GiveDirectly💸

Send money to people living in poverty, no strings attached. In Bangladesh, DRC, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, & U.S. currently.

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

Whether or not anyone builds it... everyone dies.

The future is uncertain. Your impact doesn't have to be.

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

@robinhanson Hundreds of independent studies show positive impact with a lot of certainty ⬇️ https://t.co/Monfz8cU9j

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

Whether or not anyone builds it... everyone dies.

The future is uncertain. Your impact doesn't have to be.

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

Mom, we made it!

[Bryan Johnson @bryan_johnson]

what an awful life, this guys needs to live a little

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

@NathanpmYoung @GiveWell We tried but no one came :/ https://t.co/Xb1dkzNmQ5

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

For one night only, let's set aside the cost-effectiveness and pick up the hors d'oeuvres: https://t.co/qvqL2bz798

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

https://t.co/x64lbkkstR

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

Something’s coming and you (probably) can’t avoid it…

October 26. Stay tuned 👀

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

“For years, I depended on farming and whatever temporary work I could find. If I heard someone needed help in their fields, I would go. But the little I earned was never enough. There were times we went to sleep without eating.

When my wife and I received our transfers from GiveDirectly, we sat together and decided how to use the money. We combined part of it to replace our grass roof with zinc sheets and buy household items. But we also wanted part of the money to keep working for us after the transfers were spent.

I had experience selling second-hand clothes so I invested about $265 in stock. On my first day, I made $78 in sales.

Those first sales gave me confidence that there is an opportunity to grow.

My plan is to save part of what I earn, keep growing the business and one day have my own shop.

After years of going to sleep wondering how I would provide, I am now building something I can count on.”

Feles in Mozambique

Learn more about our work in Mozambique at https://t.co/5f4ygYBU1S

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

We address these questions and more in our new Q&A blog.

🔗 Read here: https://t.co/2OMek4bEr9

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

🤝 Recipients decide whether to opt-in (everyone gets cash regardless)

⚠️ Monitoring for hallucinations like incorrect local costs of goods and working to fix them

💸 The chatbot has to do more good than giving people more cash

🔬 The results will determine if we pause, adjust, or expand the pilot

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

We want to find out whether these tools can help people living in poverty, without assuming the answer either way. Here's how we're doing that...

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

Recipients have asked us for advice alongside cash for years, and AI could make that support cheaper and easier to access.

As people around the world use AI, we don't think people living in poverty should be left out of the opportunity. Nor should they have to accept risks we wouldn't tolerate elsewhere.

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

What's an AI chatbot doing in a cash program? What if it gives bad advice? Why not just give people more money?

These were just some of the questions we received earlier this year when we shared that we were piloting an optional AI chatbot alongside cash in Rwanda.

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

"For almost 10 years, I slept on a reed mat. My ex-husband sold our mattress and blanket after a quarrel in 2016. He would also sell the farm produce we depended on and spend the money on beer, leaving me to find food for the children. In 2023, I asked him to leave because I wanted peace.

Since then, I have raised my children alone. I start cooking velvet beans at 4 AM and carry them to the market the next day, making about $8 profit in a week. It was enough for food and school needs, but never for the grass roof over my children’s room. Strong winds blew off the thatch, and the rain came through.

Then GiveDirectly came. The first thing I bought was a mattress. I also bought 35 iron sheets for the boys' room. And I bought a bicycle, so I no longer walk long distances.

After ten years, I sleep comfortably again."

Chrissy in Malawi

Learn more about our work in Malawi at https://t.co/8AQIRW77Sd

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

We’ll never stop looking for and testing the best ways to get cash to people who need it.

Read more about the program here: https://t.co/ZUQuApZMsB

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

Crypto transfers have become a reality in New York City 💸

Our partnership with @coinbase made this possible, enabling us to send $12,000 per person to 160 low-income young people for them to invest in their futures.

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

Read the blog
https://t.co/6rG9aDjfWU

Or watch the full podcast https://t.co/YYAtltE1Km

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

Development economics has spent decades split

One camp studies what helps a household today, the other studies how whole economies grow.

What if a cash program got big enough to test both at once? 🧵

[GiveDirectly💸 @GiveDirectly]

Caitlin Tulloch and Dean Karlan speak on what the micro/macro debate gets right, what it gets wrong, and what would convince them they're seeing real growth rather than a temporary spending bump.