Mission

Direct Relief is a humanitarian organization, active in all 50 states and more than 80 countries, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies. Nongovernmental, nonsectarian, and not-for-profit, Direct Relief assists people and communities without regard to politics, religion, ethnic identities, or ability to pay. Direct Relief's assistance programs - which focus on emergency preparedness and disaster response and the prevention and treatment of disease - are tailored to the particular circumstances and needs of the world's most at-risk populations. Direct Relief honors the generosity of its donors by following a firm policy of full transparency in all its operations. This tradition of transparent, direct, and targeted assistance, provided in a manner that respects and involves the people served, has been a hallmark of the organization since its founding in 1948 by refugee war immigrant William Zimdin.