Help lift 120 more families out of extreme poverty
Beast Philanthropy
We’re currently delivering funds to Ugandan families in the village.
But there’s plenty more need – giving directly through this page helps deliver life-changing funds to other African families in extreme poverty.
Together, we can send every family in the next village a life-changing cash transfer.
With Beast Philanthropy’s help, we delivered ~$1,000 to over 300 families and heard stories from:
- Ruth, who opened a grocery store, fed her family, and bought medicine for her children
- Auma, who built a school, hired teachers, and enrolled 200 children in the village
- Tiyan, who started a construction business and bought a plot of land and house of his own
- And many more →
But there’s plenty more need – so we’re teaming up again to deliver cash to their neighbors, who are currently living on less than $1 per day just a mile away.
Your donations will be delivered to families like Lucy’s.
Lucy currently lives in this one-room house with her own family and 5 orphans they’ve taken in.
“My husband and I make ends meet by working in our neighbors’ fields, where we earn $1 a day. We have to go there every day to be able to buy food, save for our health insurance, and meet other basic needs for our family. As a small family, we manage to get what we need, but it is challenging to live without a stable source of income or a better job.”
Each family will receive ~$1,000 via mobile transfer to spend and invest on what they need most. For these families, extreme poverty means struggling to afford:
- Food, as residents typically don’t eat more than 1 meal per day (usually limited to local crops like sorghum and beans)
- School, as most parents can’t pay the ~$7 semester fees to keep their children in school
- Medical care, as the average hospital visit costs $25, plus the cost to get there
Most residents have to walk ~2 miles to get to the closest market to buy and sell goods. With just $1, residents could take a mototaxi instead.
Here’s how far your money can go for these families.
With just a small amount of cash, these families can feed themselves, start businesses, go back to school, and more.
| Cost(USD) | Purchase |
|---|---|
| $1 | 🏍️ Mototaxi to market |
| $7 | 📚 One semester of primary school fees |
| $9/each | 🛖 Iron sheets for a permanent roof |
| $25 | ❤️🩹 Hospital visit |
| $30 | ☀️ A solar panel |
| $45 | 🐐 A goat |
| $50 | 🪑 Home essentials (mattress, chairs, cookware) |
| $95 | 🌾 Food for a family during lean season (~5 months) |
| $150 | 🛖 House improvements |
| $200-250 | 🌱 A small plot of land for a house or farming |
Research studies show your donation will make a lasting impact.
Giving cash works because it gives families the freedom to meet their individual needs and decide how to build their own futures. But don’t take our word for it!
Hundreds of academic studies show families use cash to increase earnings, health, education, and much more. Read more:
- NPR: Researchers Find A Remarkable Ripple Effect When You Give Cash To Poor Families →
- Quartz: Researchers tested conventional foreign aid against cash in Rwanda. Cash won. →
- NPR: It’s one of the biggest experiments in fighting global poverty. Now the results are in →
Together, we can give these families the boost they need to escape extreme poverty.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the match work?
Update: The match closed on August 15th at 17:00 EST. We’re currently delivering funds to families in the village. But there’s plenty more need – giving directly through this page helps deliver life-changing funds to other African families in extreme poverty.
All new donations donations made before August 15th will be matched (1:1, or 2X) until the $150K goal (including the match funds) is reached or the end of July. Any match funds not used will “expire” and not be delivered to recipients.
This match comes from a generous GiveDirectly supporter who wants to encourage Beast Philanthropy viewers to give directly – more on our match evidence here.
What if we raise more or less than the fundraising goal?
Update: We’re currently delivering funds to families in the village. But there’s plenty more need – giving directly through this page helps deliver life-changing funds to other African families in extreme poverty.
Any excess funds raised by October 15th will help us deliver cash to more people in Uganda, with the goal of funding all 120 families in the village with ~$152,000 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 will each family receive?
Every eligible household in the village will receive ~$1,000 in Ugandan shillings, sent directly to their mobile phone accounts. Read more about the payment process here.
When will people receive my donation?
Update: We’re currently delivering funds to families in the village. But there’s plenty more need – giving directly through this page helps deliver life-changing funds to other African families in extreme poverty.
We expect to begin delivering cash in July.
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.
Any payments we receive after this campaign closes will be delivered to other people in extreme poverty in Africa.
What is GiveDirectly?
We’re a nonprofit that lets you send money directly to the world’s poorest, no strings attached. In the last decade, we’ve delivered cash to over 1.6 million people across 15 countries and research the impacts it can have for families in need.
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.
Can I sign up to receive funding?
In order to be as fair to all as possible, we select recipients using a systematic and proactive set of criteria that vary from country to country, and do not accept inbound applications for our international programs.