Along with Paul and Chris, I spent last week in Rarieda Province Kenya, where I received a lesson in development from the poor themselves. A typical thatched roof in Kenya (right) must be replaced 1–2 times per year, at a cost of $100–$150, and is often a habitat for insects. A GiveDirectly recipient’s home (left), […]
Blog
Candid thoughts from staff, donors, and recipients on our work and the broader movement towards cash transfers.
Research
The Other Blattman Study
I believe we should be putting more money and more power directly into the hands of the poor. When given the chance, they have a consistent track record, across dozens of rigorous studies, of using money sensibly to improve their own lives. This evidence base was already compelling – and then along came Chris Blattman. […]
Opinions
GiveWell’s First Full Update on GiveDirectly
Please visit the GiveWell website to read an in-depth report on GiveDirectly’s work in Kenya, our expansion into a second country, and our long-term outlook as we continue to scale up our cash transfer operations. The report covers our activities since November 2012, when GiveWell named GiveDirectly their #2 rated charity based on their criteria […]
Recipients
A Report from the Field: Following Up with Cash Transfer Recipients
This post comes from Piali Mukhopadhyay, our Chief Operating Officer. As of this spring, Piali and our field team in Kenya have overseen the transfer of over $1 million to more than 1,000 households in Western province. They have also laid the groundwork to transfer $675,000 to an additional 1,500 households over the coming months. […]
Uncategorized
New Blog Format
Thanks to the time and efforts of a generous volunteer, this section of the GiveDirectly website will now feature more frequent updates, including reports from our field team, lessons learned from our work, and the latest evidence on the impact our cash transfers have on the lives of the poor. If you have a question […]
Uncategorized
Spring 2013: Cash transfers in the headlines
Evidence behind unconditional cash transfers captured the media’s attention in May: Jacquelline Fuller in Fast Company: “This is a way to transform how people think about aid. There is no reason why a lot of development dollars couldn’t be shifted to a model like this.” Matthew Yglesias in Slate: “Money with no strings attached not […]
Uncategorized
Benchmarking development aid
Jacquelline Fuller in the Harvard Business Review: “…GiveDirectly has a new concept: What if cash transfers are used as a standard benchmark against which to measure all development aid? What if every nonprofit that focused on poverty alleviation had to prove they could do more for the poor with a dollar than the poor could […]
Opinions
Holiday media coverage
GiveDirectly in the news this holiday season: Dana Goldstein in the Atlantic: “So simple, it’s genius.” Dylan Matthews in the Washinton Post: “The idea, in a way, is so obvious it’s hard to believe people hadn’t tried to do it on this scale before: ending poverty by giving people money.” Chris Hayes on MSNBC: “A […]
Uncategorized
Global Impact Award from Google
We are pleased to announce that GiveDirectly has received a $2.4M Global Impact Award from Google. Two things excite us about this project. First, over 90% of the award ($2.21M) is earmarked for direct cash transfers to the poor. Delivering these funds will enable thousands of families to pursue their own goals with no strings […]
Opinions
GiveWell: GiveDirectly “top-rated”
We are happy to share the news that GiveWell, a leading non-profit evaluation group, has updated its evaluations for 2012 and now names GiveDirectly one of three “top-rated” organizations. As you may know, GiveWell’s recommendations are extremely selective: their process includes field visits and comprehensive reviews of relevant research, and they ultimately recommend only 1% […]