Direct Relief ranked 5th largest charity in the country by Forbes

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Direct Relief was the fifth largest charity in the United States in 2021, according to Forbes Magazine’s newly released annual list of the 100 largest U.S. charities ranked by private donations. The humanitarian medical aid group received $1.9 billion in private donations in its 2021 fiscal year.

Among the ten largest charities in the Forbes 2021 ranking, Direct Relief is the only one to receive a score of 100% for both charitable commitment (how much of a charity’s total expense go directly to the charitable purpose) and 100% on fundraising efficiency (the percent of private donations remaining after deducting fundraising costs).

Direct Relief is one of the world’s largest channels for humanitarian medical assistance to underserved communities and victims of disasters.

In Calendar Year 2021, Direct Relief has:

• Mobilized $1.9 billion worth of medicines, cancer therapies, vaccines, PPE, and other health-related supplies, all provided at no charge to thousands of healthcare providers across the globe.
• Supported local healthcare facilities, public health authorities, and logistical partners in 101 countries, including 55 U.S. states and U.S. territories.
• Launched the Fund for Health Equity with an initial $75 million in funding to improve access to health care in communities in which the effects of historic racism and socioeconomic disparities persist. Since then, Direct Relief has granted more than $10 million to 50 organizations advancing health equity across the U.S.
• Donated and distributed over 800 midwife birthing kits to facilitate 40,000 safe births across 10 countries; more than 9 million doses of insulin for children with Type 1 diabetes across 24 countries; and more than 687,000 doses of naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, to organizations throughout the U.S.
• Nearly tripled its capacity to distribute cold chain medicine requiring refrigeration, including Covid-19 antibody treatments, insulin for children with Type 1 diabetes, and advanced chemotherapy medicine to treat pediatric cancer patients.
• Provided extensive, ongoing charitable support to over 2,000 community health centers and free & charitable clinics across the U.S. with donations of essential medications for patients without insurance or means to pay.
• Provided medicines to healthcare facilities in disaster zones, including to those affected by the earthquake in Haiti, hurricanes in Central America and the Gulf Coast, wildfires throughout the Western U.S. and Mediterranean, and ongoing refugee crises.
• Delivered 262.6 million Defined Daily Doses of medicine and 8.4 million pounds of medicine and supplies and supported 2,379 healthcare providers.

Among the 160,000 non-profits rated by Charity Navigator in 2021, Direct Relief is one of the 92 on the current “Perfect 100” list of charities earning scores of 100 in both the Financial and Accountability & Transparency categories.

“The acute new health challenges that Covid brought on for everyone made all the existing challenges that much worse—particularly for people and places most vulnerable and least fortunate,” Direct Relief CEO Thomas Tighe said. “Direct Relief has and will continue to stretch every dollar to help in the most efficient, productive way possible.”

Direct Relief is supported only by private, charitable contributions, accepting no government funding. The vast majority of the value of donations received and aid distributed is in the form of medicine and medical supplies donated by their manufacturers (in-kind contributions). Direct Relief values donated medicine and supplies at wholesale value; click here for more information.

The complete list of Forbes’s rankings is available here.