About Double Up Drive
Double Up Drive was born of the belief that public giving influences greater generosity and more impactful donations. We host matching drives to raise money and awareness for highly effective charities, collecting up-front pledges from large donors to provide 1:1 matches for smaller contributors. The funding team is comprised of individuals striving to make their greatest positive impact on the world by “earning to give”.
With the generous support of our funders and supporters, we have helped raise over $18 million for highly effective charities to date.
The Team
Dan Smith
Double Up Drive Founder
Dan is a professional poker player based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He has been running matching challenges since 2014, when he recognized the power of public giving to influence more generous and more effective donations. With the help of other matchers and the generosity of the public, Dan has helped raise over $18 million to date for highly effective charities.
Dan’s blogMatt Ashton
Matt has been playing poker professionally since university and spends most of his free time traveling. He’s been interested in effective altruism since 2013 and joined the drive in 2018 to help introduce new donors to the approach and maximize funds raised for the most effective charities.
Stephen Chidwick
Stephen has been playing poker professionally for his entire “adult” life while living out of a suitcase. Having been inspired by public drives in the past, he joined the drive in 2018. Stephen finds playing in part to benefit others to be strong motivation to work hard and play his best.
Martin Crowley
When Martin found the effective altruism community several years ago, he was instantly enthralled by the combination of utilitarian values with hard data to back up those intuitions. An entrepreneur from a young age, he felt that earning to give would be his most impactful path and has spent the past few years working to contribute as much as possible to the world’s most effective causes.
Aaron & Samantha Merchak
Aaron is a Daily Fantasy Sports professional from Las Vegas, Nevada, specializing in the NBA. After previously donating to organizations on their own, Aaron and his wife Samantha were inspired to join this incredible team in 2018.