Send money directly to low-income Americans, with no strings attached.
473,000+ people uplifted across 14 programs in 51 states and territories throughout the U.S.
Since 2017, GiveDirectly has delivered unconditional cash transfers to low-income Americans across the country and proven that cash can have positive impacts for people in need. By running some of the country's largest cash programs, we aim to demonstrate the power of cash to help families build wealth and eliminate poverty in the wealthiest country in the world.
We aim to create meaningful change for low-income families while informing the policies that impact them. Our programs include research designed to grow the evidence base around the effects of cash and optimize the design of cash programs across contexts.
The U.S. spends about what most wealthy countries spend on social protection, yet 36.8M Americans are still living in poverty. The U.S. currently has the second highest poverty rate relative to national income of any wealthy country in the world.
Much of this social spending is poured into poorly designed programs that carry excessive bureaucratic burden, leaving a quarter of eligible families unable to access the support they need to meet their basic needs and invest in their future. And when programs do reach people in need, they often come with invasive, time-consuming applications and paternalistic conditions.
We know unconditional cash works to dramatically reduce poverty, without imposing excessive and unhelpful barriers to entry. With your support, we can continue building the case for cash-based government interventions and shift more aid directly into the hands of families in need.
At this time, we are not accepting applications for cash transfers. Our U.S. programs are targeted to specific populations, who are then invited to participate in a program. If you are currently enrolled in one of our programs, please submit your questions here and we'll respond within three business days.
If you are currently enrolled and would like to share concerns about your interactions with our staff, please email us here and we will respond as soon as we are able.
No. You can choose which GiveDirectly programs to donate to, but not individual recipients.
Practically speaking, if we let you direct funds to a specific person, we would risk being regulated as a money transfer service and losing our charitable status. Philosophically, we aim to target the poorest possible recipients, and not those with compelling profiles or narratives. Finally, it keeps costs down.
Objectively, a dollar will have more impact on a Kenyan living on under $3/day than an American living on ~$50/day. However, we believe working in the U.S. is important for the following reasons.
First, working in the U.S. gives us an opportunity to create meaningful change in the lives of low-income Americans. The U.S. has the second highest poverty rate relative to national income of any wealthy country in the world. While results from the pandemic-era cash-based programs show large drops in poverty, only a fifth of U.S. social spending is given as cash.
Second, working in the U.S. can improve the effectiveness of existing spendings by the U.S. government on poverty interventions. Historically, the U.S. spends about what most wealthy countries spend on social protection, but much of that spending goes to poorly designed social programs that carry excessive bureaucratic burden. The research components of our U.S. programs will add to the relatively small pool of evidence on the impact of cash in high income countries, helping inform better policy design.
For more details, read our blog on why we work in the U.S.
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