The Pope on giving unconditionally

This week the Pope endorsed giving unconditionally, because giving something to someone in need is “always right,” reports The New York Times. Many people ask us, when we talk about giving unconditionally to the poor, “what if they spend the money on alcohol?” Someone asked the Pope the very same question, and here’s how he […]

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Peals of ululation – Cash in the News

This week the New York Times magazine reported a long feature on our groundbreaking basic income experiment. They talked about the research behind cash transfers, the work of our field team in Kenya, and most importantly the lives of the recipients in the basic income pilot village. Also of note this week: Devex reported on […]

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The most ambitious experiment – Cash in the News

GiveDirectly’s co-founders Michael Faye and Paul Niehaus, along with our senior partnerships manager Joanna Macrae, defended cash transfers this week in Newsweek. They argued why cash transfers provide excellent value-for-money for taxpayers. GIVEDIRECTLY IN THE NEWS AND BLOGS 1. WaterAid: What do we buy, and at what cost, when we give to nonprofits? Nonprofit Chronicles, Marc […]

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Old stereotypes, old and inaccurate – Cash in the News

GiveDirectly’s co-founders Michael Faye and Paul Niehaus, along with our senior partnerships manager Joanna Macrae, defended cash transfers this week in Newsweek. They argued why cash transfers provide excellent value-for-money for taxpayers.  GIVEDIRECTLY IN THE NEWS AND BLOGS1. Data-driven charityJohn D. Cook blog, Paul Niehaus, February 5, 2017PN: GiveDirectly is the first nonprofit that lets individual […]

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Why We Invested: GiveDirectly’s Basic Income Experiment

Omidyar Network’s Tracy Williams and Mike Kubzansky describe why Omidyar is investing in GiveDirectly’s basic income experiment. Omidyar Network’s foundational belief that empowering people frees them to better themselves, their families, and their communities has great evidence in the growing literature around the benefits of cash transfers. In these programs, low income individuals who receive […]

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Buzziest ideas in economics – Cash in the News

Across the world, from a meeting of world leaders in Switzerland to a San Antonio newspaper to the podiums of the French presidential race, basic income continued to be in the news. Policy-makers, economists, and columnists all talked about whether this unique type of cash transfer could be a way to reform social safety nets […]

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Some basic (income) questions, answered

“Cash transfers… universal basic income, what’s the difference?”  That’s the question a lot of people have been asking us recently. The short answer: a universal basic income (UBI) is a type of cash transfer. As the name suggests, there are three discrete conditions that need to be met to consider a cash transfer a UBI: […]

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