Difference between revisions of "Timeline of GiveDirectly"

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This is a '''timeline of GiveDirectly'''.
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This is a '''timeline of {{w|GiveDirectly}}''', a not-for-profit organization whose claimed mission is "to reduce poverty by providing financial assistance directly to those in need." It offers a service of {{w|cash transfers}}. GiveDirectly operates primarily in {{w|Kenya}}, {{w|Uganda}}, and {{w|Rwanda}}.<ref name="Financial Statements">{{cite web |title=Financial Statements |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/pdf/FinancialStatements2017.pdf |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=8 March 2019}}</ref>
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== Sample questions ==
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The following are some interesting questions that can be answered by reading this timeline:
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* What are some events describing GiveDirectly's cash transfer and basic income programs?
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** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Program".
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** You will see descriptions related to cash transfer and universal income programs, including pilot projects, trials, enrollment statistics, and geographical distribution of GiveDirectly's programs.
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* What are some notable fundings by third parties to GiveDirectly?
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** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Funding".
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** You will see some notable donations by entities such as {{w|Google}}, {{w|Good Ventures}}, as well as notable individuals such as {{w|Dustin Moskovitz}} and {{w|Cari Tuna}}.
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* What are some cases of media coverage citing the work of GiveDirectly?
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** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Media coverage".
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** You will publications by {{w|The Boston Globe}}, {{w|Time Magazine}} and {{w|GiveWell}}, among others.
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* What are some studies involving GiveDirectly's work?
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** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Study".
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** You will mostly see studies on unconditional cash transfers, citing GiveDirectly's program.
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* What are some cases of recognition of GiveDirectly's work?
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** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Recognition".
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** You will see nominations by other organizations, especially {{w|GiveWell}}.
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* Other events are described under the following types: "Background", "Financial", "Launch", "Performance", "Recommendation", "Team", and "Website".
  
 
==Big picture==
 
==Big picture==
  
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
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! Time period !! Development summary !! More details
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! Time period !! Development summary !! Details
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|-
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| 2009–2012 || Early period || GiveDirectly is originated as a {{w|giving circle}} started by Paul Niehaus, Michael Faye, Rohit Wanchoo, and Jeremy Shapiro, students at MIT and Harvard, based on their research into philanthropy.<ref name=Atlantic2012>{{cite web |last1=Goldstein |first1=Dana |title=Can 4 Economists Build the Most Economically Efficient Charity Ever? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/12/can-4-economists-build-the-most-economically-efficient-charity-ever/266510/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=4 March 2022 |language=en |date=21 December 2012}}</ref>
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|-
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| 2012 onwards || Formalization || The giving circle is formalized into GiveDirectly.<ref name=Atlantic2012/>
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|-
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| 2016 onwards || {{w|Basic income}} || GiveDirectly starts its basic income program.
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|-
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|}
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=== Summary by year ===
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{| class="wikitable"
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! Time period !! Development summary 
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|-
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| 2009 || GiveDirectly launches and focuses on its novel {{w|cash transfers}} model. {{w|Kenya}} becomes the first operating country.
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|-
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| 2012 || GiveDirectly is rated as a "standout organization" by charity evaluator {{w|GiveWell}}.
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|-
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| 2013 || {{w|Uganda}} becomes GiveDirectly's second operating country.
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|-
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| 2014 || GiveDirectly board members launch Segovia, a software technology platform aimed at streamlining payment systems.
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|-
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| 2015 || {{w|Rwanda}} becomes GiveDirectly's third operating country.
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|-
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| 2016 || GiveDirectly undertakes its {{w|basic income}} enterprise. {{w|Kenya}} becomes the first operating country of the program.
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|-
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| 2017 || GiveDirectly begins a study of providing long-term, ongoing cash transfers sufficient for basic needs ("basic income guarantee").<ref name="GiveDirectlyd"/>
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|-
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| 2018 || GiveDirectly starts operating in {{w|Liberia}}, {{w|Malawi}}, and the {{w|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}.
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|-
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| 2019 || GiveDirectly begins making payments to approximately 10,000 refugee households (65,000 people) in the {{w|Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement}} in {{w|Uganda}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Opinions – GiveDirectly |url=https://givedirectly11.rssing.com/chan-76525936/index-latest.php |website=givedirectly11.rssing.com |access-date=12 March 2022}}</ref>
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|-
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| 2020 || GiveDirectly engages in {{w|COVID-19}} response work, receiving substantial revenue as support.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly |url=https://www.givewell.org/charities/give-directly |website=GiveWell |access-date=12 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
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|-
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| 2021 || GiveDirectly delivers US$106.3M to 431,000 people in poverty across seven countries in Africa.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Teti |first1=Caroline |last2=Odero |first2=John |title=$241,633 was lost to fraud this year — that’s about what we expect |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/2021-fraud/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=22 April 2022 |date=23 December 2021}}</ref>
 
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{| class="sortable wikitable"
 
{| class="sortable wikitable"
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! Year !! Month and date !! Event type !! Details
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! Year !! Month and date !! Event type !! Details !! Affected country (when applicable)
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|-
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| 2009 || September 1 || Launch || GiveDirectly incorporates in the State of {{w|Massachusetts}}.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> ||
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|-
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| 2009 || || Program || GiveDirectly launches in {{w|Liberia}} and {{w|Kenya}}, and starts using mobile payments to deliver cash transfers.<ref name="blog2014"/><ref>{{cite web |title=News round-up: Digitizing cash transfers |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1067362280760444183 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly launching in Liberia |url=https://givedirectly.org/blog-post/2798185907459606824 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=3 May 2019}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}, {{w|Liberia}}
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|-
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| 2011 || July 2 || Study || Field staff in {{w|Kenya}} launches a large-scale evaluation of GiveDirectly's work, funded by the {{w|National Institutes of Health}} and led by Dr. Johannes Haushofer of the {{w|University of Zurich}} in collaboration with GiveDirectly's board.<ref>{{cite web |title=NIH evaluation grant |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/4758094165957496342 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
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|-
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| 2011 || July 21 || Media coverage || GiveWell blogs about GiveDirectly, calling it "a charity to watch".<ref>{{cite web |title=A charity to watch: GiveDirectly |url=https://blog.givewell.org/2011/07/21/a-charity-to-watch-givedirectly/ |website=blog.givewell.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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|-
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| 2011 || July 22 || Funding || Economics blog Marginal Revolution makes a donation and blogs about GiveDirectly.<ref>{{cite web |title=Give Directly |url=https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/07/give-directly.html |website=marginalrevolution.com |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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|-
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| 2011 || July 26 || Media coverage || {{w|The Boston Globe}}'s Brainiac blog writes about GiveDirectly and its procedure.<ref>{{cite web |title=Is Cash the Best Way to Help the Poor? |url=http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/brainiac/2011/07/is_cash_the_bes.html |website=archive.boston.com |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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|-
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| 2011 || August 2 || Media coverage || {{w|NPR}}'s {{w|Planet Money}} blog covers FiveDirectly approach, calling it a "simple but radical".<ref>{{cite web |title=A Charity That Just Gives Money To Poor People |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/08/02/138920991/charitys-mission-give-money-to-poor-people |website=npr.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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|-
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| 2011 || August 3 || Media coverage || {{w|Time Magazine}}'s Moneyland blog calls GiveDirectly approach "radical, if obvious", asking: "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 not just give the money directly to poor people, in as efficient a way as possible?".<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly: A Charity That Just Gives Money to Poor People, So They’re Not So Poor |url=http://business.time.com/2011/08/03/givedirectly-a-charity-that-just-gives-money-to-poor-people-so-theyre-not-so-poor/ |website=business.time.com |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2012 || January 3 || Media coverage || Vishnu Sridharan at the [[w:New America (organization)|New America Foundation]] writes a blog post on GiveDirectly approach and where it fits in to the big picture.<ref name="blog2012">{{cite web |title=2012 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2012 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2012 || April || Study || Sarah Baird, Jacobus de Hoop and Berk Özler publish study on the effects of a positive income shock on mental health among adolescent girls using evidence from a cash transfer experiment in {{w|Malawi}}. The researchers find strong evidence of increased psychological distress among untreated baseline schoolgirls in treatment areas, suggesting that giving poor people cash makes them happier, and their cashless neighbors miserable.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Baird |first1=Sarah |last2=Hoop |first2=Jacobus de |last3=Özler |first3=Berk |title=Income Shocks and Adolescent Mental Health |url=http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/48/2/370.refs |website=Journal of Human Resources |access-date=12 April 2022 |pages=370–403 |language=en |doi=10.3368/jhr.48.2.370 |date=31 March 2013}}</ref> || {{w|Malawi}}
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| 2012 || May 2 || Recognition || {{w|GiveWell}} completes its full review of GiveDirectly and rates them a "standout organization."<ref name="blog2012"/><ref name="givewell">{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly |url=https://www.givewell.org/charities/give-directly |website=givewell.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2012 || August 2 || Team || {{w|Facebook}} co-founder {{w|Chris Hughes}} joins GiveDirectly board as director.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chris Hughes joins the board |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/3591988352086577458 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="2014 Annual Report">{{cite web |title=2014 Annual Report |url=https://cdn.givedirectly.org/c102d6b4b9bac00249cd2631807cac0d/GiveDirectly2014AnnualReport.pdf |website=cdn.givedirectly.org |accessdate=9 March 2019}}</ref> ||
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|-
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| 2012 || November 2 || Recognition || GiveWell updates its evaluations for 2012 and names GiveDirectly one of three "top-rated" organizations.<ref name="blog2012"/><ref name="givewell"/> ||
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|-
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| 2012 || December 5 || Funding || GiveDirectly receives a US$2.4 million Global Impact Award from {{w|Google}}, with over 90% of the amount (US$2.21 million) being earmarked for direct cash transfers to the poor, and the remainder of the award (US$ 190,000) to underwrite the fixed costs of setting up operations in a second country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Impact Award from Google |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/7429110946430649788 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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|-
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| 2012 || December || Funding || Good Ventures awards a grant of US$500,000 to GiveDirectly for general operating support in recognition of GiveWell’s No. 2 charity ranking in the year.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly — General Support |url=http://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/givedirectly-general-support-december-2012 |website=goodventures.org |accessdate=20 April 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2013 || March || Financial || GiveDirectly reports US$3 million in funds available, 2 million of which it has designated for future transfers in {{w|Kenya}}, and 1 million of which it has designated for use in scaling its model to a second country.<ref name="GiveDirectly - May 2013 Update">{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly - May 2013 Update |url=https://www.givewell.org/charities/give-directly/May-2013 |website=givewell.org |accessdate=8 March 2019}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
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|-
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| 2013 || June 11 || Website || GiveDirectly announces new blog format section of its website, aimed at featuring more frequent updates, including reports from the field team, lessons learned from the work, and the latest evidence on the impact GiveDirectly's cash transfers have on the lives of the recipients.<ref name="blog2013">{{cite web |title=blog2013 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2013 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Blog Format |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1420005310222078082 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2013 || June 26 || Media coverage || GiveWell's publishes first full update on GiveDirectly, and produces an in-depth report on GD’s work in {{w|Kenya}} and their long-term outlook as they continue to scale up their cash transfer operations. The report covers GD's activities since November 2012, when GiveWell named GiveDirectly their second rated charity based on their criteria of efficiency, impact, transparency, and capacity for growth.<ref name="blog2013">{{cite web |title=blog2013 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2013 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GiveWell's First Full Update on GiveDirectly |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1425727360371074923 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
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|-
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| 2013 || June || Program || GiveDirectly plans to target only mud and thatch households in a second country chosen for its cash transfer program.<ref name="GiveDirectly - May 2013 Update"/> ||
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|-
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| 2013 || September 6 || Media coverage || David Kestenbaum and Jacob Goldstein from Planet Money report on GiveDirectly work in {{w|Kenya}}, explaining whether its method of charity works, and why some people think it's a terrible idea.<ref>{{cite web |title=Money for Nothing and Your Cows for Free |url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/503/i-was-just-trying-to-help/act-one |website=thisamericanlife.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Looking Beyond the Buzz |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/5017861033851212580 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2013">{{cite web |title=blog2013 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2013 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Charity That Just Gives Money To Poor People |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/08/23/214210692/the-charity-that-just-gives-money-to-poor-people |website=NPR.org |access-date=14 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
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|-
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| 2013 || October 26 || Media coverage || An article at ''{{w|The Economist}}'' titled ''Pennies from heaven'' describes GiveDirectly and concludes that giving money directly to poor people works surprisingly well, but it cannot deal with the deeper causes of poverty.      <ref>{{cite web |title=Pennies from heaven |url=https://www.economist.com/international/2013/12/12/pennies-from-heaven |website=The Economist |access-date=9 March 2022 |date=12 December 2013}}</ref> ||
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| 2013 || October 29 || Media coverage || An article by Kerry A. Dolan at ''{{w|Forbes}}'' emphasizes GiveDirectly's positive results of cash grants made to poor households in Western Kenya from 2011 to 2012.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dolan |first1=Kerry A. |title=Giving Cash Directly To The Poor Gets Thumbs Up From New Study |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2013/10/29/giving-cash-directly-to-the-poor-gets-thumbs-up-from-new-study/?sh=570d19b215a0 |website=Forbes |access-date=9 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
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| 2013 || November 20 || Program || GiveDirectly announces it has a program being conducted in {{w|Uganda}}, its second country.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly is in Uganda! |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/4639869356775728332 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> || {{w|Uganda}}
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|-
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| 2013 – 2014 || December 2013 – January 31, 2014 || Funding || {{w|Good Ventures}} awards a grant of US$2 million to GiveDirectly in December 2013 and matches $5 million in additional donations from December 3, 2013 through January 31, 2014. Both grants are for general operating support in recognition of GiveDirectly's earning a "top charity" ranking from GiveWell in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly — General Support |url=http://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/givedirectly-general-support-december-and-january-2013 |website=goodventures.org |accessdate=20 April 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2014 || February 10 || Recognition || American business magazine {{w|Fast Company}} names GiveDirectly one of the world's Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Finance.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly is The 4th most Innovative Company in Finance for 2014 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/8611069512621231715 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Most Innovative Companies 2014 |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2014 |website=fastcompany.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2014"/> ||
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| 2014 || March 11 || Media coverage || Staff at the {{w|Mulago Foundation}} comments on the results of {{w|Innovations for Poverty Action}}’s impact evaluation of GiveDirectly’s cash transfer program. Broadly speaking they see the results as “important” but think the media have overhyped them.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly? Not So Fast. |url=https://ssir.org/articles/entry/givedirectly_not_so_fast |website=ssir.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What’s the hype evidence? |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/7431955057156519484 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2014"/> ||
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| 2014 || July 9 || Program || GiveDirectly board members Michael Faye, Chris Hughes, and Paul Niehaus announce plans to start a separate, fee-for-service for-profit venture called Segovia to develop technology for managing field logistics, with a focus on programs that transfer cash to the poor.<ref name="blog2014"/><ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly and Segovia |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1154660016922550986 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Segovia: A New Player in Cash Transfers |url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/segovia-new-player-cash-transfers |website=cfr.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="givewell"/><ref name="New company from GiveDirectly founders aims to streamline payment systems"/> ||
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| 2014 || November 26 || Website || GiveDirectly launches a new website, the first major update since <code>www.givedirectly.org</code> went live in 2011.<ref name="blog2014"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Our new website |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/42257420510680686 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2014 || October 24 || Media coverage || In a new [[w:TED (conference)|TED]] talk Joy Sun talks about GiveDirectly, and comments on the benefits of unconditional cash transfers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cold, hard cash |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/899511992758123873 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=TED |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/joy_sun_should_you_donate_differently |website=ted.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2014"/> ||
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| 2014 || December 10 || Recognition || GiveWell lists GiveDirectly as one of their top recommended charities once again.<ref name="blog2014">{{cite web |title=blog2014 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2014 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GiveWell (re-)recommendation |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/8782429594499434085 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Our updated top charities |url=https://blog.givewell.org/2014/12/01/our-updated-top-charities/?utm_content=buffer2eb73&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer |website=blog.givewell.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2014 || December || Funding || Good Ventures awards a grant of US$5 million to GiveDirectly for general operating support in recognition of the organization's earning a "top charity" ranking from GiveWell.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly — General Support |url=http://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/givedirectly-general-support |website=goodventures.org |accessdate=20 April 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2015 || ? || Program || GiveDirectly registers in {{w|Rwanda}}.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> || {{w|Rwanda}}
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| 2015 || June || Funding || {{w|Good Ventures}} announces an unrestricted US$25 million grant to GiveDirectly for support of general operations.<ref name="blog2015"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Announcing a $25 Million Grant to GiveDirectly |url=http://www.goodventures.org/research-and-ideas/blog/announcing-a-25-million-grant-to-givedirectly |website=goodventures.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Facebook billionaire is handing tons of cash to poor people in East Africa |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/8/4/9092053/facebook-givedirectly-donation-cash |website=vox.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Money, Big Bets: Three Takeaways From a Massive Tech Grant to Fight Global Poverty |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/8/4/new-money-big-bets-three-takeaways-from-a-massive-tech-grant.html |website=insidephilanthropy.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Facebook Co-Founder Giving Millions Directly To The Poor, No Strings Attached |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/facebook-co-founder-giving-millions-directly-to-the-poor-no-strings-attached_us_55be806ee4b0d4f33a03299f?utm_hp_ref=politics |website=huffingtonpost.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="2014 Annual Report"/> ||
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| 2015 || August 7 || Funding || Facebook co-founder {{w|Dustin Moskovitz}} and his wife {{w|Cari Tuna}} agree to donate US$25 million to GiveDirectly, the largest donation to date.<ref>{{cite web |title=A $25 million gift to GiveDirectly |url=https://medium.com/@marcgunther/a-25-million-gift-to-givedirectly-58adf4be046e |website=medium.com |accessdate=9 March 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2015 || October || Study || A study by J. Haushofer et al. on unconditional cash transfers in {{w|Kenya}} concludes that increases in neighbors’ wealth strongly decrease life satisfaction and moderately decrease consumption and asset holdings. "The decrease in life satisfaction induced by transfers to neighbors more than offsets the direct positive effect of transfers, and is largest for individuals who did not receive a direct transfer themselves. We find evidence of hedonic adaptation, in that the negative spillover effect of transfers to neighbors decreases over time, at a rate similar to that of direct transfers."<ref>{{cite web |title=Your Gain Is My Pain: Negative Psychological Externalities of Cash Transfers |url=https://socialprotection.org/discover/publications/your-gain-my-pain-negative-psychological-externalities-cash-transfers |website=socialprotection.org |access-date=12 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
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| 2015 || November 23 || Recognition || GiveWell names GiveDirectly one of their top-rated charities of 2015, this time for the fourth consecutive year. GiveWell also rates GiveDirectly strongest on all aspects of organizational performance, including on “transparency and communication,” “robustness of the case for impact,” and “room for more funding.”<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveWell recommends GiveDirectly (again), and benchmarks others against cash |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/5398909843884337925 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2015">{{cite web |title=blog2015 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2015 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="givewell"/> ||
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| 2016 || ? || Funding || Segovia donates its software and services to GiveDirectly. The in-kind donation of the software and associated services are valued at US$52,454 for the delivery of approximately US$5,170,928 of grant transfers that would be disbursed between January through April of 2016.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> ||
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| 2016 || ? || Program || GiveDirectly begins enrollment in {{w|Rwanda}}.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> || {{w|Rwanda}}
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| 2016 || January || Funding || Good Ventures awards a US$9.75 million grant to GiveDirectly for general operating support, in recognition of the organization’s earning a “top charity” ranking from GiveWell in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly — General Support (January 2016) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/global-health-and-development/miscellaneous/givedirectly-general-support-2016 |website=openphilanthropy.org |accessdate=8 March 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2016 || February || Background || The Global Innovation Fund announces its first round of investments, the first of which goes to software tech platform Segovia. The Global Innovation Fund was started by GiveDirectly co-founders Michael Faye and Paul Niehaus. The company aims to improve the efficiency of aid by improving the cash transfer system.<ref name="New company from GiveDirectly founders aims to streamline payment systems">{{cite web |title=New company from GiveDirectly founders aims to streamline payment systems |url=https://www.devex.com/news/new-company-from-givedirectly-founders-aims-to-streamline-payment-systems-87240 |website=devex.com |accessdate=9 March 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2016 || April || Program || GiveDirectly announces a US$30 million initiative to test {{w|universal basic income}} in order to ‘try to permanently end extreme poverty across dozens of villages and thousands of people in {{w|Kenya}} by guaranteeing them an ongoing income high enough to meet their basic needs’.<ref>{{cite web |title=An efficient way to fight extreme poverty |url=https://olbios.org/efficient-way-fight-extreme-poverty/ |website=olbios.org |accessdate=8 March 2019}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
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| 2016 || May || Funding || Segovia no longer donates the software and services to GiveDirectly and instead charges at a fixed percentage of grant transfers.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> ||
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| 2016 || July || Study || Johannes Haushofer and Jeremy Shapiro publish paper analizing the short-term impact of unconditional cash transfers in Kenya from GiveDirectly. Results suggest that these programs have significant impacts on economic outcomes and psychological well-being. The researchers find a strong consumption response to transfers. Transfer recipients experience large increases in psychological well-being. Whereas no overall effect on levels of the stress hormone cortisol is found, there are differences across some subgroups.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haushofer |first1=Johannes |last2=Shapiro |first2=Jeremy |title=The Short-term Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers to the Poor: Experimental Evidence from Kenya* |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics |date=1 November 2016 |volume=131 |issue=4 |pages=1973–2042 |doi=10.1093/qje/qjw025}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
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| 2016 || ? || Program || GiveDirectly launches GDLive, an online tool for donors to read recipients' answers to questions about their lives and their reactions to receiving cash transfers from GiveDirectly.<ref name="GiveDirectlyd"/> ||
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| 2016 || October || Program || GiveDirectly launches a pilot version of what would become the largest basic income experiment in history so far. Beginning early 2017, 40 villages would receive roughly US$22.50 per month for 12 years. Meanwhile, 80 villages would get the same amount for just two years, another 80 would get a lump sum equal to the two-year amount, and 100 villages would get no money.<ref>{{cite web |title=These are the Basic Income Experiments Coming in 2017 |url=https://futurism.com/these-are-the-basic-income-experiments-coming-in-2017 |website=futurism.com |accessdate=8 March 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2016 || October || Program || GiveDirectly begins its transfers cash program in {{w|Rwanda}}.<ref name="givewell"/> || {{w|Rwanda}}
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| 2016 || November 29 || Recognition || {{w|GiveWell}} recognizes GiveDirectly as one of their top rated charities for the fifth year running.<ref name="blog2016"/><ref>{{cite web |title=On GiveWell's recommendation |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/3120233048849071787 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="givewell"/> ||
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| 2016 || December || Program || GiveDirectly’s launches the first long-term {{w|Universal Basic Income}} evaluation in history.<ref name="blog2016">{{cite web |title=blog2016 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2016 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The largest basic income experiment in history |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1913203671065804411 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2016 || December || Program || GiveDirectly enrolls 31,000 new households, and places US$27 million into the hands of 40,000 households (or more than 180,000 individuals), most of whom live on less than $1/day. This represents more than a 1000X increase in distributions from just five years ago.<ref name="blog2016"/><ref>{{cite web |title=The year in cash – $27 million distributed |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/6375644394136613315 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2016 || December || Expansion || GiveDirectly is registered under the Companies Act 2006 as having established a UK Establishment in the {{w|United Kingdom}}.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> ||
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| 2017 || January || Media coverage || A range of outlets around the world mentions GiveDirectly in relation to {{w|universal basic income}}, including [[w:El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]], {{w| The World Post}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Universal Basic Income Is Our Best Weapon Against The Rising Far Right |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/universal-basic-income_us_586d0ce3e4b0eb58648b5349 |website=huffingtonpost.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref>, {{w|Inside Philanthropy}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Radical Idea? The New Funding Around a Basic Income |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/1/4/basic-income-grants |website=insidephilanthropy.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref>, [[w:New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]<ref>{{cite web |title=What Happens When You Give Free Money to Poor People |url=https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/the-psychology-of-basic-income.html |website=thecut.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref>, {{w|New Statesman}}<ref>{{cite web |title=The right's next target: foreign aid |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2017/01/rights-next-target-foreign-aid |website=newstatesman.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref>, and {{w|The Guardian}}<ref>{{cite web |title=The Scottish pioneer whose plan for a basic income could transform Britain |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/08/universal-basic-income-glasgow-welfare-revolution |website=theguardian.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref>.<ref>{{cite web |title=El ensayo africano de la renta básica |url=https://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2017/01/08/5870af1fe2704edb7f8b461f.html |website=elmundo.es |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2018"/> ||
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| 2017 || January || Funding || {{w|Good Ventures}} awards a US$2,500,000 grant to GiveDirectly for general operating support, in recognition of the organization’s earning a “top charity” ranking from GiveWell in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly — General Support (January 2017) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/global-health-and-development/miscellaneous/givedirectly-general-support-2017 |website=openphilanthropy.org |accessdate=8 March 2019}}</ref> ||
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| 2017 || May || Media coverage || In a {{w|webinar}}, Greek American engineer {{w|Peter Diamandis}} interviews Michael Faye, who talks about the disruption of philanthropy through peer-to-peer aid.<ref>{{cite web |title=What We’re Learning From a Big Universal Basic Income Experiment |url=https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/09/what-were-learning-from-a-big-universal-basic-income-experiment/#sm.0000dp5xcj65icxfqo72rnxrsvztj |website=singularityhub.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref> ||
 
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| 2009 || || || GiveDirectly launches in {{w|Kenya}}, and starts using mobile payments to deliver cash transfers.<ref name="blog2014"/><ref>{{cite web |title=News round-up: Digitizing cash transfers |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1067362280760444183 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || May 17 || Media coverage || Vox's "Weeds" interviews Michael Faye as well as several recipients of GiveDirectly basic income program in Western Kenya. The interview deals with a range of issues, from recipient choice to social welfare policy, and featuring some of the most important voices which are often left out of the debate: recipient families themselves.<ref>{{cite web |title=Peer-to-peer aid – Cash in the News |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/3503053833743804564 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2017"/> || {{w|Kenya}}
 
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| 2011 || July 2 || || "Field staff in Kenya have launched a large-scale evaluation of GiveDirectly's work, funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by Dr. Johannes Haushofer of the University of Zurich in collaboration with GiveDirectly's board."<ref>{{cite web |title=NIH evaluation grant |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/4758094165957496342 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || July 5 || Media coverage || Hamilton Nolan interviews GiveDirectly's co-founder Paul Niehaus, who discusses the current state of the debate around basic income and the details of our experiment. Elsewhere, GiveDirectly's basic income experiment is referenced in [[w:Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Why Free Money for Everyone Is Silicon Valley's Next Big Idea |url=http://fortune.com/2017/06/29/universal-basic-income-free-money-silicon-valley/ |website=fortune.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref>, {{w|Business Insider}}<ref>{{cite web |title=A $15,000 basic income lottery promised free money for a year — then the checks stopped coming |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/why-my-basic-income-project-failed-2017-6?r=UK&IR=T |website=businessinsider.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref>, and IndiaSpend. GiveDirectly is also mentioned in {{w|The Washington Post}}<ref>{{cite web |title=What if philanthropy isn’t the best way for rich people to help others? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/what-if-philanthropy-isnt-the-best-way-for-rich-people-to-help-others/2017/06/30/88afcb6e-5d15-11e7-9fc6-c7ef4bc58d13_story.html?utm_term=.8eda14995b21 |website=washingtonpost.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref> as part of a broader shift toward cash transfers in the aid sector.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Give Poor People Money In Order to Save the World |url=https://splinternews.com/how-to-give-poor-people-money-in-order-to-save-the-worl-1796413546 |website=splinternews.com |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=givedirectly.org |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/4403707166143908950 |website=Allocating the capital – Cash in the News |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2017"/> ||
 
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| 2011 || July 21 || || GiveWell blogs about GiveDirectly, calling it "a charity to watch."<ref>{{cite web |title=A charity to watch: GiveDirectly |url=https://blog.givewell.org/2011/07/21/a-charity-to-watch-givedirectly/ |website=blog.givewell.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || July 13 || Media coverage || In a 30-minute documentary, national broadcaster [[w:Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC Australia]] profiles GiveDirectly's work in {{w|Kenya}}, speaking at length with GD External Relations Director Caroline Teti, and Regional Director Mitch Riley.<ref name="blog2017"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Not everybody wants a goat – Cash in the News |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1864453478695760303 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
 
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| 2011 || July 22 || || Economics blog Marginal Revolution makes a donation and blogs about GiveDirectly.<ref>{{cite web |title=Give Directly |url=https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/07/give-directly.html |website=marginalrevolution.com |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || October || Program || GiveDirectly starts conducting two pilot projects in the United States to deliver cash transfers to people affected by Hurricanes [[w:Hurricane Harvey|Harvey]] and [[w:Hurricane Maria|Maria]].<ref name="Financial Statements"/> ||
 
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| 2011 || July 26 || || The Boston Globe's Brainiac blog writes about GiveDirectly and its procedure.<ref>{{cite web |title=Is Cash the Best Way to Help the Poor? |url=http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/brainiac/2011/07/is_cash_the_bes.html |website=archive.boston.com |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || November 13 || Program || GiveDirectly officially launches its trial of basic income in rural {{w|Kenya}}, and starts enrolling experimental participants. The US$30 million experiment is expected to be the largest trial of basic income to date, in terms of both size and duration. All residents of about 120 rural Kenyan villages, comprising more than 16,000 people in total, would receive some type of unconditional cash transfers during the experiment; some of these villages, moreover, would receive the universal basic income for twelve years.<ref>{{cite web |title=US/KENYA: GiveDirectly Officially Launches UBI experiment |url=https://basicincome.org/news/2017/11/uskenya-givedirectly-officially-launches-ubi-experiment/ |website=basicincome.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> Field officers in Bomet County, Kenya begin to enroll the first (post-pilot) households into the basic income initiative<ref>{{cite web |title=We're officially launching UBI |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/7285958994145750939 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2017">{{cite web |title=blog2017 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2017 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
 
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| 2011 || August 2 || || "NPR's Planet Money blog covered our approach, calling it a "simple but radical.""<ref>{{cite web |title=A Charity That Just Gives Money To Poor People |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/08/02/138920991/charitys-mission-give-money-to-poor-people |website=npr.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || ? || Program || GiveDirectly begins using Segovia mobile money wallets for delivery of cash transfers to the recipients in {{w|East Africa}}.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> || {{w|East Africa}}
 
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| 2011 || August 3 || || "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 not just give the money directly to poor people, in as efficient a way as possible?""<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly: A Charity That Just Gives Money to Poor People, So They’re Not So Poor |url=http://business.time.com/2011/08/03/givedirectly-a-charity-that-just-gives-money-to-poor-people-so-theyre-not-so-poor/ |website=business.time.com |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || ? || Funding || GiveDirectly receives a US$663,500 grant from the {{w|Government of the United Kingdom}}'s Department for International Development for its project serving refugees in {{w|Uganda}}.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> || {{w|Uganda}}
 
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| 2012 || January 3 || || "Vishnu Sridharan at the New America Foundation has a nice blog post on our approach and where it fits in to the big picture."<ref name="blog2012">{{cite web |title=2012 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2012 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || December 7 || Recognition || GiveDirectly is recognized as a "top charity" by GiveWell.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our top charities for giving season 2017 |url=https://blog.givewell.org/2017/11/27/our-top-charities-for-giving-season-2017/ |website=blog.givewell.org |accessdate=3 May 2019}}</ref> ||
 
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| 2012 || May 2 || || "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."<ref name="blog2012"/><ref name="givewell">{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly |url=https://www.givewell.org/charities/give-directly |website=givewell.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || December || Recommendation || The Open Philanthropy Project recommends a grant of US$2,500,000 to GiveDirectly for general operating support, due to its status as a GiveWell top charity.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly — General Support (December 2017) |url=http://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/givedirectly-general-support-december-2017 |website=goodventures.org |accessdate=3 May 2019}}</ref> ||
 
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| 2012 || August 2 || || "We are thrilled to welcome Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook and editor-in-chief of The New Republic, to our board. Chris's commitment to rigor and honesty in giving align him perfectly with our vision, and he brings a track record of leadership and innovation in both new and old media to our team. Chris has shared his commitment to our work in a personal message to the GiveDirectly community."<ref>{{cite web |title=Chris Hughes joins the board |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/3591988352086577458 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=19 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2017 || December || Program || GiveDirectly launches a US$3.5 million pilot program distributing cash transfers to refugees in {{w|Uganda}}. The program targets refugees who have been displaced for at least five years, as well as households in the communities hosting them.<ref name="GiveDirectlyd">{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly |url=https://www.givewell.org/charities/give-directly |website=givewell.org |accessdate=3 May 2019}}</ref> || {{w|Uganda}}
 
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| 2012 || November 2 || || GiveWll updates its evaluations for 2012 and names GiveDirectly one of three "top-rated" organizations.<ref name="blog2012"/><ref name="givewell"/>
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| 2018 || January || Funding || GiveDirectly receives a US$3.6 million award from {{w|USAID}} to begin cash transfer operations in {{w|Liberia}}.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> || {{w|Liberia}}
 
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| 2012 || December 5 || || "GiveDirectly has received a $2.4M Global Impact Award from Google. Two things excite us about this project. First, over 90% of the award ($2.21M) is earmarked for direct cash transfers to the poor. Delivering these funds will enable thousands of families to pursue their own goals with no strings attached.  Second, the remainder of the award ($190K) will underwrite the fixed costs of setting up operations in a second country. This represents another step towards our goal of providing a global alternative to orthodox philanthropy."<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Impact Award from Google |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/7429110946430649788 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2018 || January || Study || J. Haushofer and J. Shapiro publish a study on the long-term impact of unconditional cash transfers. Three years after the beginning of the cash transfer program, the researchers find that transfer recipients have higher levels of asset holdings, consumption, food security and psychological well-being relative to non-recipients in the same village.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haushofer |first1=J. |last2=Shapiro |first2=J. |title=THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF UNCONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFERS : EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM KENYA ∗ |journal=www.semanticscholar.org |date=2018 |url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/THE-LONG-TERM-IMPACT-OF-UNCONDITIONAL-CASH-%3A-FROM-%E2%88%97-Haushofer-Shapiro/2454746163854dd855ac0d93f13f39556232bdf7 |language=en}}</ref> ||
 
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| 2013 || June 11 || || "New Blog Format" "Thanks to the time and efforts of a generous volunteer, this section of the GiveDirectly website will now feature more frequent updates, including reports from our field team, lessons learned from our work, and the latest evidence on the impact our cash transfers have on the lives of the poor. "<ref name="blog2013">{{cite web |title=blog2013 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2013 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Blog Format |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1420005310222078082 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2018 || March 30 || Media coverage || Berk Özler at <code>worldbank.org</code> publishes an article the impact of GiveDirectly’s cash transfers over the last three years.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly Three-Year Impacts, Explained |url=https://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/givedirectly-three-year-impacts-explained |website=blogs.worldbank.org |access-date=9 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> ||
 
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| 2013 || June 23 || || "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 of efficiency, impact, transparency, and capacity for growth.The report also describes a new targeting approach whereby we transfer cash to all residents of a poor village, rather than only to those families who live in mud and thatch homes. We look forward to sharing more with you as we learn from and gather evidence on this approach in the coming months."<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveWell's First Full Update on GiveDirectly |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1425727360371074923 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2018 || April || Funding || GiveDirectly receives a US$3 million award to begin cash transfer operations in the {{w|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} (DRC) and a US$3.75 million award to begin cash transfer operations in {{w|Malawi}}.<ref name="Financial Statements"/> || {{w|Malawi}}
 
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| 2013 || July 26 || || "GiveWell's First Full Update on GiveDirectly
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| 2018 || April 19 || Media coverage || Justin Sandefur at <code>cgdev.org</code> publishes an article mentioning results from GiveDirectly's cash transfer program in Kenya, and concludes that children human capital, instead of business growth, is the likely channel for long-term effects from cash transfer programs, which proved to be conditional on school attendance, boosting employment and earnings in adulthood.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cash Transfers Cure Poverty. Side-Effects Vary. Symptoms May Return When Treatment Stops. |url=https://www.cgdev.org/blog/cash-transfers-cure-poverty-side-effects-vary-symptoms-may-return-when-treatment-stops |website=Center For Global Development |access-date=9 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
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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 of efficiency, impact, transparency, and capacity for growth."<ref name="blog2013">{{cite web |title=blog2013 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2013 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GiveWell's First Full Update on GiveDirectly |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1425727360371074923 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
 
 
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| 2013 || September 6 || || "Planet Money reporters David Kestenbaum and Jacob Goldstein went to Kenya to see the work of a charity called GiveDirectly in action. Instead of funding schools or wells or livestock, GiveDirectly has decided to just give money directly to the poor people who need it, and let them decide how to spend it. David and Jacob explain whether this method of charity works, and why some people think it's a terrible idea. (28 minutes)"<ref>{{cite web |title=Money for Nothing and Your Cows for Free |url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/503/i-was-just-trying-to-help/act-one |website=thisamericanlife.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Looking Beyond the Buzz |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/5017861033851212580 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2013">{{cite web |title=blog2013 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2013 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2018 || June || Expansion || GiveDirectly starts partnership projects in three new countries: {{w|Liberia}}, {{w|Malawi}}, and the {{w|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}.<ref name="givewell"/> || {{w|Liberia}}, {{w|Malawi}}, {{w|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
 
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| 2013 || November 20 || || GiveDirectly announces it has a program up and running in {{w|Uganda}}, its second country.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly is in Uganda! |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/4639869356775728332 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
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| 2018 || September 13 || Program || GiveDirectly publishes the results from their first experimental benchmarking study, a collaboration with {{w|USAID}}, {{w|Google.org}}, and academic and implementing partners set in {{w|Rwanda}}. The results reveal that large lump sum cash (US$532 transfers) had positive primary outcomes such as consumption, dietary diversity, and anthropometrics, while improvement wasn't found in anemia and total wealth. Secondary outcomes such as savings, productive assets, consumption assets, house value, and child mortality, were found to have better results as well.<ref>{{cite web |title=4 years in the making: first cash benchmarking results released |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/5260516806241676953 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2018">{{cite web |title=blog2018 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2018 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=21 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Matthews |first1=Dylan |title=The small study in Rwanda that could change the way the US does foreign aid |url=https://www.vox.com/world/2018/9/13/17846190/cash-saves-lives-rwanda-usaid-foreign-aid-nutrition |website=Vox |access-date=12 March 2022 |language=en |date=13 September 2018}}</ref> || {{w|Rwanda}}
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| 2018 || September 26 || Media coverage || ''{{w|Washington Post}}'' columnist Christine Emba names GiveDirectly in a publication advocating for foreign aid as a cash-only transaction.<ref>{{cite web |title=Opinion {{!}} Foreign aid as a cash-only transaction? It’s worth a try. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/foreign-aid-as-a-cash-only-transaction-its-worth-a-try/2018/09/26/63622d74-c1bf-11e8-a1f0-a4051b6ad114_story.html |website=Washington Post |access-date=12 March 2022}}</ref> ||
 
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| 2014 || February 10 || || "Fast Company has just named GiveDirectly one of the world's Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Finance."<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly is The 4th most Innovative Company in Finance for 2014 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/8611069512621231715 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Most Innovative Companies 2014 |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2014 |website=fastcompany.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2014"/>
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| 2018 || November || Recognition || GiveDirectly is listed as one of GiveWell's four top-rated charities, and is recognized for offering donors an outstanding opportunity to accomplish good with their donations.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly |url=https://www.givewell.org/charities/give-directly |website=givewell.org |accessdate=20 April 2019}}</ref> ||
 
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| 2014 || March 11 || || "Staff at the Mulago Foundation recently commented on the results of IPA’s impact evaluation of GiveDirectly’s cash transfer program. Broadly speaking they see the results as “important” but think the media have overhyped them. As an organization, we are skeptical of nothing more than hype."<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly? Not So Fast. |url=https://ssir.org/articles/entry/givedirectly_not_so_fast |website=ssir.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What’s the hype evidence? |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/7431955057156519484 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2014"/>
+
| 2018 || November || Funding || {{w|GiveWell}} recommends that {{w|Open Philanthropy}} grant $2,500,000 to GiveDirectly, the latter being ranked eight in importance among standout charities in {{w|Open Philanthropy}}'s $64 million allocation.<ref>{{cite web |title=2018 Allocation to GiveWell Top Charities |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/blog/2018-allocation-givewell-top-charities |website=Open Philanthropy |access-date=31 May 2022 |language=en |date=12 December 2018}}</ref> GiveWell cites several factors including standout transparency and GiveDirectly's strong process for ensuring that cash is well-targeted and consistently reaches its intended targets.<ref name="givewell"/> ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2014 || July 9 || || GiveDirectly board members Michael Faye, Chris Hughes, and Paul Niehaus announce plans to start a separate, fee-for-service for-profit venture called Segovia to develop technology for managing field logistics, with a focus on programs that transfer cash to the poor.<ref name="blog2014"/><ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly and Segovia |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1154660016922550986 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Segovia: A New Player in Cash Transfers |url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/segovia-new-player-cash-transfers |website=cfr.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="givewell"/>
+
| 2019 || March || Study || Researchers at the {{w|National Bureau of Economic Research}} examines GiveDirectly's unconditional cash transfers in Kenya in their paper on income changes and intimate partner violence. The study results suggest that transfers to the wife primarily reduce physical and sexual violence by reducing her tolerance of it, while transfers to the husband reduce violence by reducing his marginal taste for it.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haushofer |first1=Johannes |last2=Ringdal |first2=Charlotte |last3=Shapiro |first3=Jeremy |last4=Wang |first4=Xiao Yu |title=Income Changes and Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from Unconditional Cash Transfers in Kenya |date=March 2019 |pages=w25627 |doi=10.3386/w25627}}</ref> ||{{w|Kenya}}
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2014 || November 26 || || "Today we’re launching a new website for GiveDirectly—the first major update since www.givedirectly.org went live in 2011. " "Today we’re launching a new website for GiveDirectly—the first major update since www.givedirectly.org went live in 2011."<ref name="blog2014"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Our new website |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/42257420510680686 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
+
| 2019 || March || Study || A study revisiting income elasticity of nutrition in the context of the unconditional cash transfer program of the GiveDirectly concludes that, in summary, cash transfers meaningfully increase household spending (including on food), increases earnings, improves food security, and leads households to increase their assets.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Almås |first1=Ingvild |last2=Haushofer |first2=Johannes |last3=Shapiro |first3=Jeremy |title=The Income Elasticity for Nutrition: Evidence from Unconditional Cash Transfers in Kenya |date=March 2019 |pages=w25711 |doi=10.3386/w25711}}</ref> ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2014 || October 24 || || In a new TED talk Joy Sun talks about GiveDirectly, and comments on the benefits of unconditional cash transfers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cold, hard cash |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/899511992758123873 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=TED |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/joy_sun_should_you_donate_differently |website=ted.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2014"/>
+
| 2019 || April 4 || Study || GiveDirectly publishes an investigation using facial recognition software to detect potential fraud among enrolled households, after finding an excess of households in a second count compared to the first one. Results show a low rate of duplicates, with most fraudulent activity consisting in single households pretending to be multiple.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mukhopadhyay |first1=Piali |title=How facial identification technology could help our field ops |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/how-facial-identification-technology-could-help-our-field-ops/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=26 February 2022 |date=4 April 2019}}</ref> ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2014 || December 10 || || "We’re thrilled that GiveWell has listed us as one of their top recommended charities once again this year. It’s not an easy mountain to climb: GiveWell reviews hundreds of organizations in unbelievable depth, and recommends very few – this year, only four. I’m grateful to my teammates here at GiveDirectly, as their strong performance is what earned us this recognition."<ref name="blog2014">{{cite web |title=blog2014 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2014 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GiveWell (re-)recommendation |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/8782429594499434085 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Our updated top charities |url=https://blog.givewell.org/2014/12/01/our-updated-top-charities/?utm_content=buffer2eb73&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer |website=blog.givewell.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
+
| 2019 || May || Study || Michael Cooke and Piali Mukhopadhyay from GiveDirectly publish study evaluating large cash transfers to coffee farming communities in {{w|Uganda}}. Among the findings, the researchers observe an increasing level of consumption, total asset value, earnings and food security, bothin coffee farmers and the community in general. Among coffe farmers, an increase in coffee investment index, and coffee sales revenue is fond.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cash crop: evaluating large cash transfers to coffee farming communities in Uganda |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Cash_Crop_Ugandan_CoffeeRCT.pdf |website=givedirectly.org |access-date=7 March 2022}}</ref> || {{w|Uganda}}  
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2015 || August 3 || || "This week, Good Ventures announced an unrestricted $25M grant to GiveDirectly (some coverage: Good Ventures post, GiveWell post, Vox, Inside Philanthropy, CNBC, Huffington Post, Forbes). A large investment like this reflects a lot of confidence in the team and the vision, and we’re grateful for that. In just a few short years, the discussion around cash transfers has shifted from “crazy new idea” to a serious debate about their role in the future of giving and foreign aid. We think that’s an important discussion, and will be using this grant to help advance and inform it."<ref name="blog2015"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Announcing a $25 Million Grant to GiveDirectly |url=http://www.goodventures.org/research-and-ideas/blog/announcing-a-25-million-grant-to-givedirectly |website=goodventures.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Facebook billionaire is handing tons of cash to poor people in East Africa |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/8/4/9092053/facebook-givedirectly-donation-cash |website=vox.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Money, Big Bets: Three Takeaways From a Massive Tech Grant to Fight Global Poverty |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/8/4/new-money-big-bets-three-takeaways-from-a-massive-tech-grant.html |website=insidephilanthropy.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Facebook Co-Founder Giving Millions Directly To The Poor, No Strings Attached |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/facebook-co-founder-giving-millions-directly-to-the-poor-no-strings-attached_us_55be806ee4b0d4f33a03299f?utm_hp_ref=politics |website=huffingtonpost.com |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
+
| 2019 || May || Study || Johannes Haushofer, James Reisinger, and Jeremy Shapiro publish study using data from a randomized controlled trial conducted in collaboration with GiveDirectly. The researchers find that increases in own wealth lead to large and robust increases in well-being. However, increases in neighbors' wealth have a negative effect on an index of psychological well-being variables, as a result of a negative effect on life satisfaction. They also find suggestive evidence of a negative consumption response to increases in village mean wealth, though it is imprecisely estimated. Finally, the researchers point at the casual effect of changes in overall comparison group inequality, holding constant an individual's rank within the group. They found that such changes in inequality "have no effect on well-being or consumption".<ref>{{cite web |title=Is Your Gain My Pain? Effects of Relative Income and Inequality on Psychological Well-being |url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jamesreisinger/files/reisinger_inequality2021.09.25.pdf |website=scholar.harvard.edu |access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref> ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2015 || November 23 || || "For the fourth consecutive year GiveWell has named us one of their top-rated charities of 2015. GiveWell also rated GiveDirectly strongest on all aspects of organizational performance, including on “transparency and communication,” “robustness of the case for impact,” and “room for more funding.”"<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveWell recommends GiveDirectly (again), and benchmarks others against cash |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/5398909843884337925 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2015">{{cite web |title=blog2015 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2015 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="givewell"/>
+
| 2019 || October 16 || Performance || GiveDirectly publishes blog describing right choices and mistakes commited by the organization over the last ten years. The right things are described as follows:
 +
* Deciding to trust poor people.
 +
* Putting basic income to the test.
 +
* Opting to saturate entire villages instead of targeting specific households within them.
 +
* Scaling cash as a benchmark.
 +
* Building out an internal audit team.
 +
 
 +
The described wrong things are the following:
 +
* Not initially holding community meetings.
 +
* Not realizing sooner the need to invest in call center technology.
 +
* Waiting too long to grow the fundraising team.
 +
* Taking for granted how explicit GiveDirectly needed to be in explaining unconditionality to recipients.
 +
* Sometimes being a bit too scrappy.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Last Decade: 10 Things We Got Right & Wrong |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/reflecting-on-the-last-decade/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=26 February 2022 |date=16 October 2019}}</ref>
 +
||
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2016 || November 29 || || "GiveWell has just recognized GiveDirectly as one of their top rated charities for the fifth year running. "<ref name="blog2016"/><ref>{{cite web |title=On GiveWell's recommendation |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/3120233048849071787 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="givewell"/>
+
| 2019 || November || Funding || {{w|GiveWell}} recommends that {{w|Open Philanthropy}} grant $2,500,000 to GiveDirectly, the latter being ranked eight in importance among standout charities in {{w|Open Philanthropy}}'s $54.6 million allocation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Recommendation to Open Philanthropy for Grants to Top Charities |url=https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities/2019/open-philanthropy-recommendation |website=GiveWell |access-date=31 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2016 || December 19 || || "The second milestone for cash in 2016 (see here for Part 1) was GiveDirectly’s launch of the first long-term Universal Basic Income evaluation in history. "<ref name="blog2016">{{cite web |title=blog2016 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2016 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The largest basic income experiment in history |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/1913203671065804411 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
+
| 2019 || November 21 || Study || GiveDirectly releases results of study conducted in {{w|Kenya}} with the purpose to evaluate how cash transfers affect local economies, including nearby non-recipients, enterprises, and markets. The authors' abstract sums up:
 +
 
 +
{{Quote|How large economic stimuli generate individual and aggregate responses is a central question in economics, but has not been studied experimentally. We provided one-time cash transfers of about USD 1000 to over 10,500 poor households across 653 randomized villages in rural Kenya. The implied fiscal shock was 15 percent of local GDP. We find large impacts on consumption and assets for recipients. Importantly, we document large positive spillovers on non-recipient households and firms, and minimal price inflation. We estimate a local fiscal multiplier of 2.6. We interpret welfare implications through the lens of a simple household optimization framework.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Huston |first1=Joe |last2=Cooke |first2=Mike |title=New research results: How do cash transfers impact the people who don’t receive them? |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/how-do-cash-transfers-impact-neighbors/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=26 February 2022 |date=21 November 2019}}</ref>}}
 +
||{{w|Kenya}}
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2016 || December || || "this year. Together, we have enrolled 31K new households, and placed $27M into the hands of 40K households (or more than 180k individuals), most of whom had been living on less than $1/day. This represents more than a 1000X increase in distributions from just five years ago. "<ref name="blog2016"/><ref>{{cite web |title=The year in cash – $27 million distributed |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/6375644394136613315 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
+
| 2020 || April 14 || Funding || GiveDirectly announces US$3 million in new funding for its COVID-19 Relief Fund from Google.org, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Flourish Ventures. This round of funding triples GiveDirectly’s emergency fund which actively provides US$1,000 in direct cash payments to families hardly affected by the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=New funding from Google CEO, Google.org and Flourish Ventures |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/new-funding-covid-19/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=26 February 2022 |date=14 April 2020}}</ref> ||
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 2017 || November 13 || || " field officers in Bomet County, Kenya are beginning to enroll the first (post-pilot) households into the largest basic income initiative in history."<ref>{{cite web |title=We're officially launching UBI |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog-post/7285958994145750939 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="blog2017">{{cite web |title=blog2017 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/blog?year=2017 |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>
+
| 2020 || April 21 || Program || GiveDirectly officially launches Project 100, a COVID-19 private direct payments initiative aimed to provide US$1,000 direct digital payments to 100,000 U.S. families hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Faye |first1=Michael |title=Our emergency cash response for COVID-19 |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/covid-19-response/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=26 February 2022 |date=18 March 2020}}</ref> ||
 +
|-
 +
| 2020 || September 2 || Study || Researchers release initial results on the effects of the {{w|universal basic income}} program conducted by GiveDirectly during the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}. In the working paper's abstract, researchers {{w|Abhijit Banerjee}}, Michael Faye, {{w|Alan Krueger}}, Paul Niehaus, and Tavneet Suri write:
 +
 
 +
{{quote|We examine some effects of Universal Basic Income (UBI) during the COVID-19 pandemic using a large-scale experiment in rural Kenya. Transfers significantly improved well-being on common measures such as hunger, sickness and depression in spite of the pandemic, but with modest effect sizes. They may have had public health benefits, as they reduced hospital visits and decreased social (but not commercial) interactions that influence contagion rates. During the pandemic (and contemporaneous agricultural lean season) recipients lost the income gains from starting new non-agricultural enterprises that they had initially obtained, but also suffered smaller increases in hunger. This pattern is consistent with the idea that UBI induced recipients to take on more income risk in part by mitigating the most harmful consequences of adverse shocks.}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Basic Income Kenya Study |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/ubi-study/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=5 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How does a basic income affect recipients during COVID-19? |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/basic-income-covid-19/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=5 March 2022 |date=2 September 2020}}</ref>
 +
|| {{w|Kenya}}
 +
|-
 +
| 2020 || November || Funding || {{w|GiveWell}} recommends that {{w|Open Philanthropy}} grant $500,000 to GiveDirectly, the latter being ranked in importance among standout charities in {{w|Open Philanthropy}}'s $70 million allocation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Recommendation to Open Philanthropy for Grants in November 2020 |url=https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities/2020/open-philanthropy-recommendation#Size_of_incentive_grants |website=GiveWell |access-date=31 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2020 || Year round || Program || GiveDirectly commits $26 million in cash transfers to 163,000 people in {{w|Kenya}} alone during the year. This represents less than 1% of the 16.4 million people living in extreme poverty in the country.<ref name="Finan">{{cite web |title=Financials |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/financials/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=5 March 2022}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}
 +
|-
 +
| 2021 || July 28 || Study || Researchers with Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) and the {{w|Innovations for Poverty Action}} (IPA) publish a study with results of a first-of-its-kind contactless direct payments program, which was led by the {{w|Government of Togo}} and supported by the research team and GiveDirectly. The program shows the {{w|machine learning}} targeting outperforming other options available to policymakers at the time, though is best used as a supplemental tool to conventional approaches, especially during times of crisis.<ref>{{cite web |title=Study: AI targeting helped reach more of the poorest people in Togo |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/study-ai-targeting-togo/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=26 February 2022 |date=28 July 2021}}</ref> || {{w|Togo}}
 +
|-
 +
| 2021 || November 10 || Performance || GiveDirectly announces having reached 1 million households.<ref>{{cite web |title=We’ve reached 1 million households in poverty and counting |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/1-million-households/ |website=GiveDirectly |access-date=10 February 2022 |date=10 November 2021}}</ref> ||
 +
|-
 +
| 2021 || Year round || Program || {{w|Kenya}} and {{w|Rwanda}} in {{w|East Africa}} become the biggest beneficiaries of GiveDirectly’s cryptocurrency donations in the year, with {{w|Malawi}} expected to be a major recipient in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=Will 2022 be a boom year for cryptocurrency philanthropy? |url=https://www.devex.com/news/will-2022-be-a-boom-year-for-cryptocurrency-philanthropy-102241 |website=devex.com |access-date=9 January 2022}}</ref> || {{w|Kenya}}, {{w|Rwanda}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 +
== Numerical and visual data  ==
 +
 +
=== Number of funders per year ===
 +
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
! Year !! Number of funders 
 +
|-
 +
| 2011 || 164<ref name="Funders and Partners"/>
 +
|-
 +
| 2012 || 810<ref name="Funders and Partners"/>
 +
|-
 +
| 2013 || 6,195<ref name="Funders and Partners"/>
 +
|-
 +
| 2014 || 7,275<ref name="Funders and Partners"/>
 +
|-
 +
| 2015 || 8,886<ref name="Funders and Partners"/>
 +
|-
 +
| 2016 || 10,999 funders.<ref name="Funders and Partners">{{cite web |title=Funders and Partners |url=https://givedirectly.org/funders-and-partners |website=givedirectly.org |accessdate=9 March 2019}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
|
 +
|}
 +
 +
=== Google Scholar ===
 +
 +
The following table summarizes per-year mentions on Google Scholar as of December 14, 2021.
 +
 +
{| class="sortable wikitable"
 +
! Year
 +
! "GiveDirectly"
 +
|-
 +
| 2010 || 2
 +
|-
 +
| 2011 || 3
 +
|-
 +
| 2012 || 7
 +
|-
 +
| 2013 || 14
 +
|-
 +
| 2014 || 35
 +
|-
 +
| 2015 || 49
 +
|-
 +
| 2016 || 60
 +
|-
 +
| 2017 || 102
 +
|-
 +
| 2018 || 137
 +
|-
 +
| 2019 || 138
 +
|-
 +
| 2020 || 141
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 +
[[File:Givedirectly gscho.png|thumb|center|700px]]
 +
 +
=== Google Trends ===
 +
The comparative chart below shows {{w|Google Trends}} data for GiveDirectly (Nonprofit organization) and GiveDirectly (Search term) from January 2008 to February 2021, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly |url=https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2008-01-01%202021-02-23&q=%2Fm%2F0hndcvy,GiveDirectly |website=Google Trends |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref>
 +
 +
[[File:GiveDirectly gt.jpg|thumb|center|600px]]
 +
 +
=== Google Ngram Viewer ===
 +
The chart below shows {{w|Google Ngram Viewer}} data for GiveDirectly from 2008 to 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=GiveDirectly&year_start=2008&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=true |website=books.google.com |access-date=23 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
 +
 +
[[File:GiveDirectly ngram.jpg|thumb|center|600px]]
 +
 +
=== Wikipedia Views ===
 +
The chart below shows pageviews of the English Wikipedia article {{w|GiveDirectly}}, on desktop from December 2007, and on mobile-web, desktop-spider, mobile-web-spider and mobile app, from July 2015; to January 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=GiveDirectly |url=https://wikipediaviews.org/displayviewsformultiplemonths.php |website=wikipediaviews.org |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref>
 +
 +
[[File:GiveDirectly wv.jpg|thumb|center|600px]]
  
 
==Meta information on the timeline==
 
==Meta information on the timeline==
Line 89: Line 354:
  
 
===What the timeline is still missing===
 
===What the timeline is still missing===
 +
 +
* [https://www.givedirectly.org/research-at-give-directly/] (check for media coverage from Benchmarking a traditional nutrition and WASH program to cash)
 +
* [https://www.givedirectly.org/blog/]
  
 
===Timeline update strategy===
 
===Timeline update strategy===
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 +
 +
* [[Timeline of GiveWell]]
 +
* [[Timeline of Evidence Action]]
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 +
 +
* [https://www.givedirectly.org/beta/ Official website]
 +
* [https://donations.vipulnaik.com/donorDonee.php?donor=Open+Philanthropy&donee=GiveDirectly Open Philanthropy donations made to GiveDirectly]
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
  
 
{{Reflist|30em}}
 
{{Reflist|30em}}

Latest revision as of 21:50, 26 July 2023

This is a timeline of GiveDirectly, a not-for-profit organization whose claimed mission is "to reduce poverty by providing financial assistance directly to those in need." It offers a service of cash transfers. GiveDirectly operates primarily in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.[1]

Sample questions

The following are some interesting questions that can be answered by reading this timeline:

  • What are some events describing GiveDirectly's cash transfer and basic income programs?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Program".
    • You will see descriptions related to cash transfer and universal income programs, including pilot projects, trials, enrollment statistics, and geographical distribution of GiveDirectly's programs.
  • What are some notable fundings by third parties to GiveDirectly?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Funding".
    • You will see some notable donations by entities such as Google, Good Ventures, as well as notable individuals such as Dustin Moskovitz and Cari Tuna.
  • What are some cases of media coverage citing the work of GiveDirectly?
  • What are some studies involving GiveDirectly's work?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Study".
    • You will mostly see studies on unconditional cash transfers, citing GiveDirectly's program.
  • What are some cases of recognition of GiveDirectly's work?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Recognition".
    • You will see nominations by other organizations, especially GiveWell.
  • Other events are described under the following types: "Background", "Financial", "Launch", "Performance", "Recommendation", "Team", and "Website".

Big picture

Time period Development summary Details
2009–2012 Early period GiveDirectly is originated as a giving circle started by Paul Niehaus, Michael Faye, Rohit Wanchoo, and Jeremy Shapiro, students at MIT and Harvard, based on their research into philanthropy.[2]
2012 onwards Formalization The giving circle is formalized into GiveDirectly.[2]
2016 onwards Basic income GiveDirectly starts its basic income program.

Summary by year

Time period Development summary
2009 GiveDirectly launches and focuses on its novel cash transfers model. Kenya becomes the first operating country.
2012 GiveDirectly is rated as a "standout organization" by charity evaluator GiveWell.
2013 Uganda becomes GiveDirectly's second operating country.
2014 GiveDirectly board members launch Segovia, a software technology platform aimed at streamlining payment systems.
2015 Rwanda becomes GiveDirectly's third operating country.
2016 GiveDirectly undertakes its basic income enterprise. Kenya becomes the first operating country of the program.
2017 GiveDirectly begins a study of providing long-term, ongoing cash transfers sufficient for basic needs ("basic income guarantee").[3]
2018 GiveDirectly starts operating in Liberia, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
2019 GiveDirectly begins making payments to approximately 10,000 refugee households (65,000 people) in the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Uganda.[4]
2020 GiveDirectly engages in COVID-19 response work, receiving substantial revenue as support.[5]
2021 GiveDirectly delivers US$106.3M to 431,000 people in poverty across seven countries in Africa.[6]

Full timeline

Year Month and date Event type Details Affected country (when applicable)
2009 September 1 Launch GiveDirectly incorporates in the State of Massachusetts.[1]
2009 Program GiveDirectly launches in Liberia and Kenya, and starts using mobile payments to deliver cash transfers.[7][8][9] Kenya, Liberia
2011 July 2 Study Field staff in Kenya launches a large-scale evaluation of GiveDirectly's work, funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by Dr. Johannes Haushofer of the University of Zurich in collaboration with GiveDirectly's board.[10] Kenya
2011 July 21 Media coverage GiveWell blogs about GiveDirectly, calling it "a charity to watch".[11]
2011 July 22 Funding Economics blog Marginal Revolution makes a donation and blogs about GiveDirectly.[12]
2011 July 26 Media coverage The Boston Globe's Brainiac blog writes about GiveDirectly and its procedure.[13]
2011 August 2 Media coverage NPR's Planet Money blog covers FiveDirectly approach, calling it a "simple but radical".[14]
2011 August 3 Media coverage Time Magazine's Moneyland blog calls GiveDirectly approach "radical, if obvious", asking: "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 not just give the money directly to poor people, in as efficient a way as possible?".[15]
2012 January 3 Media coverage Vishnu Sridharan at the New America Foundation writes a blog post on GiveDirectly approach and where it fits in to the big picture.[16]
2012 April Study Sarah Baird, Jacobus de Hoop and Berk Özler publish study on the effects of a positive income shock on mental health among adolescent girls using evidence from a cash transfer experiment in Malawi. The researchers find strong evidence of increased psychological distress among untreated baseline schoolgirls in treatment areas, suggesting that giving poor people cash makes them happier, and their cashless neighbors miserable.[17] Malawi
2012 May 2 Recognition GiveWell completes its full review of GiveDirectly and rates them a "standout organization."[16][18]
2012 August 2 Team Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes joins GiveDirectly board as director.[19][20]
2012 November 2 Recognition GiveWell updates its evaluations for 2012 and names GiveDirectly one of three "top-rated" organizations.[16][18]
2012 December 5 Funding GiveDirectly receives a US$2.4 million Global Impact Award from Google, with over 90% of the amount (US$2.21 million) being earmarked for direct cash transfers to the poor, and the remainder of the award (US$ 190,000) to underwrite the fixed costs of setting up operations in a second country.[21]
2012 December Funding Good Ventures awards a grant of US$500,000 to GiveDirectly for general operating support in recognition of GiveWell’s No. 2 charity ranking in the year.[22]
2013 March Financial GiveDirectly reports US$3 million in funds available, 2 million of which it has designated for future transfers in Kenya, and 1 million of which it has designated for use in scaling its model to a second country.[23] Kenya
2013 June 11 Website GiveDirectly announces new blog format section of its website, aimed at featuring more frequent updates, including reports from the field team, lessons learned from the work, and the latest evidence on the impact GiveDirectly's cash transfers have on the lives of the recipients.[24][25]
2013 June 26 Media coverage GiveWell's publishes first full update on GiveDirectly, and produces an in-depth report on GD’s work in Kenya and their long-term outlook as they continue to scale up their cash transfer operations. The report covers GD's activities since November 2012, when GiveWell named GiveDirectly their second rated charity based on their criteria of efficiency, impact, transparency, and capacity for growth.[24][26] Kenya
2013 June Program GiveDirectly plans to target only mud and thatch households in a second country chosen for its cash transfer program.[23]
2013 September 6 Media coverage David Kestenbaum and Jacob Goldstein from Planet Money report on GiveDirectly work in Kenya, explaining whether its method of charity works, and why some people think it's a terrible idea.[27][28][24][29] Kenya
2013 October 26 Media coverage An article at The Economist titled Pennies from heaven describes GiveDirectly and concludes that giving money directly to poor people works surprisingly well, but it cannot deal with the deeper causes of poverty. [30]
2013 October 29 Media coverage An article by Kerry A. Dolan at Forbes emphasizes GiveDirectly's positive results of cash grants made to poor households in Western Kenya from 2011 to 2012.[31] Kenya
2013 November 20 Program GiveDirectly announces it has a program being conducted in Uganda, its second country.[32] Uganda
2013 – 2014 December 2013 – January 31, 2014 Funding Good Ventures awards a grant of US$2 million to GiveDirectly in December 2013 and matches $5 million in additional donations from December 3, 2013 through January 31, 2014. Both grants are for general operating support in recognition of GiveDirectly's earning a "top charity" ranking from GiveWell in 2013.[33]
2014 February 10 Recognition American business magazine Fast Company names GiveDirectly one of the world's Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Finance.[34][35][7]
2014 March 11 Media coverage Staff at the Mulago Foundation comments on the results of Innovations for Poverty Action’s impact evaluation of GiveDirectly’s cash transfer program. Broadly speaking they see the results as “important” but think the media have overhyped them.[36][37][7]
2014 July 9 Program GiveDirectly board members Michael Faye, Chris Hughes, and Paul Niehaus announce plans to start a separate, fee-for-service for-profit venture called Segovia to develop technology for managing field logistics, with a focus on programs that transfer cash to the poor.[7][38][39][18][40]
2014 November 26 Website GiveDirectly launches a new website, the first major update since www.givedirectly.org went live in 2011.[7][41]
2014 October 24 Media coverage In a new TED talk Joy Sun talks about GiveDirectly, and comments on the benefits of unconditional cash transfers.[42][43][7]
2014 December 10 Recognition GiveWell lists GiveDirectly as one of their top recommended charities once again.[7][44][45]
2014 December Funding Good Ventures awards a grant of US$5 million to GiveDirectly for general operating support in recognition of the organization's earning a "top charity" ranking from GiveWell.[46]
2015  ? Program GiveDirectly registers in Rwanda.[1] Rwanda
2015 June Funding Good Ventures announces an unrestricted US$25 million grant to GiveDirectly for support of general operations.[47][48][49][50][51][20]
2015 August 7 Funding Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna agree to donate US$25 million to GiveDirectly, the largest donation to date.[52]
2015 October Study A study by J. Haushofer et al. on unconditional cash transfers in Kenya concludes that increases in neighbors’ wealth strongly decrease life satisfaction and moderately decrease consumption and asset holdings. "The decrease in life satisfaction induced by transfers to neighbors more than offsets the direct positive effect of transfers, and is largest for individuals who did not receive a direct transfer themselves. We find evidence of hedonic adaptation, in that the negative spillover effect of transfers to neighbors decreases over time, at a rate similar to that of direct transfers."[53] Kenya
2015 November 23 Recognition GiveWell names GiveDirectly one of their top-rated charities of 2015, this time for the fourth consecutive year. GiveWell also rates GiveDirectly strongest on all aspects of organizational performance, including on “transparency and communication,” “robustness of the case for impact,” and “room for more funding.”[54][47][18]
2016  ? Funding Segovia donates its software and services to GiveDirectly. The in-kind donation of the software and associated services are valued at US$52,454 for the delivery of approximately US$5,170,928 of grant transfers that would be disbursed between January through April of 2016.[1]
2016  ? Program GiveDirectly begins enrollment in Rwanda.[1] Rwanda
2016 January Funding Good Ventures awards a US$9.75 million grant to GiveDirectly for general operating support, in recognition of the organization’s earning a “top charity” ranking from GiveWell in 2015.[55]
2016 February Background The Global Innovation Fund announces its first round of investments, the first of which goes to software tech platform Segovia. The Global Innovation Fund was started by GiveDirectly co-founders Michael Faye and Paul Niehaus. The company aims to improve the efficiency of aid by improving the cash transfer system.[40]
2016 April Program GiveDirectly announces a US$30 million initiative to test universal basic income in order to ‘try to permanently end extreme poverty across dozens of villages and thousands of people in Kenya by guaranteeing them an ongoing income high enough to meet their basic needs’.[56] Kenya
2016 May Funding Segovia no longer donates the software and services to GiveDirectly and instead charges at a fixed percentage of grant transfers.[1]
2016 July Study Johannes Haushofer and Jeremy Shapiro publish paper analizing the short-term impact of unconditional cash transfers in Kenya from GiveDirectly. Results suggest that these programs have significant impacts on economic outcomes and psychological well-being. The researchers find a strong consumption response to transfers. Transfer recipients experience large increases in psychological well-being. Whereas no overall effect on levels of the stress hormone cortisol is found, there are differences across some subgroups.[57] Kenya
2016  ? Program GiveDirectly launches GDLive, an online tool for donors to read recipients' answers to questions about their lives and their reactions to receiving cash transfers from GiveDirectly.[3]
2016 October Program GiveDirectly launches a pilot version of what would become the largest basic income experiment in history so far. Beginning early 2017, 40 villages would receive roughly US$22.50 per month for 12 years. Meanwhile, 80 villages would get the same amount for just two years, another 80 would get a lump sum equal to the two-year amount, and 100 villages would get no money.[58]
2016 October Program GiveDirectly begins its transfers cash program in Rwanda.[18] Rwanda
2016 November 29 Recognition GiveWell recognizes GiveDirectly as one of their top rated charities for the fifth year running.[59][60][18]
2016 December Program GiveDirectly’s launches the first long-term Universal Basic Income evaluation in history.[59][61]
2016 December Program GiveDirectly enrolls 31,000 new households, and places US$27 million into the hands of 40,000 households (or more than 180,000 individuals), most of whom live on less than $1/day. This represents more than a 1000X increase in distributions from just five years ago.[59][62]
2016 December Expansion GiveDirectly is registered under the Companies Act 2006 as having established a UK Establishment in the United Kingdom.[1]
2017 January Media coverage A range of outlets around the world mentions GiveDirectly in relation to universal basic income, including El Mundo, The World Post[63], Inside Philanthropy[64], New York Magazine[65], New Statesman[66], and The Guardian[67].[68][69]
2017 January Funding Good Ventures awards a US$2,500,000 grant to GiveDirectly for general operating support, in recognition of the organization’s earning a “top charity” ranking from GiveWell in 2016.[70]
2017 May Media coverage In a webinar, Greek American engineer Peter Diamandis interviews Michael Faye, who talks about the disruption of philanthropy through peer-to-peer aid.[71]
2017 May 17 Media coverage Vox's "Weeds" interviews Michael Faye as well as several recipients of GiveDirectly basic income program in Western Kenya. The interview deals with a range of issues, from recipient choice to social welfare policy, and featuring some of the most important voices which are often left out of the debate: recipient families themselves.[72][73] Kenya
2017 July 5 Media coverage Hamilton Nolan interviews GiveDirectly's co-founder Paul Niehaus, who discusses the current state of the debate around basic income and the details of our experiment. Elsewhere, GiveDirectly's basic income experiment is referenced in Fortune[74], Business Insider[75], and IndiaSpend. GiveDirectly is also mentioned in The Washington Post[76] as part of a broader shift toward cash transfers in the aid sector.[77][78][73]
2017 July 13 Media coverage In a 30-minute documentary, national broadcaster ABC Australia profiles GiveDirectly's work in Kenya, speaking at length with GD External Relations Director Caroline Teti, and Regional Director Mitch Riley.[73][79] Kenya
2017 October Program GiveDirectly starts conducting two pilot projects in the United States to deliver cash transfers to people affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Maria.[1]
2017 November 13 Program GiveDirectly officially launches its trial of basic income in rural Kenya, and starts enrolling experimental participants. The US$30 million experiment is expected to be the largest trial of basic income to date, in terms of both size and duration. All residents of about 120 rural Kenyan villages, comprising more than 16,000 people in total, would receive some type of unconditional cash transfers during the experiment; some of these villages, moreover, would receive the universal basic income for twelve years.[80] Field officers in Bomet County, Kenya begin to enroll the first (post-pilot) households into the basic income initiative[81][73] Kenya
2017  ? Program GiveDirectly begins using Segovia mobile money wallets for delivery of cash transfers to the recipients in East Africa.[1] East Africa
2017  ? Funding GiveDirectly receives a US$663,500 grant from the Government of the United Kingdom's Department for International Development for its project serving refugees in Uganda.[1] Uganda
2017 December 7 Recognition GiveDirectly is recognized as a "top charity" by GiveWell.[82]
2017 December Recommendation The Open Philanthropy Project recommends a grant of US$2,500,000 to GiveDirectly for general operating support, due to its status as a GiveWell top charity.[83]
2017 December Program GiveDirectly launches a US$3.5 million pilot program distributing cash transfers to refugees in Uganda. The program targets refugees who have been displaced for at least five years, as well as households in the communities hosting them.[3] Uganda
2018 January Funding GiveDirectly receives a US$3.6 million award from USAID to begin cash transfer operations in Liberia.[1] Liberia
2018 January Study J. Haushofer and J. Shapiro publish a study on the long-term impact of unconditional cash transfers. Three years after the beginning of the cash transfer program, the researchers find that transfer recipients have higher levels of asset holdings, consumption, food security and psychological well-being relative to non-recipients in the same village.[84]
2018 March 30 Media coverage Berk Özler at worldbank.org publishes an article the impact of GiveDirectly’s cash transfers over the last three years.[85]
2018 April Funding GiveDirectly receives a US$3 million award to begin cash transfer operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a US$3.75 million award to begin cash transfer operations in Malawi.[1] Malawi
2018 April 19 Media coverage Justin Sandefur at cgdev.org publishes an article mentioning results from GiveDirectly's cash transfer program in Kenya, and concludes that children human capital, instead of business growth, is the likely channel for long-term effects from cash transfer programs, which proved to be conditional on school attendance, boosting employment and earnings in adulthood.[86] Kenya
2018 June Expansion GiveDirectly starts partnership projects in three new countries: Liberia, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[18] Liberia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
2018 September 13 Program GiveDirectly publishes the results from their first experimental benchmarking study, a collaboration with USAID, Google.org, and academic and implementing partners set in Rwanda. The results reveal that large lump sum cash (US$532 transfers) had positive primary outcomes such as consumption, dietary diversity, and anthropometrics, while improvement wasn't found in anemia and total wealth. Secondary outcomes such as savings, productive assets, consumption assets, house value, and child mortality, were found to have better results as well.[87][69][88] Rwanda
2018 September 26 Media coverage Washington Post columnist Christine Emba names GiveDirectly in a publication advocating for foreign aid as a cash-only transaction.[89]
2018 November Recognition GiveDirectly is listed as one of GiveWell's four top-rated charities, and is recognized for offering donors an outstanding opportunity to accomplish good with their donations.[90]
2018 November Funding GiveWell recommends that Open Philanthropy grant $2,500,000 to GiveDirectly, the latter being ranked eight in importance among standout charities in Open Philanthropy's $64 million allocation.[91] GiveWell cites several factors including standout transparency and GiveDirectly's strong process for ensuring that cash is well-targeted and consistently reaches its intended targets.[18]
2019 March Study Researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research examines GiveDirectly's unconditional cash transfers in Kenya in their paper on income changes and intimate partner violence. The study results suggest that transfers to the wife primarily reduce physical and sexual violence by reducing her tolerance of it, while transfers to the husband reduce violence by reducing his marginal taste for it.[92] Kenya
2019 March Study A study revisiting income elasticity of nutrition in the context of the unconditional cash transfer program of the GiveDirectly concludes that, in summary, cash transfers meaningfully increase household spending (including on food), increases earnings, improves food security, and leads households to increase their assets.[93]
2019 April 4 Study GiveDirectly publishes an investigation using facial recognition software to detect potential fraud among enrolled households, after finding an excess of households in a second count compared to the first one. Results show a low rate of duplicates, with most fraudulent activity consisting in single households pretending to be multiple.[94]
2019 May Study Michael Cooke and Piali Mukhopadhyay from GiveDirectly publish study evaluating large cash transfers to coffee farming communities in Uganda. Among the findings, the researchers observe an increasing level of consumption, total asset value, earnings and food security, bothin coffee farmers and the community in general. Among coffe farmers, an increase in coffee investment index, and coffee sales revenue is fond.[95] Uganda
2019 May Study Johannes Haushofer, James Reisinger, and Jeremy Shapiro publish study using data from a randomized controlled trial conducted in collaboration with GiveDirectly. The researchers find that increases in own wealth lead to large and robust increases in well-being. However, increases in neighbors' wealth have a negative effect on an index of psychological well-being variables, as a result of a negative effect on life satisfaction. They also find suggestive evidence of a negative consumption response to increases in village mean wealth, though it is imprecisely estimated. Finally, the researchers point at the casual effect of changes in overall comparison group inequality, holding constant an individual's rank within the group. They found that such changes in inequality "have no effect on well-being or consumption".[96]
2019 October 16 Performance GiveDirectly publishes blog describing right choices and mistakes commited by the organization over the last ten years. The right things are described as follows:
  • Deciding to trust poor people.
  • Putting basic income to the test.
  • Opting to saturate entire villages instead of targeting specific households within them.
  • Scaling cash as a benchmark.
  • Building out an internal audit team.

The described wrong things are the following:

  • Not initially holding community meetings.
  • Not realizing sooner the need to invest in call center technology.
  • Waiting too long to grow the fundraising team.
  • Taking for granted how explicit GiveDirectly needed to be in explaining unconditionality to recipients.
  • Sometimes being a bit too scrappy.[97]
2019 November Funding GiveWell recommends that Open Philanthropy grant $2,500,000 to GiveDirectly, the latter being ranked eight in importance among standout charities in Open Philanthropy's $54.6 million allocation.[98]
2019 November 21 Study GiveDirectly releases results of study conducted in Kenya with the purpose to evaluate how cash transfers affect local economies, including nearby non-recipients, enterprises, and markets. The authors' abstract sums up:
How large economic stimuli generate individual and aggregate responses is a central question in economics, but has not been studied experimentally. We provided one-time cash transfers of about USD 1000 to over 10,500 poor households across 653 randomized villages in rural Kenya. The implied fiscal shock was 15 percent of local GDP. We find large impacts on consumption and assets for recipients. Importantly, we document large positive spillovers on non-recipient households and firms, and minimal price inflation. We estimate a local fiscal multiplier of 2.6. We interpret welfare implications through the lens of a simple household optimization framework.[99]
Kenya
2020 April 14 Funding GiveDirectly announces US$3 million in new funding for its COVID-19 Relief Fund from Google.org, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Flourish Ventures. This round of funding triples GiveDirectly’s emergency fund which actively provides US$1,000 in direct cash payments to families hardly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[100]
2020 April 21 Program GiveDirectly officially launches Project 100, a COVID-19 private direct payments initiative aimed to provide US$1,000 direct digital payments to 100,000 U.S. families hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis.[101]
2020 September 2 Study Researchers release initial results on the effects of the universal basic income program conducted by GiveDirectly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the working paper's abstract, researchers Abhijit Banerjee, Michael Faye, Alan Krueger, Paul Niehaus, and Tavneet Suri write:
We examine some effects of Universal Basic Income (UBI) during the COVID-19 pandemic using a large-scale experiment in rural Kenya. Transfers significantly improved well-being on common measures such as hunger, sickness and depression in spite of the pandemic, but with modest effect sizes. They may have had public health benefits, as they reduced hospital visits and decreased social (but not commercial) interactions that influence contagion rates. During the pandemic (and contemporaneous agricultural lean season) recipients lost the income gains from starting new non-agricultural enterprises that they had initially obtained, but also suffered smaller increases in hunger. This pattern is consistent with the idea that UBI induced recipients to take on more income risk in part by mitigating the most harmful consequences of adverse shocks.
[102][103] 		Kenya
2020 November Funding GiveWell recommends that Open Philanthropy grant $500,000 to GiveDirectly, the latter being ranked in importance among standout charities in Open Philanthropy's $70 million allocation.[104]
2020 Year round Program GiveDirectly commits $26 million in cash transfers to 163,000 people in Kenya alone during the year. This represents less than 1% of the 16.4 million people living in extreme poverty in the country.[105] Kenya
2021 July 28 Study Researchers with Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) and the Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) publish a study with results of a first-of-its-kind contactless direct payments program, which was led by the Government of Togo and supported by the research team and GiveDirectly. The program shows the machine learning targeting outperforming other options available to policymakers at the time, though is best used as a supplemental tool to conventional approaches, especially during times of crisis.[106] Togo
2021 November 10 Performance GiveDirectly announces having reached 1 million households.[107]
2021 Year round Program Kenya and Rwanda in East Africa become the biggest beneficiaries of GiveDirectly’s cryptocurrency donations in the year, with Malawi expected to be a major recipient in 2022.[108] Kenya, Rwanda

Numerical and visual data

Number of funders per year

Year Number of funders
2011 164[109]
2012 810[109]
2013 6,195[109]
2014 7,275[109]
2015 8,886[109]
2016 10,999 funders.[109]

Google Scholar

The following table summarizes per-year mentions on Google Scholar as of December 14, 2021.

Year "GiveDirectly"
2010 2
2011 3
2012 7
2013 14
2014 35
2015 49
2016 60
2017 102
2018 137
2019 138
2020 141
Givedirectly gscho.png

Google Trends

The comparative chart below shows Google Trends data for GiveDirectly (Nonprofit organization) and GiveDirectly (Search term) from January 2008 to February 2021, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map.[110]

GiveDirectly gt.jpg

Google Ngram Viewer

The chart below shows Google Ngram Viewer data for GiveDirectly from 2008 to 2019.[111]

GiveDirectly ngram.jpg

Wikipedia Views

The chart below shows pageviews of the English Wikipedia article GiveDirectly, on desktop from December 2007, and on mobile-web, desktop-spider, mobile-web-spider and mobile app, from July 2015; to January 2021.[112]

GiveDirectly wv.jpg

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by User:Sebastian.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

Feedback and comments

Feedback for the timeline can be provided at the following places:

  • FIXME

What the timeline is still missing

  • [1] (check for media coverage from Benchmarking a traditional nutrition and WASH program to cash)
  • [2]

Timeline update strategy

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 "Financial Statements" (PDF). givedirectly.org. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Goldstein, Dana (21 December 2012). "Can 4 Economists Build the Most Economically Efficient Charity Ever?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 4 March 2022. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "GiveDirectly". givewell.org. Retrieved 3 May 2019. 
  4. ↑ "Opinions – GiveDirectly". givedirectly11.rssing.com. Retrieved 12 March 2022. 
  5. ↑ "GiveDirectly". GiveWell. Retrieved 12 March 2022. 
  6. ↑ Teti, Caroline; Odero, John (23 December 2021). "$241,633 was lost to fraud this year — that's about what we expect". GiveDirectly. Retrieved 22 April 2022. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 "blog2014". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  8. ↑ "News round-up: Digitizing cash transfers". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  9. ↑ "GiveDirectly launching in Liberia". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 3 May 2019. 
  10. ↑ "NIH evaluation grant". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 19 February 2019. 
  11. ↑ "A charity to watch: GiveDirectly". blog.givewell.org. Retrieved 19 February 2019. 
  12. ↑ "Give Directly". marginalrevolution.com. Retrieved 19 February 2019. 
  13. ↑ "Is Cash the Best Way to Help the Poor?". archive.boston.com. Retrieved 19 February 2019. 
  14. ↑ "A Charity That Just Gives Money To Poor People". npr.org. Retrieved 19 February 2019. 
  15. ↑ "GiveDirectly: A Charity That Just Gives Money to Poor People, So They're Not So Poor". business.time.com. Retrieved 19 February 2019. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "2012". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 19 February 2019. 
  17. ↑ Baird, Sarah; Hoop, Jacobus de; Özler, Berk (31 March 2013). "Income Shocks and Adolescent Mental Health". Journal of Human Resources. pp. 370–403. doi:10.3368/jhr.48.2.370. Retrieved 12 April 2022. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 "GiveDirectly". givewell.org. Retrieved 19 February 2019. 
  19. ↑ "Chris Hughes joins the board". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 19 February 2019. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "2014 Annual Report" (PDF). cdn.givedirectly.org. Retrieved 9 March 2019. 
  21. ↑ "Global Impact Award from Google". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  22. ↑ "GiveDirectly — General Support". goodventures.org. Retrieved 20 April 2019. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "GiveDirectly - May 2013 Update". givewell.org. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "blog2013". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  25. ↑ "New Blog Format". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
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  27. ↑ "Money for Nothing and Your Cows for Free". thisamericanlife.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  28. ↑ "Looking Beyond the Buzz". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  29. ↑ "The Charity That Just Gives Money To Poor People". NPR.org. Retrieved 14 March 2022. 
  30. ↑ "Pennies from heaven". The Economist. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2022. 
  31. ↑ Dolan, Kerry A. "Giving Cash Directly To The Poor Gets Thumbs Up From New Study". Forbes. Retrieved 9 March 2022. 
  32. ↑ "GiveDirectly is in Uganda!". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  33. ↑ "GiveDirectly — General Support". goodventures.org. Retrieved 20 April 2019. 
  34. ↑ "GiveDirectly is The 4th most Innovative Company in Finance for 2014". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  35. ↑ "Most Innovative Companies 2014". fastcompany.com. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  36. ↑ "GiveDirectly? Not So Fast.". ssir.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  37. ↑ "What's the hype evidence?". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  38. ↑ "GiveDirectly and Segovia". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  39. ↑ "Segovia: A New Player in Cash Transfers". cfr.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "New company from GiveDirectly founders aims to streamline payment systems". devex.com. Retrieved 9 March 2019. 
  41. ↑ "Our new website". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  42. ↑ "Cold, hard cash". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  43. ↑ "TED". ted.com. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  44. ↑ "GiveWell (re-)recommendation". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  45. ↑ "Our updated top charities". blog.givewell.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  46. ↑ "GiveDirectly — General Support". goodventures.org. Retrieved 20 April 2019. 
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 "blog2015". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  48. ↑ "Announcing a $25 Million Grant to GiveDirectly". goodventures.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  49. ↑ "A Facebook billionaire is handing tons of cash to poor people in East Africa". vox.com. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  50. ↑ "New Money, Big Bets: Three Takeaways From a Massive Tech Grant to Fight Global Poverty". insidephilanthropy.com. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  51. ↑ "Facebook Co-Founder Giving Millions Directly To The Poor, No Strings Attached". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  52. ↑ "A $25 million gift to GiveDirectly". medium.com. Retrieved 9 March 2019. 
  53. ↑ "Your Gain Is My Pain: Negative Psychological Externalities of Cash Transfers". socialprotection.org. Retrieved 12 April 2022. 
  54. ↑ "GiveWell recommends GiveDirectly (again), and benchmarks others against cash". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  55. ↑ "GiveDirectly — General Support (January 2016)". openphilanthropy.org. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 
  56. ↑ "An efficient way to fight extreme poverty". olbios.org. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 
  57. ↑ Haushofer, Johannes; Shapiro, Jeremy (1 November 2016). "The Short-term Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers to the Poor: Experimental Evidence from Kenya*". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 131 (4): 1973–2042. doi:10.1093/qje/qjw025. 
  58. ↑ "These are the Basic Income Experiments Coming in 2017". futurism.com. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 59.2 "blog2016". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  60. ↑ "On GiveWell's recommendation". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  61. ↑ "The largest basic income experiment in history". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  62. ↑ "The year in cash – $27 million distributed". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  63. ↑ "Universal Basic Income Is Our Best Weapon Against The Rising Far Right". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  64. ↑ "Radical Idea? The New Funding Around a Basic Income". insidephilanthropy.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  65. ↑ "What Happens When You Give Free Money to Poor People". thecut.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  66. ↑ "The right's next target: foreign aid". newstatesman.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  67. ↑ "The Scottish pioneer whose plan for a basic income could transform Britain". theguardian.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  68. ↑ "El ensayo africano de la renta básica". elmundo.es. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  69. ↑ 69.0 69.1 "blog2018". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  70. ↑ "GiveDirectly — General Support (January 2017)". openphilanthropy.org. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 
  71. ↑ "What We're Learning From a Big Universal Basic Income Experiment". singularityhub.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  72. ↑ "Peer-to-peer aid – Cash in the News". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  73. ↑ 73.0 73.1 73.2 73.3 "blog2017". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  74. ↑ "Why Free Money for Everyone Is Silicon Valley's Next Big Idea". fortune.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  75. ↑ "A $15,000 basic income lottery promised free money for a year — then the checks stopped coming". businessinsider.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  76. ↑ "What if philanthropy isn't the best way for rich people to help others?". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  77. ↑ "How to Give Poor People Money In Order to Save the World". splinternews.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
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  79. ↑ "Not everybody wants a goat – Cash in the News". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  80. ↑ "US/KENYA: GiveDirectly Officially Launches UBI experiment". basicincome.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  81. ↑ "We're officially launching UBI". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019. 
  82. ↑ "Our top charities for giving season 2017". blog.givewell.org. Retrieved 3 May 2019. 
  83. ↑ "GiveDirectly — General Support (December 2017)". goodventures.org. Retrieved 3 May 2019. 
  84. ↑ Haushofer, J.; Shapiro, J. (2018). "THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF UNCONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFERS : EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM KENYA ∗". www.semanticscholar.org. 
  85. ↑ "GiveDirectly Three-Year Impacts, Explained". blogs.worldbank.org. Retrieved 9 March 2022. 
  86. ↑ "Cash Transfers Cure Poverty. Side-Effects Vary. Symptoms May Return When Treatment Stops.". Center For Global Development. Retrieved 9 March 2022. 
  87. ↑ "4 years in the making: first cash benchmarking results released". givedirectly.org. Retrieved 21 February 2019. 
  88. ↑ Matthews, Dylan (13 September 2018). "The small study in Rwanda that could change the way the US does foreign aid". Vox. Retrieved 12 March 2022. 
  89. ↑ "Opinion | Foreign aid as a cash-only transaction? It's worth a try.". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 March 2022. 
  90. ↑ "GiveDirectly". givewell.org. Retrieved 20 April 2019. 
  91. ↑ "2018 Allocation to GiveWell Top Charities". Open Philanthropy. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2022. 
  92. ↑ Haushofer, Johannes; Ringdal, Charlotte; Shapiro, Jeremy; Wang, Xiao Yu (March 2019). "Income Changes and Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from Unconditional Cash Transfers in Kenya": w25627. doi:10.3386/w25627. 
  93. ↑ Almås, Ingvild; Haushofer, Johannes; Shapiro, Jeremy (March 2019). "The Income Elasticity for Nutrition: Evidence from Unconditional Cash Transfers in Kenya": w25711. doi:10.3386/w25711. 
  94. ↑ Mukhopadhyay, Piali (4 April 2019). "How facial identification technology could help our field ops". GiveDirectly. Retrieved 26 February 2022. 
  95. ↑ "Cash crop: evaluating large cash transfers to coffee farming communities in Uganda" (PDF). givedirectly.org. Retrieved 7 March 2022. 
  96. ↑ "Is Your Gain My Pain? Effects of Relative Income and Inequality on Psychological Well-being" (PDF). scholar.harvard.edu. Retrieved 9 March 2022. 
  97. ↑ "The Last Decade: 10 Things We Got Right & Wrong". GiveDirectly. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2022. 
  98. ↑ "Recommendation to Open Philanthropy for Grants to Top Charities". GiveWell. Retrieved 31 May 2022. 
  99. ↑ Huston, Joe; Cooke, Mike (21 November 2019). "New research results: How do cash transfers impact the people who don't receive them?". GiveDirectly. Retrieved 26 February 2022. 
  100. ↑ "New funding from Google CEO, Google.org and Flourish Ventures". GiveDirectly. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2022. 
  101. ↑ Faye, Michael (18 March 2020). "Our emergency cash response for COVID-19". GiveDirectly. Retrieved 26 February 2022. 
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  104. ↑ "Recommendation to Open Philanthropy for Grants in November 2020". GiveWell. Retrieved 31 May 2022. 
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  106. ↑ "Study: AI targeting helped reach more of the poorest people in Togo". GiveDirectly. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022. 
  107. ↑ "We've reached 1 million households in poverty and counting". GiveDirectly. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022. 
  108. ↑ "Will 2022 be a boom year for cryptocurrency philanthropy?". devex.com. Retrieved 9 January 2022. 
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