What 4-CT does

4-CT is a Connecticut-based independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in March 2020 with the support of Governor Ned Lamont to address economic and health disparities among vulnerable Connecticut residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization designs, implements, and administers direct cash assistance programs targeting individuals facing systemic barriers, including survivors of violence, formerly incarcerated individuals, low-income patients with chronic disease, housing-insecure families, immigrants, and refugees. Core program verticals are organized as Cash for Violence Reduction, Cash for Reentry, Cash for Health Equity, Cash for Housing Security, and Strategic Collaborations.

The operating model relies on a partnership-led delivery network spanning hospital-based violence intervention programs (Yale New Haven Hospital, Connecticut Children's Injury Prevention Center), community-based organizations (Project M.O.R.E., New Reach, Clifford Beers, HAVEN Free Clinic), health systems (Trinity Health, SEICHE Center at Yale), government entities (City of New Haven, Connecticut Department of Public Health), academic institutions (NYU Law Basic Income Lab, Yale Law School), and large national nonprofits (Center for Employment Opportunities). Funds are delivered primarily through a prepaid Mastercard mechanism co-developed with the City of New Haven, Mastercard's Global Cities team, and Usio, enabling same-day disbursement either to cards or by direct deposit. Program designs include both one-time emergency disbursements and recurring guaranteed income transfers (e.g., $500/month for 12 months for reentry pilots; $1,000/month for 6 months in NYC; $6,000 over 6 months for housing security).

Since founding, 4-CT has reportedly distributed more than $8.5 million in cash transfers across 271 zip codes, reaching over 43,000 individuals, with documented outcomes including 97% employment maintenance and 88% housing stability retention in the Elm City Reentry Pilot. The organization is funded entirely through private philanthropy (individual donors, foundations, and corporate giving) and reports no proprietary technology, parent company, or ownership changes. Headquarters are located at 470 James Street, Suite 007, New Haven, Connecticut, with a lean staff of approximately 10-15 supported by a 7-member board.

Name

4-CT

Legal name

4-CT

Website

https://4-ct.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

4-CT is a Connecticut-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that designs and administers direct cash assistance programs, including guaranteed income pilots, for vulnerable populations such as formerly incarcerated individuals, violence victims, housing-insecure families, refugees, and low-income patients, delivered through hospital, community, and government partners via prepaid Mastercard infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Direct Cash Assistance Programs

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Direct cash assistance
• Guaranteed income programs
• Cash transfer services
• Violence intervention funding
• Reentry support cash

Headquarters

HQ city

Westport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Private Philanthropy: 4-CT is funded entirely through private philanthropy. Individual donors, foundations, and corporate giving contribute to cash assistance programs. The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

4-CT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that designs, implements, and administers direct cash assistance programs on behalf of community partners. It delivers one-time emergency cash transfers and recurring monthly guaranteed income pilots to individuals facing economic hardship, victimization, reentry from incarceration, housing instability, or refugee resettlement challenges, distributing funds via prepaid Mastercards or direct deposit through trusted community-based organization, hospital, and government agency partnerships.

Product overview

4-CT is a Connecticut-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that designs, implements, and provides operational support for direct cash assistance programs. The organization operates several core cash transfer programs including Cash for Violence Reduction (partnered with hospital violence intervention programs), Cash for Reentry (guaranteed income for formerly incarcerated individuals), Cash for Health Equity (healthcare provider partnerships), Cash for Housing Security (homelessness prevention), and Strategic Collaborations (refugee support and academic partnerships). Programs are delivered through a combination of recurring monthly transfers and one-time emergency assistance, with funds distributed via prepaid card infrastructure. The organization partners with community organizations, healthcare providers, hospitals, and government entities to reach vulnerable populations including violence victims, returning citizens, housing-insecure families, and refugees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cash for Violence Intervention and Prevention Direct cash assistance program partnered with hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) and community-based organizations to support victims of violence in their post-injury recovery and prevent re-injury; for gun violence, intimate partner violence, human trafficking, physical assault, and sexual assault survivors.
• Cash for Reentry Guaranteed income pilot providing recurring unconditional cash transfers to formerly incarcerated individuals to support reintegration; $500/month for 12 months in Connecticut and $1,000/month for 6 months in New York.
• Cash for Health Equity Cash assistance program partnered with healthcare providers to promote positive health outcomes for individuals facing economic hardship, including programs for people with chronic disease returning from incarceration and low-income patients with social needs.
• Cash for Housing Security Direct cash transfers to families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, providing $6,000 over 6 months to families on shelter waitlists in partnership with New Reach.
• Connecticut Welcome Fund Emergency fund providing direct cash transfers to immigrant and refugee children, adults, and families in Connecticut, created in response to federal funding cuts to refugee resettlement agencies including CIRI, IRIS, and JFS Greenwich.
• 4-CT Card Prepaid Mastercard-based distribution program for delivering unrestricted, no-strings-attached cash assistance, originally developed during COVID-19 pandemic response and used across 4-CT's pilot programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% of Elm City Reentry Pilot participants maintained or improved employment during the pilot
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership with nation's largest reentry services organization to administer pilot providing $1,000/month for 6 months to 25 NYC families impacted by mass incarceration.
• Trinity HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership to provide direct cash transfers to low-income patients with social needs identified via Trinity Health's social care screening tool in Hartford, Waterbury, CT and Springfield, MA.
• NYU Law Basic Income LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Ongoing collaboration where students design and implement cash transfer programs. Co-taught by Daniel Hemel and Sarah Blanton. Includes housing security and justice-impacted parents pilots.
• Yale Law School Basic Income LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Predecessor to NYU Law partnership when Prof. Hemel was Visiting Professor at Yale Law School in Spring 2024. Related programs include Cash for Housing Security and Cash for Reentry.
• UnlocalsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership for Cash for Asylum Seekers program providing direct cash transfers to asylum-seeking families in New York City.
• Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in Connecticut Welcome Fund @ 4-CT responding to $4 million+ federal funding cuts to refugee resettlement agencies.
• Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in Connecticut Welcome Fund @ 4-CT for refugee resettlement services including legal, employment, behavioral health, housing and food assistance.
• Jewish Family Services of Greenwich (JFS Greenwich)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in Connecticut Welcome Fund @ 4-CT for refugee resettlement services.
• Mastercard Global Cities TeamcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Technology partnership to develop Elm City ID + prepaid Mastercard card for guaranteed income pilot fund distribution.
• UsiocoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Payment processing partnership for prepaid card administration in guaranteed income pilot.
• CT Health and New OpportunitiessecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership to disburse direct cash to food-insecure families in Meriden, Waterbury, and Torrington in response to SNAP reductions.
• HAVEN Free CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership to provide food-restricted cash disbursements totaling ~$400 over 6 months to 50 clients to address food insecurity and health outcomes.
• New ReachcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership to connect 4-CT with parents of children under 18 on shelter waitlist for ETHIC housing security pilot providing $6,000 over 6 months.
• Connecticut Children's Injury Prevention CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership coordinated by Dr. Kevin Borrup to expand violence intervention efforts with HVIP partners in Hartford, providing no-strings-attached cash transfers to victims of violence.
• Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024National network partnership to determine effectiveness of flexible cash transfers for violence victims, particularly in post-injury recovery and prevention efforts.
• City of New HavencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership for Violence Prevention Intervention and Expansion efforts including PRESS (Program for Reintegration, Engagement, Safety, and Support) program.
• SEICHE Center for Health and Justice at Yale School of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership to launch pilot determining effectiveness of unconditional, monthly cash transfers for individuals with chronic disease returning from incarceration in Bridgeport and New Haven. Generates data for potential larger RCT on chronic disease outcomes.
• Project M.O.R.E. Reentry Welcome CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership to develop and implement Elm City Reentry Pilot - Connecticut's first guaranteed income pilot providing $500/month for 12 months to 60 formerly incarcerated individuals.
• City of New HavencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership to address recidivism and reduce community violence through guaranteed income pilot. City collaborated on Elm City ID + prepaid Mastercard development.
• Yale New Haven Hospital HVIPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program partnership to provide flexible cash transfers to victims of violence in their post-injury recovery to prevent future injury and end cycle of violence.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Robin Hood Foundation: Large NYC-based poverty-fighting foundation funding cash assistance, housing, and education programs. Comparable in funder role and beneficiary populations, but operates as a grantmaker rather than direct cash distributor.

Direct peers

• Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI): National network of hospital-based violence intervention programs and a partner of 4-CT. Comparable in addressing violence intervention through cash and wraparound services, with overlap on HVIP-hospital partnerships.
• GiveDirectly: Largest direct cash transfer nonprofit globally; operates unconditional cash transfers to extremely low-income households. Most direct functional peer to 4-CT's core model of no-strings-attached cash assistance, though at global rather than US scale.
• Magnolia Mother's Trust: Springboard to Opportunities' guaranteed income pilot for low-income Black mothers in Mississippi. Closely comparable in operating model — recurring unconditional cash, US-domestic, partnership-driven — and a fellow member of the guaranteed-income nonprofit ecosystem.
• The Bridge Project: Operates guaranteed income pilots for formerly incarcerated individuals and families across multiple US cities. Strongest peer for 4-CT's Cash for Reentry vertical, with comparable academic and reentry-services partnerships.
• Compton Pledge / Guaranteed Income Pilot: Guaranteed income pilot operating in Compton, CA, providing recurring cash to residents. Comparable in approach (unconditional recurring cash with academic evaluation) and use of community partner ecosystems.
• OpenResearch: Research nonprofit that designed and evaluated the Stockton SEED and other major US guaranteed income pilots. Comparable to 4-CT in combining academic rigor with direct cash deployment, though positioned primarily as a research rather than operations organization.
• Family Independence Initiative (FII): Provides direct cash transfers and resources to families across multiple US cities, with a trust-based, no-strings-attached model. Comparable in philosophy and operational approach, including a similar reliance on community partners to identify recipients.
• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): Largest reentry employment nonprofit in the US and active 4-CT partner (NYC Returning Citizen Stimulus pilot). Direct peer for Cash for Reentry and adjacent programs, sharing the formerly-incarcerated customer base.

Emerging players

• The Prosperity Agenda: Newer organization supporting guaranteed income pilots and advocacy across US states. Comparable mission and emerging presence in the same guaranteed-income ecosystem as 4-CT.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/4-ct
• Xx.com/4_connecticut

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 4-CT