DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO) — UpLift, the Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot, announced on Monday that the participants for the program were selected and the first monthly payments were made.

One-hundred and 10 participants were selected to receive the $6,000-year stipend, given out in $500 monthly checks for two years. Six-thousand central Iowans applied to be a part of the study, something the project coordinators were shocked by.

“Ecstatic, thrilled, honored that we’ve had this response,” said Michael Berger, a project coordinator at UpLift said. “…the $500 isn’t making anybody millionaires, but that’s not the purpose of the pilot. The purpose is to make sure that everybody has their very basic needs met.”

Berger hoped that families would use the money on food, rent, child care, transportation, and finding better employment opportunities.

Back in February, the program was rolled out and families could begin to apply. The program was made available to people in Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties. The maximum annual income for a family of four is $59,190.

“We have families that come from all different backgrounds, different makeups,” said Ashley Ezzio, a project coordinator with UpLift said. “…having a representation of all different folks in central Iowa was extremely important.”

You can view the demographics for the randomly selected pilot program here. UpLift will compare these 110 participants against a control group of 140 over the two-year span. The study will see how a monthly basic income reduces poverty and impact the health and well-being of the participants.