Fund Projects That Villages Choose
because everyone deserves democracy and development


MEET THE VILLAGES
people
lives changed

56,926

in Malawi, Africa

done_outline
projects completed

45

from 2014 to 2018

attach_money
cost per person

$0.66

per year

Fund Projects That Villages Choose

because everyone deserves democracy and development
FIND YOUR VILLAGE

DEMOCRACY DISRUPTS EXTREME POVERTY.


Nearly 400 million people (and growing) live in extreme poverty in rural Africa. We're changing that with a model that celebrates village democracy, direct giving, and data analysis. Small transfers of cash make a big difference when they target underserved villages on the ground. Read about us in The New York Times.

How It Works

Villages choose projects.

Search the projects page or interactive map for villages battling extreme poverty in rural Africa. Find a village-led development project that changes lives and speaks to you.

#localdemocracy

You help fund them.

Make a donation directly to a rural village that not only identifies local solutions to its biggest problems, but also contributes labor, materials, and, importantly, cash.

#directgiving

We send you updates.

Enjoy mobile phone updates with pictures, videos, and data from the field providing a vivid accounting of how your donations change the lives of rural Africans.

#seeingimpact

How It Works

Villages choose projects.

Search the projects page or interactive map for tenacious villages battling extreme poverty in rural Africa. Find a village-led development project that speaks to you.

#localdemocracy

You help fund them.

Make a donation directly to a rural village that not only identifies local solutions to its biggest problems, but also contributes labor, materials, and, importantly, cash.

#directgiving

We send you updates.

Enjoy mobile phone updates with pictures, videos, and data from the field providing a vivid accounting of how your donations change the lives of rural Africans.

#seeingimpact

radically
transparent
donating
smartphone
means
knowing
you helped

Featured Projects

(100% completion rate)
Build a Teacher House fiber_new
Makunula Village

$1876 out of $2000

Locals Contributed: $100

Grow More Food timeline
Chikumbu Village (since 2015)

$100 out of $2000

Locals Contributed: $100

Provide Clean Water timeline
Mphyakula Village (since 2018)

$2812 out of $6200

Locals Contributed: $310


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How It Helps

(proving impact with data)
Metric Boys in nursery Girls in nursery Goat assets Waterborne illness Infant deaths Agri biz Other biz Homes w/ metal roofs
% change +50% +67% +83% -64% -100% +81% +100% +50%
impact per village +7 boys +12 girls +45 goats -109 cases -2 deaths +13 biz +8 biz +13 homes
p-value p<0.05 p<0.01 p<0.01 p<0.01 p<0.05 p<0.01 p<0.01 p<0.05
total impact (all villages) +133 boys +228 girls +855 goats -2071 cases -38 deaths +247 biz +152 biz +247 homes
*Table shows development impacts (changes in treatment v. control villages) after two projects and a total investment of $7,000 per village, on average. 25 development metrics collected annually in each treatment and control village from 2014 (baseline) to 2018, with statistics calculated using a difference-in-differences model. More info here.


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VILLAGE FUND
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