Double Up Drive, the new charity initiative founded by high-stakes poker pro Dan Smith, is hosting its inaugural poker tournament on Monday, October 17. The fundraising tournament, which will be held at Resorts World, is designed to be an upscale affair, with the doors opening at 5:00 p.m. and actual tournament play starting at 6:00 p.m.
The high-end funder has a buy-in of $2,000, with $1,000 rebuys available. Half the total raised will be returned as prize money, while the other half will go into Double Up Drive's operational fund, which will in turn be distributed to multiple charities. Double Up Drive is a registered nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
Double Up Drive's recipient charities are selected by the initiative's board and reviewed on an annual basis. For its initial 2022 efforts, the initiative has selected ten charities to receive benefits, ranging from health, welfare and medicine to environmental and entrepreneurial efforts. The currently selected charities include:
- Against Malaria Foundation
- Animal Charity Evaluators
- Clean Air Task Force
- Evidence Action
- Founders Pledge
- International Refugee Assistance Project
- New Incentives
- StrongMinds
- Good Food Institute
- The Life You Can Save
Overviews and links to each of the charities Double Up Drive currently supports can be found on Double Up Drive's "Our 2022 Charities" page.
Smith founded Double Up Drive in 2020, and the initiative has grown quickly, already having raised and distributed roughly $25 million in charitable funds. Double Up Drive also features a "Match Pool", through which donations are then used to match, or double up, the funds raised through other efforts and events. Double Up Drive accepts traditional donations via credit card at its online portal, and can also accept contributions through alternative channels such as cryptocurrencies, Donor Advised Funds (DAFs), and wire transfers.
Featured image source: Haley Hintze
