Send cash directly to 335 families in Rwanda
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Your favorite Substackers
Thanks to your incredible generosity, we reached our initial goal – but you can still give to help fund 70+ more families in need.
Join us in sending life-changing cash to every family across 2 Rwandan villages.
Your favorite Substackers are teaming up to send ~$1,100 via digital transfer to all 335 families to spend and invest on what they need most.
Most families currently live on $1-2/day and struggle to afford things like:
- 🥘 Food, as residents typically don’t eat more than 1 meal per day (usually limited to local crops like cassava)
- 🎒 School, as most parents can’t pay the ~$20 fees to keep their children in school
- 💊 Medical care, as the average hospital visit costs $15, plus the cost to get there
Your money goes a long way for this community.
Thanks to your generosity last year, we were able to deliver $280K to families in nearby Nyarutovu village. Here’s how they spent it →
Lucie used her cash to give her kids a brighter future.
I am finally dreaming again, after so long of just worrying about making ends meet. The future looks brighter now, and I can’t wait to see where it will take us.” — Lucie
To us, ~$1,100 buys a new laptop or a month of rent. In the hands of families like Lucie’s, it goes so much farther.
| Cost (USD) | What a family might choose to buy |
| $4 | 🐔 A chicken |
| $8/each | 🛖 Iron sheets for a better roof |
| $15 | ❤️🩹 One year of health insurance |
| $40 | ☀️ A solar panel for electricity |
| $150-200 | 🛖 House improvements |
| $200-300 | 🌱 A small plot of land for a house or farming |
Research shows that cash can transform lives – and entire communities.
500+ rigorous academic studies show just how effective cash can be across diverse outcomes like:
- 📈 Boosting local economies by 2.5X for every cash transfer
- 👶 Reducing mortality rates for mothers and babies by 46-70%
- 🍛 Improving families’ food security and nutrition (even more than a nutrition program)
- ⏰ Creating lasting financial gains, even 12 years later
Cash gives people the dignity and flexibility to meet their own needs to create the outcomes they want – from installing water pumps, to sending children to school, to purchasing their first mattress, and so much more.
Frequently asked questions
How does the match work?
All donations through this page will be matched (1:1, or 2X) until 11:59PM ET on Dec. 3rd, or until $500,000 in match funds is used. This is a “true match”, so if we don’t reach our $500,000 goal, the leftover match funds will expire.
Due to processing times, we’re unable to match donations made via check, wire, DAF, stocks, crypto, or our international partners.
If you’re interested in making a match pledge for future campaigns like this or would like to request we run a match campaign in your country, reach out to us at [email protected].
What if we raise more or less than the fundraising goal?
Any excess funds will help us deliver cash to more people in Rwanda, with the goal of funding all 335 families across four villages with ~$460,000 total. GiveDirectly will allocate internal funds to make up the gap between our fundraising and the total needed to ensure every family receives funds. No matter what, your donations will end up in the hands of families in extreme poverty.
How much money will each family receive?
Every eligible household in the village will receive ~$1,100 in Rwandan francs, sent directly to their mobile phone accounts. Read more about the enrollment and payment process here.
What if I’d like to make a major gift or help fund more villages?
We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us at [email protected].
Can I make a recurring donation?
Please do! Recurring donations make our fundraising more consistent, which makes planning and operations more efficient. If you donate with a recurring donation today, only the first payment will be matched.
What is GiveDirectly?
We’re a non-profit that lets donors send money directly to the world’s poorest, no strings attached. In the last decade, we’ve delivered your donations to 1.6 million people across 15 countries.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, donations are tax-deductible in the United States. We accept all major credit and debit cards, PayPal, checks, wires, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and more.
If you’re giving outside the U.S., you can still give to this campaign but your gift may not be tax-deductible. You can donate via our international partners to claim tax benefits, but due to partner processing delays those donations may not come in before the campaign ends.
Reach out to us at [email protected] with any questions or for more information on ways to give.