Yolanda spent some of the monthly cash she receives through GiveDirectly’s program in Cook County, Illinois on a trip to the zoo with her grandson. “It felt good because that payment helps me be able to do those things,” she said. “So I don’t have to say to my grandson, ‘Oh, we can’t do that […]
Blog
Candid thoughts from staff, donors, and recipients on our work and the broader movement towards cash transfers.
Operations
GiveDirectly’s approach to responsible AI/ML
We use big data and AI to swiftly and accurately deliver cash relief to people in need GiveDirectly has leveraged big data and artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning (ML)1, to identify and deliver cash directly to people in need 4-8x faster and with improved accuracy. This has proven particularly useful for delivering cash relief […]
Recipients
MrBeast gives $200,000 directly to people in poverty
Beast Philanthropy donated $200,000 to Ugandans living in extreme poverty through GiveDirectly Beast Philanthropy is a nonprofit YouTube channel that funds and films charitable acts, putting the ad revenue from their popular videos towards their next projects. They feature MrBeast aka Jimmy Donaldson, the most watched person on Earth with over 600 million followers across […]
Research
Survey: fewer people support direct cash transfers than you may think
In May, GiveDirectly ran a panel survey of 750 Americans who fit our common donor profile to better understand their familiarity and sentiments around direct cash. Below, we outline the most relevant findings and how they’ll inform our communications and marketing strategy. Note: we’ll continue to update this blog as we further analyze the survey […]
Opinions
John Cena warns us against giving cash with conditions
A recent Amazon movie includes a scene about cash transfers, which tells an important truth about conditioning cash. “GiveGreen chooses to offer unconditional cash transfers for two reasons. First, empowering poor people to make their own choices – that advances their core value of respect. Second, imposing conditions requires expensive monitoring & enforcement structures that […]
Operations
More people in poverty get cash when we work with governments
Partnering with government increases the impact of your donation GiveDirectly’s role as a non-profit is to innovate in how cash aid is delivered and study the impact. National governments are central to alleviating poverty in their countries, and any effective non-profit should be working in concert with them. GiveDirectly has launched our largest collaborations with […]
Opinions
Your gift creates dignity for women
Caroline Teti is GiveDirectly’s Director of Safeguarding and Recipient Advocacy. Listen to Caroline narrate her letter: As a woman born in the rural villages of western Kenya, I watched mothers toiling to make life livable for their children, forgoing the basics to give us access to the little they could. It was not uncommon for […]
Donation Info
Where does the money go when you click “donate”?
GiveDirectly’s cash transfer programming is quite a bit more diverse today than it was when we first started accepting donations, way back in 2011. In those days, we had a single program design: deliver $1,000 to households in rural Kenya living in poverty. Today we have programs that look similar to that, but we also […]
Opinions
A Global Cash-Transfer Fund Could End Extreme Poverty
Cash transfers offer a transformative solution to multidimensional poverty, by enhancing dozens of outcomes simultaneously. They have already proven effective, adaptable, and replicable, and now they are becoming more attainable every year with growing mobile coverage and improved digital infrastructure. LOMÉ – For decades, the international community has grappled with the challenge of ending extreme […]
Operations
Improving our ability to give cash after the next global emergency
GiveDirectly helps people escape poverty through cash transfers. People living in poverty or close to poverty are disproportionately affected by crisis, and it’s estimated that two thirds of people living in extreme poverty will be living in fragile and conflict-affected situations by 2030.1 A well-timed cash transfer can help people affected by crises meet their […]