03 August 2011

GiveDirectly ~ Gift Moneys Straight to the Poor

Thanks to Rohit Wanchoo for promoting GiveDirectly which enables philanthropic donors to send money directly to the poor. To do this effectively, they...
"...locate impoverished households in Kenya and then transfer donations electronically to their mobile phones. [The] goal is simple: to provide the most efficient, transparent, and respectful way to give."
So simple and obvious -- and needed. Evidence this works includes...
"Households typically save or invest 50%-80% of transfers they receive; Household spending on "temptation goods" like alcohol and tobacco either does not increase significantly or increases in proportion with other spending; Households sometimes spend money on items that an "expert" could never have predicted."

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