Meet MyFriendBen

Let’s make accessing the safety net as easy as having a trusted friend by your side.

MyFriendBen is an online, open-source tool created by Gary Community Ventures, a Denver-based philanthropic organization dedicated to increasing opportunity for Colorado kids and families.

We co-designed MyFriendBen with a group of families who told us it was difficult and time-consuming to know what benefits they were eligible for. Our goal is to increase benefit participation rates by making key information – like dollar value and time to apply – more transparent, accessible and accurate.

MyFriendBen empowers individuals and organizations to quickly and easily understand and access government benefits, tax credits and nonprofit programs. Users answer a set of basic demographic questions about their household and receive a personalized report that shows eligibility, dollar value and time required to apply for federal, state and local programs.

Meet The Team

Colorado Impact: Year 1

50%

of users apply – or intend to apply – for a new benefit after using MyFriendBen

$2,500

median monthly value of benefits and tax credits that MyFriendBen users qualify for

$8M

in projected value received by MyFriendBen households

Designed for Scale: MyFriendBen’s rules engine is powered by PolicyEngine, a national, open-source rules as code platform. This backend calculator – plus our open source infrastructure – enables adaptation in other communities nationally.

MyFriendBen is currently live in Colorado and under development in North Carolina, through a partnership with Code the Dream. We are actively developing other state partnerships to dramatically improve access to public benefits at scale. Let’s transform the safety net together.

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