A new policy report suggests that local churches could partner with government-supported initiatives to host marriage “bootcamps” aimed at helping cohabiting couples with children formalize their relationships through marriage, offering participants a potential financial incentive of up to $5,000.
The proposal appears in a report released last month by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation titled "Saving America by Saving the Family: A Foundation for the Next 250 Years."
Pointing to the nation’s historically low fertility rate — 1.6 births per woman in 2024 — the authors outline recommendations designed to “remove the many obstacles blocking the formation of healthy families, to make marriage and family life easier, and to restore family to the center of American life in rhetoric and in reality.”
Among the ideas presented is a structured program targeting unmarried couples raising children together.
“A related idea would combine several of these elements into a marriage ‘bootcamp’ for cohabiting couples with children. Recruitment could be done through local nonprofits that work with families as well as radio, transit, and social media advertisements,” the report notes.
The concept builds on previous federal efforts to strengthen relationships, including the $35 million Helping Every Area of Relationships Thrive initiative.
Preliminary findings from certain grant recipients — such as Community-Based Connections, Inc. — indicated that more than 95% of participating families reported stronger family functioning.
The report argues that with the involvement of community institutions, particularly churches, and the addition of a financial incentive, more couples may be encouraged to marry and establish greater household stability.
“A local church could use this type of grant to run a program that covers important topics like communication, money management, blended families, fidelity, and conflict resolution. Successful completion of the program would mean that couples are ready to walk down the aisle at a communal wedding by the end of the bootcamp,” the report notes.
The financial incentive — described as a “wedding bonus” — is presented as a key innovation within the framework.
“For example, each couple that completes the program could receive a ‘wedding bonus’ of up to $5,000 on their wedding day to be paid through foundations or private donors, not government funds. Grant recipients could be financially encouraged based on their rate of marriage success,” the report notes.
“This is a simple way to create an incentive structure geared toward the outcomes many people desire. This program idea would complement, not substitute for, the marquee family policies proposed later in this report. But like those policies, there would be strict provisions to screen and prevent fraud.”
