GiveDirectly

Send money directly to the extreme poor.

Innovative Charitable Model

We use mobile payments technology to send your donations to extremely poor families in the developing world in the most capital efficient way currently possible.

Basic Income Project

We are launching the largest basic income experiment in history in which thousands of recipients will receive enough money to live on for 12 years while we rigorously study the impact. We have already raised $20 million but we need your help to continue the project funding. Read more

Benchmark Efficiency

%

of your dollar ends up in the hands of the poor. Our model is setting the benchmark for philanthropic efficiency around the world. Read more

Evidence of Impact

We use rigorous, third-party evaluations (RCTs) to bring a remarkable level of transparency and accountability to our operation. The evidence of our impact per $1000 distributed is:

Earnings

+$270

Assets

+$430

Nutrition spend

+$330

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Incredible Support

GiveDirectly is one of the fastest-growing charities in the world and is supported by Givewell, Google.org, Good Ventures, and many others. We have received more than $140M in total donations for the poor since launch. Read more

Direct Impact at Scale

Since launching 5 years ago, GiveDirectly has already enrolled more than 50,000 families and 200,000 people in cash transfer programs.

Effective Altruism

We strive to promote a new approach to philanthropy that uses constant experimentation and analytical rigor to understand the most impactful ways to achieve positive outcomes. We hope to set new benchmarks for impact and change the way the world thinks about charitable giving.

Ongoing Studies:

  • 2 on cash transfer design
  • 1 on macroeconomic effects
  • 1 on basic income
  • 1 on gender relations

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From the blog

Thousands of donors have come together to support the effort, contributing over $11 million since April and bringing total commitments to the project to $21 million, with $9 million to go to fully fund the study. We’ve also built a strong research team, including Alan Krueger, a former Chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and a professor at Princeton; Abhijit Banerjee, co-founder of J-PAL and a professor at MIT; and Tavneet Suri, also at MIT. Read more