Corruption: The Elephant in the Room

In discussions of international development, corruption is often the elephant in the room. Funders don’t like to hear about it; nonprofits and governments don’t like to talk about it. During routine visits to recipients, our field team uses technology that automatically records a time and GPS marker for each piece of data they collect. But […]

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GiveWell’s First Full Update on GiveDirectly

Please visit the GiveWell website to read an in-depth report on GiveDirectly’s work in Kenya, our expansion into a second country, and our long-term outlook as we continue to scale up our cash transfer operations. The report covers our activities since November 2012, when GiveWell named GiveDirectly their #2 rated charity based on their criteria […]

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Holiday media coverage

GiveDirectly in the news this holiday season: Dana Goldstein in the Atlantic: “So simple, it’s genius.” Dylan Matthews in the Washinton Post: “The idea, in a way, is so obvious it’s hard to believe people hadn’t tried to do it on this scale before: ending poverty by giving people money.” Chris Hayes on MSNBC: “A […]

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GiveWell: GiveDirectly “top-rated”

We are happy to share the news that GiveWell, a leading non-profit evaluation group, has updated its evaluations for 2012 and now names GiveDirectly one of three “top-rated” organizations. As you may know, GiveWell’s recommendations are extremely selective: their process includes field visits and comprehensive reviews of relevant research, and they ultimately recommend only 1% […]

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GiveWell review complete

GiveWell has completed its full review of GiveDirectly and rated us a “standout organization.” GiveWell’s recommendations are extremely selective: they look in depth at both operations and impact, and ultimately recommend only 1% of the organizations they review.

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Media coverage

GiveDirectly has been receiving media attention from Time Magazine and NPR, among others. Some highlights: Time Magazine’s Moneyland blog called our approach “radical, if obvious.” They ask: “Instead of using charitable donations to set up elaborate programs (and to cover hefty administrative costs for those programs), all in the name of helping the poor, why […]

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Lampert Family Foundation grant

GiveDirectly is pleased to acknowledge a $100,000 grant from the Lampert Family Foundation.The Foundation seeks out novel, unorthodox opportunities for philanthropic investment with the potential to generate extraordinary returns to society. This unrestricted grant will be used primarily for transfers to Kenyan households.

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