MyFriendBen is a free, anonymous digital screener that helps people identify public benefits, tax credits, and community resources for which they may be eligible. It launched in Colorado in 2023 and expanded to North Carolina and four other states in 2025–26, with more expansion underway. The tool was designed to reduce the confusion and administrative burden that prevent many eligible families from claiming assistance.

The team at MyFriendBen engaged the Urban Institute to evaluate the screener’s early implementation. This report examines who uses MyFriendBen, how users experience it, and whether it helps users learn about and access benefits.

Why This Matters

Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars in public benefits go unclaimed, partly because eligibility rules are complex and difficult to navigate. Digital screeners like MyFriendBen offer a scalable way to help close that gap, but evidence on whether they help people learn about and access benefits remains limited. Such insights matter to policymakers, funders, and human services agencies considering investments in digital screening tools, as well as to benefit navigators and community organizations that may refer clients to these tools as part of a broader benefits access strategy.

What We Found

Early evidence suggests that MyFriendBen is reaching the households it was designed to serve and helping them learn about and access public benefits.

• MyFriendBen reached financially vulnerable households. About 43 percent of surveyed users reported no household income, and another 22 percent earned less than $25,000 annually.
• MyFriendBen provided a positive user experience. Most users completed the screener quickly—the median completion time was 6.6 minutes. In addition, 79 percent said the screener was “very easy” to use, and nearly all users (95 percent) said the questions were clear.
• MyFriendBen increased awareness of benefits and prompted applications. About two-thirds of users learned about one or more new benefits through the screener, and nearly as many gained new information about benefits they already heard of. Three months after completing the screener, 86 percent said they had applied for at least one new program, and among those who applied, 85 percent were approved for at least one benefit.
• Newly accessed benefits through MyFriendBen made a real difference in people’s lives. In interviews, users described how these benefits helped them afford necessities, including food, clothing, local travel, and health care, and reduced their financial stress.
• MyFriendBen users continue to face barriers to applying for benefits. Common reasons users did not apply for benefits listed in their screener results included doubting their eligibility, not understanding how to apply, and mistakenly thinking that they can apply for benefits through the screener.
• Some groups may have more difficulty accessing digital screeners like MyFriendBen. Only 6 percent of MyFriendBen users in Colorado lived in nonmetropolitan counties, well below the share of state residents in those areas.
• MyFriendBen and similar screeners may be able to reduce access barriers through deeper systems integration. Deeper integration with community-based benefit navigation organizations and public human services agencies could further strengthen MyFriendBen’s role in the broader benefits access ecosystem.

How We Did It

We used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate MyFriendBen, including the following:

• Analysis of nearly 100,000 MyFriendBen screeners that were started between 2023 and 2025 in Colorado and North Carolina.
• A baseline survey of 301 users conducted immediately after completing the screener.
• A follow-up survey of 117 of the initial 301 survey respondents three months later.
• In-depth interviews with 21 users in Colorado and North Carolina.