If you’re planning to make a donation around the holidays, we’ve pulled together details below on United States tax deadlines.
Blog
Candid thoughts from staff, donors, and recipients on our work and the broader movement towards cash transfers.
Opinions
Give more money directly to end extreme poverty
Summary Tuesday marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a U.N. observance to rally support for their number one goal and a good chance to take stock of where that goal stands.1 Poverty can mean many things, but extreme poverty has a specific definition: $2.15 per day. This line, set by the World […]
Operations, Opinions
Why too few disaster survivors get cash aid and what we can do about it
Summary People impacted by disasters need cash aid, but rarely receive it People impacted by a crisis prefer cash relief over in-kind aid (e.g. food, tarps), as it allows them to meet their own needs rather than having others guess for them. Decades of evidence show giving cash improves basic needs like food security and […]
Opinions
4 reasons to give cash to disaster survivors, rather than stuff
After a disaster strikes, images of destroyed homes motivate many of us to donate. Often we give to charities handing out things like tarps and food, because that’s what we imagine people need. Here are 4 reasons you should instead… 1. Survivors use cash for urgent goods and services Markets and businesses rebound quicker than […]
Operations
Update on GiveDirectly leadership roles
Summary Rory Stewart is transitioning from President to Senior Advisor Rory Stewart has served as GiveDirectly’s President since August 2022. Under his leadership, GiveDirectly delivered more cash to people living in extreme poverty than any year prior, expanded our climate change response, and secured formal collaborations with multiple African governments. Rory is transitioning to a […]
Operations
Sending cash to flood survivors – 4 things we got right and wrong
For Hassana in Kogi, Nigeria, October’s floods were not like years past. “All our farmlands washed away as many had not yet harvested what they planted. The flooding continued until our homes and other things were destroyed. At this point we were running helter-skelter,” she said. These floods, the worst in a decade, result from […]
Recipients, Research
For refugees in cities, large cash transfers support self-reliance
For families fleeing conflict or crisis, the world is short on solutions. In the past decade, relief organizations have been forced to make steep cuts to rations provided due to budget constraints, while wealthy countries have welcomed fewer than 1% of refugees. For the 33M refugees unable to return home, building a new life in […]
Operations, Recipients
The power of getting a mobile phone
Rural poverty in sub-Saharan Africa can mean disconnection. Too poor to afford telephones or travel, some families struggle to keep in touch. Many cannot bank or send money securely. Global news can be slow to reach areas without a cell network. When you donate, you provide people in poverty with more than just cash; you […]
Operations
Fraud in D.R.C. – our apology and response
Update as of November 16, 2023: since the original post below, we’ve completed our investigation and are sharing these updates: Summary GiveDirectly has delivered cash transfers to some of the poorest households across sub-Saharan Africa for over a decade. Cash aid sent directly to recipients’ mobile money accounts is effective in avoiding many forms of […]
Operations
How AI helped 6x our disaster response speed
For nearly two weeks after Hurricane Ian hit Ft. Myers, Florida, Shannon P. went without power. Shannon relies on food stamps to make ends meet and is dependent on insulin, which must be refrigerated. To power her fridge, she had to purchase a generator and a constant supply of gas to run it, costing hundreds […]