"Aid Like A Paycheck" is a large-scale pilot evaluation of whether an innovative approach to disbursing financial aid can improve academic and financial outcomes for low-income community college students. Lessons from the pilot evaluation were used to create and fine-tune a logic model depicting activities, outputs, mediators, and hypothesized outcomes from the program. The logic model informed the development of a mixed method evaluation that included a randomized control trial (RCT), qualitative research, and a student survey. This paper discusses feedback from policymakers, practitioners, and financial aid students that helped to shape the design of this financial aid intervention and of its rigorous research model. Findings may be used to make financial aid programs more cost-effective for students, colleges, and federal and state governments. Tables and figures are appended.