According to this article [1], GiveDirectly is taking a more targeted approach in the US, because of the results of a study they did during the pandemic:
> During the pandemic, the nonprofit found its $1,000 payments to nearly 200,000 households barely made a dent in the lives of U.S. recipients. There was no measurable difference between the households that received the cash grants and those that did not, GiveDirectly declared in a blog post based on academic studies from the University of Michigan. One reason, according to the study, was that most cash grant recipients also received government assistance, which made it harder to discern the impact of the GiveDirectly money alone.
...
> GiveDirectly has vowed to learn from its mistake. So far, that has meant targeting populations such as pregnant mothers, infants, and families experiencing homelessness for whom regular, modest cash impacts have proven to be life altering.
So, maybe leaving out the "universal" would make sense, since they're not giving money to everyone anymore? GiveDirectly describes what they do as "unconditional cash transfers."
> During the pandemic, the nonprofit found its $1,000 payments to nearly 200,000 households barely made a dent in the lives of U.S. recipients. There was no measurable difference between the households that received the cash grants and those that did not, GiveDirectly declared in a blog post based on academic studies from the University of Michigan. One reason, according to the study, was that most cash grant recipients also received government assistance, which made it harder to discern the impact of the GiveDirectly money alone.
...
> GiveDirectly has vowed to learn from its mistake. So far, that has meant targeting populations such as pregnant mothers, infants, and families experiencing homelessness for whom regular, modest cash impacts have proven to be life altering.
So, maybe leaving out the "universal" would make sense, since they're not giving money to everyone anymore? GiveDirectly describes what they do as "unconditional cash transfers."
[1] https://www.philanthropy.com/article/can-givedirectly-show-t... https://archive.is/WTypU