Monday is the last day for Iowa families in certain counties to apply for a guaranteed income program that would provide them with a monthly payment of $500.

The UpLift program will select 110 applicants to receive these monthly payments over the course of two years, and researchers will track how participants use these payments each month. The recipients have the freedom to spend their money however they see fit, according to the Harkin Institute, a research firm helping with the program.

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“Poverty is a chronic obstacle,” said Ashley Ezzio, lead programmer of UpLift. “Month upon month of limited income in the face of steady to rising financial obligations impacts a family’s ability to simply survive.”

In order to be eligibile for this program, applicants must live in Dallas, Polk, or Warren counties, have at least one dependent no older than 25, and have a household income of 60% of the area median income or lower.

The required area median income varies depending on the applicant's number of dependents. An applicant with two dependents cannot make more than $3,940 per month, and an applicant with three dependents cannot make more than $4,433.

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A random control study will also compare outcomes from these recipients to 140 people who receive no monthly payments.

“What other projects have shown is that even the smallest boost in regular income can make a vast difference for a family,” said Michael Berger, another programmer of the project. “Participants aren’t looking for handouts. They just need paths to greater financial stability and, hopefully, prosperity.”