In 2024, the U.S. saw the highest number of people unhoused — 770,000 on a given night — despite $10B+ in federal spending on homelessness. There is growing evidence that a large lump sum of cash can help homeless families become stably housed, which is why GiveDirectly launched a program in Chicago doing just that. We […]
Blog - Operations
Candid thoughts from staff, donors, and recipients on our work and the broader movement towards cash transfers.
Operations, Recipients
How to explain AI/ML across the digital divide
When a crisis hits a low-income country, aid groups often struggle to quickly find and help those most in need because governments have incomplete or outdated information on their citizens (‘social registries’). This is why GiveDirectly has used mobile phone metadata and AI to predict people’s level of need and send them emergency cash quickly—often […]
Operations
Rethinking efficiency to better reflect our diverse cash programs
Minimizing costs maximizes our impact for the world’s poorest: in a million-dollar GiveDirectly program, increasing efficiency from 75% to 80% might allow us to give an additional 100 people cash.1 But efficiency is not the only important metric, as some higher-cost programs reach more vulnerable populations or unlock new funds to go directly to people in […]
Operations
How GiveDirectly prevents, addresses, and reports risks
We’re improving how we report to you on risks Giving cash directly is a proven and dignified way to relieve multidimensional poverty. While your donations do a great deal of good for families in need, delivering them also creates a risk of harm and fraud, which we outline in this blog below. You should also […]
Operations
Which U.S. cash programs work the best? We don’t know yet.
Giving cash directly to people in poverty is proven to help. Our research increasingly focuses on testing the impact of different cash designs by varying how much, how often, and when people receive cash. For example, a first-of-its-kind study found the impact of delivering the same amount of cash to Kenyans in poverty is significantly […]
Operations
GiveDirectly pursues greater impact as Nick Allardice joins as President & CEO
GiveDirectly has been a major player in scaling the use of unconditional cash transfers, helping build consensus among the international community that direct cash is a key component to tackling extreme poverty. Now, as we near $1 billion delivered, we’ve appointed Nick Allardice as President and CEO to lead this next phase of growth. GiveDirectly […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Operations
Our experiments to raise more money for people in poverty
If you’re reading this, you probably already know giving cash directly to someone in poverty works, and are donating based on the research and evidence. You might also believe that you decide where to give based solely on a nonprofit’s mission or effectiveness. However, most of us can be nudged to give based on less-than-logical […]