must have met three criteria.
The first is that participants must have been a resident of the City of Sacramento at the time they submitted their application, with proof of residency required.
Applicants were also required to be at least 18 years old on the date of their submission.
The last requirement was that applicants must have been able to demonstrate their work as an artist and upload examples of their work.
Those working in the following disciplines were invited to apply:
- Craft
- Dance
- Design
- Film
- Literary arts
- Music
- Oral traditions
- Social practice
- Theater
- Performance art
- Traditional arts
- Visual arts
- Interdisciplinary arts
How does Guaranteed Income work?
Guaranteed Income and Universal Basic Income programs have taken off in popularity recently.
After the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan of 2021 sent stimulus money to local governments, dozens began testing guaranteed income (GI) systems.
The specifics vary, but GI typically involves payouts to people with low incomes. Unlike traditional welfare, there are no job requirements, drug tests, or other strings attached.
Some have pushed for a Universal Basic Income (UBI), which would go to everyone regardless of how much money they make at work. Alaska has used a similar system since the 1970s.
Proponents say this alleviates poverty while incentivizing work, unlike classic welfare, which cuts benefits from people who begin earning “too much” money to qualify.
Opponents argue such a system is too expensive to function on a large scale and suggest Americans should avoid becoming reliant on government money.
With some cities heralding the success of GI programs, some Republican-led states have moved to ban them. States like Texas and Iowa, for example, have undermined major spending plans by pushing against GI.
A HEART FOR ART
The Creative Growth Fellowship Program is not the only guaranteed income program handing out no-strings-attached payments to artists.
Artists in Minnesota, for example, are still receiving cash under the Guaranteed Income for Artists Pilot, designed by the non-profit organization Springboard for the Arts.
The program, first rolled out in 2020, distributed $500 payments monthly for 18 months to 75 rural artists who lived in the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods outside the city of Saint Paul.
Thanks to the program’s success, it has been extended to 100 artists who are still receiving $500 checks every month this year, per a press release.
The guaranteed income program will have been up and running for five years, making it one of the longest-running pilot programs in the country.
Laura Zabel, Springboard’s executive director, played a large part in the creation of the program and hoped to honor local artists’ impact on the community.
“Our program is emerging as a national model, demonstrating how guaranteed income can transform artists’ lives, build community resilience, and strengthen local economies,” said Zabel.
“We’re not just defying political headwinds – we’re changing the narrative with data, artwork, and meaningful stories of impact.
“When artists can focus more on their work, families, art, and their community instead of worrying about basic needs, everyone benefits.”
Check out these other programs handing out free cash.
American families will receive $500 monthly payments through a new program.
Plus, five US cities are quietly handing out monthly checks up to $1,200 – the guaranteed income programs that almost nobody knows about.
The Creative Growth Fellowship Program and the Guaranteed Income for Artists Pilot are two programs handing out payments to US artists[/caption]
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