You may have read our recent announcement that operations are afoot in Liberia. We’re excited to announce that we’ll be expanding our program to a fifth country: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As with Liberia, we’re learning that for each new launch, some of our standard playbook carries over (e.g. Day 1: figure out […]
Blog
Candid thoughts from staff, donors, and recipients on our work and the broader movement towards cash transfers.
Recipients
How receiving a basic income affects elderly women
Since October 2016, GiveDirectly has been sending monthly cash transfers to 95 adult residents in a remote village in Kenya. This village is the pilot site for our broader universal basic income initiative. “Remote” is often a code word for “poor.” But other vulnerabilities in age, gender and marital status contribute as much, if not […]
Operations
GiveDirectly launching in Liberia
In 2009, our co-founder & President Michael landed in Nairobi, connected with a local M-Pesa staffer, and transferred money to a handful of families in an internal displacement camp (he might still have the handwritten ledger he used to keep records). It goes without saying that our maiden voyage setting up a country office involved […]
Research
Our take on HS18, revisited
Johannes Haushofer and Jeremy Shapiro recently released a paper (HS18) estimating the three-year impacts of individually randomized cash transfers on GiveDirectly recipients. We wrote a short note on these results in February; recently there has been active discussion among researchers (e.g., e.g.), and we’ve since followed up with many of them. Our failure in original […]
Opinions
How crypto can help refugees
We have some good news to share: OmiseGO, with an additional generous contribution from Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, is donating the equivalent of $1 million USD in OMG tokens directly to refugees living in extreme poverty, and GiveDirectly will deliver those funds. The crypto economy has grown immensely over the last year, bringing a great […]
Operations
Announcing cash for refugees
Images of refugees in boats make headlines and grip hearts, but we rarely think about what happens to them 1, 2, or even 10 years later. It turns out that refugees spend, on average, 10+ years in settlements or camps. The aid they receive helps them survive, but rarely do they get the chance to […]
Research
Longer-term impacts of GiveDirectly transfers – first evidence
Update (04/23/18): We’ve updated our take on the HS18 results, check out our latest here. Back in 2011 we announced our first randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Rarieda, Kenya. A lot has changed over that time – we’ve moved to new areas, changed our transfer design ($1,000 lump-sum transfers are now GiveDirectly’s standard, whereas most Rarieda […]
Research
Deepening our understanding of impact: who and how long?
Evidence about what works, for whom, and for how long is often lacking in international development. The impact of many interventions is simply unknown, while others continue to receive funding despite having been evaluated and found wanting. GiveDirectly was created because there is overwhelming evidence that cash transfers, in contrast, have a wide range of […]
Opinions
Coats, Cash, or Aunt Carol?: Priority-setting and the purpose of donations
‘Tis the season for charitable giving, and everyone, it seems, has a request: your kid’s school wants winter coats for its annual coat drive. Your mom asks you to donate to the Cockatiel Rehabilitation Society in honor of your beloved Aunt Carol (who has volunteered there for 20 years). GiveDirectly wants you to donate so […]
Opinions
How to talk about cash like an expert
Over the years, we’ve had lots of conversations with folks about whether it’s a good idea to simply give money to people who don’t have much of it. It’s a great conversation: it gets to some pretty core issues about human nature, and (spoiler alert) there is good news to share! To help you have […]