GiveDirectly

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NGO Representatives
Lauren Douma and Alana Heavican

NGO Overview, Mission, and Purpose: What We Are About and Who We Help
GiveDirectly is guided by the notion that one of the best ways to help the poor is to give them money with which to use in any way they choose, without restriction. GiveDirectly attempts to do this while being efficient, transparent, and respectful of the recipients of the money. Because of the simple nature of GiveDirectly’s actions, much less money is spent on administrative costs and the ambiguous “program expenses” than other organizations. Over 90% of funds are given to recipients. GiveDirectly is very open about its methods and costs. GiveDirectly believes that the best way to fight poverty is to empower the poor to make and follow their own financial priorities and decide their own needs, as opposed to allowing organizations to determine the needs of the poor, which is often chosen because of personal ideology. GiveDirectly is currently working in Kenya and Uganda.

NGO "Bottom Line": How Me Make an Impact
GiveDirectly collects donations from individuals and corporations (such as Google), then locates poor households in Kenya and Uganda. In these two countries, most banking and other financial matters occur through cell phones (through the system M-Pesa), making it very easy to directly give people money. Many people in these countries already have cell phones, and the organization provides cell phones to participants who do not already have phones. Recipients then are able to choose the how they spend the money. This money has been used a variety of ways. Many people bought cows, started businesses, invested in their children’s education. One man bought a motorcycle and started a taxi service. Many people bought tin roofs to replace their thatched roofs. By doing this, they have managed to save themselves money and time in the future that would be spent repairing their thatched roofs. Despite fears that the money would go towards harmful activities such as tobacco and alcohol, the majority of the money was used in a positive way by the recipients.

NGO Organization Details and Location: Headquarters and Global Outreach
Email: info@givedirectly.org Voice mail: 1(646) 504 4837 Mail: GiveDirectly Church Street Station P.O. Box 3221 New York, NY 10008

**NGO Job Openings: Who, Why, Where, When, and for How Much?** GiveDirectly is managed by a team of directors. GiveDirectly hires people to identify potential recipients using government data and direct field work. They also hire people to operate the website and to give presentations about GiveDirectly to corporations. All the directors of GiveDirectly are unpaid volunteers.

Why You Should Join Us..
GiveDirectly is ultimately about empowerment. It’s about empowering the poor to follow their own goals and to become economically active in their communities. It’s about giving people enough that they will not need more help in the future. It’s about respecting the choices of those the charity is trying to help. It’s about strengthening the lower class. It’s about charity being able to look at itself and decide if it needs to adapt and change to fit the changing world.

[|The Charity that Just Gives Money to Poor People] [|What Happens When You Just Give Money to Poor People?] [|Policy Brief: Impacts of Unconditional Cash Transfers]
 * Other Sources**