GRIT 3.0 Applicant FAQs - English (below)
GRIT 3.0 — Spanish
Preguntas frecuentes para solicitantes
GRIT 3.0 — Russian
Часто задаваемые вопросы для соискателей
GRIT 3.0 — Ukrainian
Найчастіші запитання заявника
GRIT 3.0 Program FAQ — English (below)
GRIT 3.0 - Spanish
Desarrollando la resiliencia en Tacoma ( GRIT) — Preguntas frecuentes del programa
GRIT 3.0 - Russian
Программа повышения устойчивости в Такоме ( GRIT) — Часто задаваемые вопросы.
GRIT 3.0 - Ukrainian
Зростання стійкості в Такомі ( GRIT) — Найчастіші питання програми
GRIT 3.0 — Applicant FAQ
Growing Resilience in Tacoma (GRIT) 3.0 — A Guaranteed Income Demonstration
GRIT 3.0 is open only to current Center for Strong Families clients at the six participating sites listed below. If you are not enrolled with one of these sites, you are not eligible to apply this round.
What is GRIT 3.0?
Growing Resilience in Tacoma (GRIT) is a guaranteed income demonstration in Pierce County, and GRIT 3.0 is the newest round. It provides $500 a month for 12 months to 25 single-parent households who are current Center for Strong Families clients, through United Way Pierce County in partnership with the Martin-Fabert Foundation. GRIT 3.0 builds on two earlier GRIT rounds, in 2022 and 2024–2025; more about those is on the United Way Pierce County website.
What is guaranteed income?
Guaranteed income is a regular cash payment. In GRIT 3.0, that is $500 a month for 12 months. It is yours to use however you choose — there are no rules on how you spend it, and no requirement to report it.
Who can apply?
To apply for GRIT 3.0, you must meet all three of these:
• Be a current Center for Strong Families client, enrolled at least six months as of September 11, 2026 — that is, enrolled on or before March 11, 2026 — at one of the six participating sites: Sound Outreach Bethel, Sound Outreach Hilltop, Sound Outreach Sumner-Bonney Lake, Tacoma Community House Hilltop, Tacoma Community House Franklin Pierce, or Goodwill of the Olympics & Rainier Region
• Be a single head of household with a child or children age 17 or younger, or 21 or younger if the child has a disability
• Be currently employed
Employment counts broadly. Full time, part time, seasonal work, gig or app-based work, self-employment, or more than one job all count.
How do I apply, and what languages is the application in?
Your Center for Strong Families coach will send you a link to the online application, and there is a flyer with a QR code at your site. The application is available in English, Spanish, Russian, and Ukrainian. If you speak another language, your coach — who already works with you — will help you complete it.
The application is open from Saturday, September 5 through Friday, September 11, 2026. You can complete it on a phone.
What if I am employed but not getting paid right now?
You still qualify. If you hold a job but are not being paid at the moment — for example, if you are on leave — answer the paycheck questions for a typical paycheck when you are working. Later in the application there is a question about whether your income covers your basic needs, and you can say there that you are not receiving income right now.
How do I know my application went through?
When you finish and submit the application, you will see a confirmation screen letting you know it has been received, and you will get a confirmation email. If you saw that screen, you are entered into the selection.
What happens after I apply?
After the application closes on September 11, all applications are checked for duplicates and to confirm they meet the eligibility criteria. From the eligible applications, 25 participants are chosen through a randomized draw.
The draw is run separately at each of the six Center for Strong Families sites. Five sites will have four participants and one site will have five. Which site gets the fifth was decided by its own random draw, held before the application opened — not by how many people apply. Your odds do not depend on how busy your site is.
You will be notified about your status by Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
How many people will be selected?
GRIT 3.0 will select 25 participants.
What if I am not selected right away?
When the draw is made, applicants who are not selected are placed on a ranked waitlist for their site. If a selected participant is unable to take part, the next person on the waitlist for that site may be contacted. Being on the waitlist does not guarantee a place, but it means you may still be reached if one opens.
When will I hear back?
You will hear about your application status by Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Everyone who applies will receive an email about their status, and if you are selected, GRIT staff will contact you directly.
How will I receive the money?
If you are selected, you will receive $500 a month for 12 months on a prepaid Mastercard. You will pick up your card at your own Center for Strong Families site. The first payment is added to the card on September 30, 2026, the second on October 15, and each payment after that on the 15th of the month.
You decide how to spend the money. There are no restrictions, and you do not have to report how you use it.
What if I need help setting up my card, or do not have a phone or computer?
You activate the card online and set a PIN. Staff at your Center for Strong Families site will help you if you need it, and there is a question on the application about whether you have a device you can use. If you do not, tell your coach. Support is available so that everyone who is selected can set up their card and receive their payments.
Will this change my other benefits?
It might, depending on which programs you are in, how many people are in your household, and your income now. Everyone selected goes through a benefits screening during onboarding, before any money is deposited, so you will see how the $500 is likely to affect you before it starts. You do not need to figure this out before you apply.
Do I have to pay taxes on it?
GRIT 3.0 payments are a gift, not wages. You do not report them on your tax return and you will not get a tax form. Tax rules for programs like this are still new. If you have questions, ask a tax preparer — United Way offers free tax help.
I was not selected, but I still need help. What is available?
GRIT 3.0 can only serve 25 households this round, and we are grateful to everyone who applies. If you were not selected, talk to your Center for Strong Families coach. They know your situation and can connect you with what is available to you.
Questions? Contact grit@uwpc.org or 253-682-1805, or talk to your Center for Strong Families coach.
Growing Resilience in Tacoma (GRIT) — Program FAQ
A Guaranteed Income Demonstration in Pierce County
What is GRIT?
Growing Resilience in Tacoma (GRIT) is a guaranteed income demonstration in Pierce County, now in its third round. It tests whether a monthly cash payment, with no restrictions, can help low-income families build stability, and uses what it learns to inform local, state, and federal policy.
The first GRIT pilot, in 2022, provided $500 a month to 110 Tacoma ALICE families — a partnership with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, the City of Tacoma, and United Way Pierce County.
GRIT 2.0 ran from April 2024 through March 2025, a partnership with the Washington State Economic Services Administration, the City of Tacoma, Pierce County, and United Way Pierce County. It provided $500 a month for 12 months to 175 ALICE (asset-limited, income-constrained, employed) families, in dollars that were unconditional and unrestricted.
GRIT 3.0 is the newest round. It is administered by United Way Pierce County in partnership with the Martin-Fabert Foundation, and works through the Center for Strong Families network to provide $500 a month for 12 months to 25 single-parent households who are current Center for Strong Families clients.
What is the idea behind a guaranteed income?
Guaranteed income is a proven way to address forces that limit economic mobility: entrenched poverty, the lasting effects of economic shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic, and the growing concentration of wealth at the top.
Why should guaranteed income be tried?
Many working families cannot afford the basics where they live. In Tacoma and Pierce County, the annual cost of health care, utilities, transportation, and other essential living expenses is more than $50,000 for one adult and one school-aged child, and more than $63,000 for one adult and one child in childcare. Yet 71% of single female-headed households and 53% of single male-headed households fall below that threshold. These families are ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — working, but still short of what it takes to cover their essential needs. Guaranteed income supplements, rather than replaces, the existing social safety net, and it can be a tool for improving economic, racial, and gender equity.
How is guaranteed income different from Universal Basic Income and cash transfer programs?
Guaranteed income is targeted: it supports the groups most affected by economic challenges, as a supplement to wages, not a replacement. In our community, $500 a month can cover a utility bill or a car repair — enough to help a family stay steady. Universal Basic Income, by contrast, is unconditional, goes to everyone, and is meant to cover all basic needs. Cash transfer programs give families money to reduce poverty and may attach conditions, such as requirements tied to children's education or health.
Why give people cash directly?
Research shows that people who receive cash overwhelmingly spend it on basic needs — housing, utilities, food, and emergencies. The evidence contradicts the old assumption that people in poverty will not make sound choices: they do. Direct cash lets families solve their own most urgent problems, on their own terms.
Will people stop working?
No. Decades of research, in the United States and abroad, show little to no effect on whether people work. At $500 a month, it is a floor, not a substitute for a job — not enough to live on, but enough to help steady a household. In practice, guaranteed income has helped people move to a better job, pay for childcare, and reduce debt.
Who is eligible for GRIT 3.0, and how are participants chosen?
GRIT 3.0 is open to current Center for Strong Families clients who have been enrolled at least six months, are single heads of household with children age 17 or younger — or 21 or younger if the child has a disability — and are currently employed.
There is no nomination and no referral. Every client at the six participating sites receives the application and decides for themselves whether to apply. The 25 participants are then chosen by randomized draw from everyone who applies and is eligible, organized by site so that participants come from across the network.
How will we know if GRIT 3.0 worked?
GRIT 3.0 will be evaluated through participant surveys and listening sessions that document how the monthly income affects families' stability and well-being. What we learn will be shared with our partners and will help inform future local, state, and federal guaranteed-income efforts.
What happens if GRIT 3.0 succeeds?
Our hope is that the data and the stories from the GRIT demonstrations will help lead to guaranteed income being adopted at the local, state, or national level.
To learn more about GRIT, visit the United Way Pierce County website or contact grit@uwpc.org.