To acknowledge the UN's International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a generous donor has pledged to match up to $20,000 in donations for people in extreme poverty through this page.

Today, 659M people live in extreme poverty on less than $2.15 per day, or $785 per year. This is the line below which the World Bank estimates someone cannot afford the most basic needs like food, safe shelter, medicine, and more. Eradicating extreme poverty is not a high bar; it’s the lowest, and one we should be able to clear.

The UN’s #1 Sustainable Development Goal was to eradicate poverty by 2030 – but dire progress reports from the UN and World Bank admit it’s one we’re certain to fail. While economic growth has driven a steady decline in global poverty, the number of Africans in extreme poverty has only increased over the last 30 years.

But instead of despairing, we are hopeful. Because giving someone in poverty money with no strings attached, known as an ‘unconditional cash transfer’, is proven to work and to scale, providing a path to ending extreme poverty in our lifetime.

Hundreds of studies find people in poverty use these funds to improve their income, health, education, self-reliance, and more. And these results are sustained years into the future. Because people spend this money locally buying goods, starting businesses, visiting clinics, or going to school, the local economy can grow 2.5x what you give.

$100 billion – that’s the annual estimate of what’s needed to move everyone below the extreme poverty line above it. What seems like a large amount is just half of what wealthy countries already spend annually on development aid every year, less than 1% of billionaire wealth, and less than Americans spend on pets every year.

Now is the time to put our money into action and into the hands of people in need. Every donation is impactful, even small ones, as they add up to reach more people in need. They also show decisionmakers there’s popular support for trusting people in poverty.

With more funding, we could tackle extreme poverty in an entire country at once. And once the world witnesses what’s possible, we can start to see a real path to eradicating extreme poverty.