Why fund it
We expect this fund to be our highest leverage: we will move your unrestricted donation to wherever it will make the most marginal difference. That allows us to adapt quickly to a changing world: a crisis hits, a government approval clears, a pilot works. We also use this fund to pay for some fundraising costs (in 2026 we raised $31 for every $1 we invested in fundraising), and some core operations. This fund is like a portfolio of GiveDirectly’s highest impact work: most funds our highest-confidence Global Poverty cash programs, and a smaller share backs newer bets with bigger upside. And because a commitment can come ahead of the cash, it lets us build capacity early, with teams, payment systems, and government agreements, so cash reaches families sooner.
How we allocate
We direct unrestricted gifts to wherever we expect the next dollar to do the most good, based on our assessment of programmatic and operational needs and opportunities when the gift arrives. In 2026, 92.7% went to people in extreme poverty through our flagship Global Poverty programs and 7.3% to core operations, staff, and fundraising.
We publish a biannual statement on money in, money out, and what changed.
Risks and uncertainties
Unrestricted giving means trusting our judgment, and we can be wrong about where the next dollar does the most. The split between sure bets and new bets will shift as funding gaps and priorities change, and some of the newer bets won’t work. Fundraising returned about $31 raised per $1 spent over two years, but that’s an average, and the next dollar may return less. Because you don’t direct the gift, you can’t point it at a specific country or program.