Directly transferring money to poor individuals allows them to purchase that which they believe will help them most. Strong evidence indicates that cash transfers lead recipients to spend more on their basic needs (such as food) and may allow recipients to make investments with high returns, with evidence showing no impact, or a negative impact, of transfers on alcohol or tobacco expenditure. We believe that GiveDirectly effectively distributes cash to extremely low-income individuals.

For more information on the effectiveness of GiveDirectly's cash transfer program:
https://www.givewell.org/international/technical/programs/cash-transfers

For more information about GiveDirectly, the organisation that implements this cash program (among other programs), refer to its website:
https://www.givedirectly.org/