our cash transfer costs
GiveDirectly currently provides cash transfer service to Kenya. Based on performance to date we expect to put 93% of your donation into the hands of a recipient. Note that this definition of efficiency is different from the "program services" metric many nonprofits use. Because we commit to using your donation only for direct transfers, we spend 100% of your donation on program services.
Our transfer costs include two components, enrollment/followup costs and wire transfer costs. As of FY 2012 we enrolled and followed up with 732 recipient households at an average cost of $50, or 4.8% of total costs. We have negotiated foreign exchange fees of 1.5% and pay standard M-Pesa tarrifs of 1.6% of the amount transferred; together these amount to 2.6% of total costs.
The figures above describe how we spend the the money we receive. Depending on how you donate you may pay an additional service fee; for example, Google Checkout charges standard credit card processing fees of approximately 3%. We encourage donors who wish to avoid these fees to donate via check or wire transfer.
our marketing costs
As of FY 2012 GiveDirectly's board has spent a total of $30K on marketing our services domestically. This figure includes IT costs ($8K), registration and reporting costs ($18K), and staff support for outreach ($4K). We do not currently accept donations from the public in support of these activities.
financial statements
