Direct Relief


Direct Relief is a nonprofit humanitarian organization whose mission is to improve the lives of people in poverty or emergency situations by providing medical resources. The charity provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief in the United States and internationally.
Direct Relief does not accept government funding but instead relies on private, charitable contributions and donated medicine and supplies. No donated funds go towards Direct Relief's fundraising efforts. Instead, all funds go to the nonprofit's programs and emergency responses. The organization is headed by an independent board of directors.

History

In 1945, William Zimdin, an Estonian immigrant to the United States and businessman, began sending thousands of relief parcels to relatives, friends, and former employees in Europe to help with the aftermath of World War II. In 1948, Zimdin formalized his efforts with the establishment of the William Zimdin Foundation. Dezso Karczag, a Hungarian Jewish immigrant, assumed management of the foundation following Zimdin's death in 1951. Karczag changed the organization's name to Direct Relief Foundation in 1957.
In the early 1960s, the foundation refined its mission to serve disadvantaged populations in medically underserved communities around the world. To assist with this effort, Direct Relief became licensed as a wholesale pharmacy in 1962 to be able to provide prescription medicines. During this time, the organization also supported victims of natural disasters in the US and homeless populations in Santa Barbara, California. The foundation assumed the name Direct Relief International in 1982.
In 2004, the Direct Relief provided almost $122 million in medical aid to 54 countries. The same year, the organization assisted Sri Ramakrishna Math and GlaxoSmithKline with designing and implementing a one-year nurse assistant training program in India. The program was launched to empower young women in districts affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami. By 2019, over 1,200 nurses had graduated.
In 2011, Direct Relief Women, a volunteer branch of the nonprofit, was created, and held its first fundraiser for Direct Relief International. All money raised went toward providing safe births around the world. In 2013, Direct Relief International assumed the name Direct Relief.
After raising $3,300 for the American Cancer Society through a partnership with Direct Relief in 2016, Matthew Moffit and Direct Relief produced Zeldathon and formed Direct Relief Gaming, which has raised $14.1M since its inception and partnered with organizations such as Humble Bundle and Bungie.
In 2018, Direct Relief provided about $1.2 billion worth of wholesale materials to health centers in over 100 countries. The organization also donated approximately $23.5 million to support the operations of health groups, including hiring more staff and converting buildings to solar energy and battery backup microgrids to better withstand disasters. 2018 was also the year that Direct Relief opened a division in Puerto Rico.
In 2022, Ukraine was the largest recipient country of Direct Relief's assistance. Overall that year, the nonprofit provided more than $2 billion in medical aid and $58.2 million in financial assistance to providers and organizations in 98 countries and 52 U.S. states and territories.
On November 21, 2023, Direct Relief announced it had donated and delivered more than $2 billion in medicine and other medical supplies since 2008 to the U.S. healthcare system. More than half went to community health centers that provide care in medically underserved communities.
In July 2024, Direct Relief's president and CEO, Thomas Tighe, announced his retirement. Under his leadership, the nonprofit provided more than $16 billion in aid and more than $350 million in grants to health organizations.
Direct Relief, ranked fifth on Forbes' 2024 list of America's Top 100 Charities, was named one of the leading organizations in disaster response, providing medical supplies and cash donations worldwide. As of June 30, 2024, it had received $2.4 billion in medical supplies and cash donations. They issued $775 million of that to aid victims of the 2023 Hawaii wildfires; the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes; the wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan; hurricanes, and floods in the U.S. and abroad. The rest went to providing non-disaster medical supply aid to ongoing projects in 50 countries on five continents.
In March 2025, Direct Relief hired former Salesforce CFO Amy Weaver as their new CEO. She was listed among Forbes "50 Over 50" list, a recognition highlighting her leadership and contributions within the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.

Operations

Between 2000 and 2014, Direct Relief's operating budget averaged roughly $11 million per year. Over the same period, it reported delivering more than $1.6 billion in medical resources and supplies worldwide. Medical supplies come largely through in-kind donations by hundreds of pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The organization manages logistics and distribution through enterprise systems that include SAP, Esri, and in-kind transportation support from FedEx.
In 2019, Direct Relief opened a new Santa Barbara warehouse and distribution headquarters. The new building is 155,000 square feet, earthquake-safe, and outfitted with state-of-the-art distribution technology for medical supplies. Direct Relief partnered with Tesla to create a microgrid power supply for the building. Solar panels are integrated with battery storage and generators to keep the headquarters running for up to six months in the face of a disaster and to store temperature-sensitive medications like insulin and vaccines.
Direct Relief partners with over 1,000 Federally Qualified Health Centers in medically underserved American communities. These partnerships last an average of nine years.

Corporate support

Corporate support for Direct Relief has included the following donations:
  • Abbott Laboratories and its foundation, the Abbott Fund, provided $900,000 in grants to Direct Relief and other organizations to support relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
  • AbbVie divided $1 million in grant funding between organizations that included Direct Relief International in order to support Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
  • Amazon partnered with Direct Relief to provide shipments of personal protective gear to thousands during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Amgen donated $80,000 to Direct Relief International to help support those impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
  • Bayer donated $100,000 to Direct Relief to support its Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
  • The Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation donated $100,000 to AmeriCares and Direct Relief International for Hurricane Harvey aid.
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb and its foundation donated $250,000 and medicines valued at $10 million to Direct Relief International and other organizations after Hurricane Harvey.
  • Budweiser donated to Direct Relief to support the nonprofit's efforts with vaccine access.
  • Chipotle offered a limited-edition virtual gift card program to support healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 10% of the proceeds were donated to Direct Relief.
  • The Clorox Company Foundation donated $5 million to Direct Relief and two other organizations to help support caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Dove worked with Direct Relief to provide personal care products to hospitals and health care centers in 2020. The company also, in partnership with Vaseline, donated $2 million to Direct Relief to help provide personal protective equipment, ventilators, and medicine to healthcare workers.
  • Eli Lilly and Company has supported Direct Relief's Fund for Health Equity.
  • FedEx works with Direct Relief to deliver medical aid and supplies to those in need.
  • The Gilead Foundation donated funds to organizations including Direct Relief for on-the-ground relief efforts in Turkey and Syria following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2023.
  • McKesson Corporation donated $100,000 to Direct Relief following Hurricane Harvey.
  • Rhone donated 10% of its 2020 profits to Direct Relief.
  • Rothy's committed $20,000 to Direct Relief in 2020 to help provide masks, gloves, and gowns to hospitals.
  • The Starbucks Foundation donated $250,000 to Direct Relief in 2020 to support the delivery of personal protective equipment and medical items.
  • The United Health Foundation donated $500,000 to Direct Relief to help provide emergency medical supplies to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health in 2022.

    Video game industry

The video game industry has supported Direct Relief's humanitarian efforts. Here is a list of some contributions:
  • Bungie has raised money multiple times for Direct Relief, including to support aid operations after the 2015 Nepal earthquake and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Pilots who competed in the Drone Racing League's 2020 FanDuel DRL SIM Racing Cup donated winnings from the event to Direct Relief.
  • Epic Games announced that the Fortnite community raised $144 million in March and April 2022 for its Ukrainian donation initiative. The money was given to different nonprofits, including Direct Relief.
  • In 2020, Gearbox Software launched an initiative for Borderlands 3 players, allowing them to donate $5 to Direct Relief in exchange for an in-game cosmetic.
  • Games Done Quick holds speedrunning competitions to raise money for different charities, including Direct Relief.
  • Humble Bundle raised over £7.5 million in 2022 and divided the funds between four different charities, one of which was Direct Relief. The proceeds supported healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • PUBG Mobile partnered with Direct Relief in 2020 for its Play As One campaign and donated over $1 million to COVID-19 response efforts.
  • SciPlay raised $100,000 for Direct Relief to support the nonprofit's medical aid efforts in Ukraine.
  • Twitch: The online gaming community, on streaming platforms such as Twitch, donated $1 million to Direct Relief during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2024.