Case Study: GiveDirectly achieves rapid, contactless distribution of $100M to 100,000 Americans with PayPal

GiveDirectly and PayPal join together to deliver funds to at-risk Americans with Hyperwallet’s payout technology

GiveDirectly, the nonprofit that pioneered direct cash transfers to people in extreme poverty, launched Project 100 in April 2020 to address the economic fallout of COVID‑19 in the U.S. The initiative aimed to send $100 million in cash to 100,000 low‑income Americans—many SNAP recipients who had lost income—within 100 days.

Partnering with PayPal’s Hyperwallet payout platform, GiveDirectly delivered secure, contactless transfers and gave recipients six payout options (including PayPal, cash pickup, prepaid cards, ACH and checks). The integration let the team focus on relief instead of logistics: 100,000 people received $1,000 each in three months, 15% chose PayPal, and PayPal payments reached recipients faster than any other method.

GiveDirectly

Farheen Rizvi

Senior Manager, Humanitarian Services