Thought Leadership

GiveDirectly Sends Payments to Families Impacted by COVID-19

It’s no secret: 2020 has been a challenging year, punctuated with feelings of uncertainty, and the urge to help or contribute, but not knowing how. In April, Hyperwallet was given the opportunity to collaborate with a nonprofit that puts their money where their mouth is, and we leaped at the prospect to dig in and see where we could help. 

Who is GiveDirectly?

GiveDirectly’s goal is simple: send money to people living in poverty. Their approach is guided by rigorous evidence of impact, as well as organizational values that focus on efficiency, transparency, and respect. As the first — and largest — nonprofit to give money directly to people living in extreme poverty, and to those affected by natural disasters, they’ve distributed more than $300M in donations over that last decade. When the COVID-19 crisis hit, they knew they had to act fast if they wanted to make a sizeable impact in a timely manner. 

What were the challenges?

At the onset of the COVID-19 crisisGiveDirectly, with partners Propel and Stand for Children, established a new fund. Project 100 was put in place to address the economic impact on low-income Americans, aiming to distribute $100 million in cash donations to 100,000 US families in 100 days. Specifically targeting families who receive food stamp assistance through the USDA’s SNAP program — over 90% of whom reported losing significant income since the spread of COVID-19 began — GiveDirectly needed to send transfers to affected families securely and quickly.

The scope and scale of Project 100 required close and efficient collaboration. Having previously used Hyperwallet’s payout technology, GiveDirectly knew PayPal was the right partner to execute a secure payment infrastructure to power Project 100. The goal was to make payments contactless and keep recipients physically distant while also enabling recipients without bank accounts to securely receive payments. 

Enter PayPal’s payout capabilities, powered by Hyperwallet

By leveraging PayPal’s payout capabilities, powered by Hyperwallet, in just three months GiveDirectly was able to pay 100,000 people. Each recipient was paid $1,000 within just days of the time they enrolled. The integration enabled Project 100 recipients to choose from 6 payout options to receive their payments, including PayPal, cash pickup, virtual or physical prepaid cards, ACH bank account transfer, or paper check.  

Ultimately, the partnership helped GiveDirectly focus its time and resources on handling the COVID-19 crisis rather than managing payment logistics. Most importantly, Hyperwallet also provided a simple, secure way for GiveDirectly to quickly distribute donated funds to families in need, and we’re extremely proud of that. 

Hyperwallet was pivotal in allowing us to make prompt, contactless payments to the thousands of Americans who are currently enduring economic hardship.
– 
Farheen Rizvi, Senior Manager, Humanitarian Services at GiveDirectly

Want to know exactly how Hyperwallet helped GiveDirectly send over 100,000 payout transfers to those in need? Read the complete case study here. 

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