A Baltimore man started an income-sharing club after the DOGE job cuts. It's redistributed over $20,000 so far.

• Alex Zhu founded the Baltimore Community Guaranteed Income Club in April 2025.
• He said he created the club after his friends lost their jobs in the DOGE cuts.
• About 50 Baltimore neighbors now participate in the income-sharing club, and it continues to grow.

So, without a government behind them, the members of Zhu’s club just rely on each other.

‘Giving is a muscle’

Zhu said the program’s first year was largely successful. For one, he said some people who were initially unemployed and then found jobs stayed in the club to help others.

And, he said, there were club members who no longer had to worry about how they would buy groceries or medicine.

“Because they knew that they had this community that was supporting them, they could go out and have more joy,” Zhu said. “Giving is a muscle, right? The more that you do it, the better you get at it.”

Part of building that muscle comes from maintaining community, something Zhu said can take time. He’s begun hosting monthly social meetups for residents and has made an effort to welcome anyone interested in joining.

“The hardest part of this is the relational aspect,” Zhu said. “The way that we get people to join is mostly from trusted relationships. Hopefully, we can get to that point where we’re bringing people in from completely different circles, but the trust is a big part, and the community aspect is important.”

Neighbors helping neighbors

There were also some obstacles Zhu faced during the first year, including miscommunication about where to send money, missed payments, and a hesitance among some participants to ask for money.

“The other thing that I think like a lot of groups like this would face is that there will be an imbalance with the number of people who want to give and the number of people who need help,” Zhu said.

Still, Zhu said it’s important for people to step up and help their neighbors, especially when there’s no government support.

“I would love for it to be a thing that exists in the state or federal government, but until then, we’re going to do it this way,” Zhu said.

He’s aiming to grow the Baltimore Community Guaranteed Income Club from 50 members to 150 members and expand its digital footprint with an official website.

“For those who say that it isn’t going to work, they’re wrong because it is working,” Zhu said. “It’s just neighbors helping out neighbors.”