Jeff Atwood and Dr. Betsy Burton Are Giving Big and Fast

Phil Buchanan sits down with spouses Jeff Atwood, co-founder of Stack Overflow and Discourse, and Dr. Betsy Burton, a scientist who has helped develop cancer therapies, to talk about their commitment to give away $50 million, half their family's wealth, over five years, with the bulk of it going toward guaranteed income programs in rural America. Jeff and Betsy describe a two-part strategy that began with $1 million, no-strings-attached gifts to eight organizations they trusted to "kick ass" with the money, before turning to what they call "fire abatement": tackling the systemic conditions that create so much need in the first place. That work led them to guaranteed income pilots in West Virginia, North Carolina, and Mississippi, run in partnership with GiveDirectly and built on research from Open Research's landmark basic income study. They share what that data actually shows about how people spend unconditional cash — including a drop in substance use and unexpectedly high rates of people sharing their payments with neighbors in need — and push back hard on the assumptions that so often shape how donors think about giving directly to people. The conversation also gets personal, as Jeff reflects on his father's own path out of generational poverty in West Virginia, and the two discuss raising philanthropically minded kids, their admiration for MacKenzie Scott's trust-based approach, and their frustration with slow-moving giving pledges that lack a real timeline for getting money out the door. Resources:  Stay Gold, America "We Have Everything We Need": Jeff Atwood and Betsy Burton's Bold Mission to Guarantee Minimum Income in Rural America - Denver Frederick Giving Cash to Those in Need with Paul Niehaus of GiveDirectly Fighting Poverty with Direct Cash Transfers, Featuring Jesús Gerena UBI Data SEED Project Breaking the Mold: The Transformative Effects of MacKenzie Scott’s Big Gifts