The Challenge

The City of El Monte needed to administer a guaranteed income program and other public benefit payouts—reliably, securely, and at scale. But with a small administrative team and intensive reporting requirements from LA County, the city couldn’t afford to be bogged down by manual operations or inflexible financial tools.

They needed a system that would reduce administrative overhead, enable rigorous reporting, and preserve dignity and choice for program participants.
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The Approach

Partnering with the RAND Corporation and USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, The City of El Monte enrolled participants and tracked program impact through surveys and in-person check-ins. But they also needed a financial technology platform that could:

• Distribute funds automatically on a monthly cadence
  
• Track participant spending in real time
  
• Provide exportable data for research and government reporting
  
• Scale to meet new funding opportunities
  
  

The Solution

The City of El Monte relied on GiveCard Automations to run its entire benefits program with minimal manual work:

• Autoloads
  Each participant’s card was configured with recurring monthly loads, ensuring reliable and on-time payouts without repeated admin involvement.
  
• Real-Time Reporting & Auto-Exports
  City staff used GiveCard’s reporting suite to track how funds were used across categories, automatically export data, and generate insights for partners and funders.
  
• Data-Driven Expansion
  Using reporting generated from GiveCard, El Monte was able to show clear program impact—which helped secure additional funding from the county to extend the program.
  
• Participant Dignity
  Recipients received prepaid cards they could use anywhere in-person or online, allowing them choice and dignity in how they spent their support funds.
  
  

“We needed partners that provided the robust reporting we needed to assess this program accurately and to do so in a way that provided dignity and empowerment to program participants... GiveCard delivered massively.”
— Jessica Medina, Management Analyst, City of El Monte

“If you ask for a business proposal, expect these four things: cost-effectiveness, comprehensive analytics, user-friendly platform, and unparalleled customer service. Compare these to any other company—GiveCard is going to win.”
— Michelle Solorzano, Former Senior Project Manager, City of El Monte

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The Results

With GiveCard, the City of El Monte reduced program administration workload to nearly zero—while expanding its impact at the same time. Real-time tracking and clean reporting not only improved operational oversight, but directly enabled the city to secure new funding and extend the program’s reach. What once required complex coordination is now managed with a few clicks through the GiveCard Dashboard.