About ShelterBox
ShelterBox is a charity that delivers aid to families devastated by conflict or disaster, to give them durable shelter and the tools to rebuild communities.
Our global network of supporters, staff and volunteers make it possible to deliver aid to some of the most remote communities in the world.
We deliver the essentials families need to begin rebuilding their lives after disaster.
Each disaster is different, and so is every community. We don’t believe that one size fits all, so we spend time talking to affected families to make sure we provide the right support at the right time.
For some disaster-hit communities, our family-sized tents are the best solution until they are able to start rebuilding their homes. In other disasters, heavy-duty tarpaulins, ropes, and nails are needed to create emergency shelter or to patch up damaged buildings.
We know that a home is much more than bricks and mortar or tarpaulin and tent pegs. That’s why we also offer other disaster relief items that are essential for survival and can help to turn a shelter into a home. Explore our ShelterBox aid in depth.
ShelterBox is funded by public donations.
We rely on your support to help us hasten the day when no family goes without shelter when disaster strikes.
ShelterBox is supported by our global network of ShelterBox affiliates and a range of partners, including Rotary International.
When disasters and conflicts occur, our ShelterBox operations team makes careful assessments to ensure that ShelterBox aid is right for the situation.
We put families first and strive to reach as many vulnerable communities as we can that have been affected by disaster.
With your help, we give families the shelter and the tools they need to start their own recovery. Unfortunately, the need is ever-growing, and we aren’t able to help everyone.
That is why we have developed our ‘Response criteria’. These questions help us make those tough decisions. Most importantly, they help us prioritize the most vulnerable families around the world who wouldn’t otherwise receive the vital support they need.
We deliver aid wherever it is needed, by any means possible. Our teams travel by foot, boat, helicopter, or even tuk-tuk to get there. Whatever it takes.
Our items are specially sourced and designed to ensure that the families we support have exactly the aid they need.
The aid is designed to withstand extreme conditions, from torrential rain to hurricane winds, and to last for a long time – until families are able to rebuild their homes.
For this reason, we are unable to accept donations of items.
We often collaborate with other aid organizations, as well as with organizations within communities, to make sure that we are reaching all of the families in need of shelter.
At ShelterBox, we are proud to have safeguarding policies in place designed to protect the families we help, our operational staff, and our incredible response team volunteers who travel to disaster areas with us, and the local communities we work with.
Donations
You can donate to ShelterBox right now via our secure online donation page. Alternatively, checks may be made payable to ShelterBox USA and sent to PO Box 5055, Santa Barbara, CA 93150.
Please review our website Privacy Policy.
In order for us to prepare for future disasters by positioning aid around the world and to react quickly when disasters do take place, we are not usually able to accept time or location-specific donations.
By giving ShelterBox a general donation, you are helping us use your money to make the most difference to families in desperate need of shelter.
On average, 85% of every donation will go directly to providing shelter for families left without shelter in the aftermath of disaster. 15% is spent on administration costs and creating awareness of ShelterBox.
We will always use your donation however the need is greatest, ensuring we can mobilize and respond instantly while giving families aid that is 100% correct and what is needed to begin rebuilding lives.
- Every donation means we can reach families with the aid they desperately need. At this time, this could be a ShelterBox; in other situations, this may be specific items such as water purification units and mosquito nets, or a ShelterKit.
- Our Operations Team works around the clock, monitoring each deployment.
- Our Response Teams closely monitor every single item of aid to ensure it reaches the most vulnerable families without shelter.
- We have stringent assessment, distribution, and reporting processes that our volunteers, staff, and partners all adhere to, ensuring the aid gets directly into the hands of the families that need it most.
- We are fully audited every year by external auditors, and our accounts are submitted annually to Charity Navigator and GuideStar.
Learn more about our Board, Staff, and governance.
Aid item costs
The price of a ShelterBox is a representative price based on the cost of a range of items that we often give to families in disaster situations.
The cost of the items vary from time to time, but we want to keep the ShelterBox cost the same for consistency. The average cost of a ShelterBox is $800 (USD) – but one type of ShelterBox does not fit all, and the contents can vary depending on the needs of the families we are helping.
We work hard to understand how we can best help families in lots of different disaster situations, and we send a combination of essential items to best suit their needs.
In some cases, our specialist emergency tents might be the best solution for families in one disaster-hit community. In others, heavy-duty tarpaulins, ropes, and nails might be what’s needed most. Some families might need mosquito nets to protect them from disease, whilst others might need blankets to keep them warm at night.
Some of these items will be delivered in a sturdy green ShelterBox, but in some cases, it’s more practical to send them separately.
We buy our aid items from a range of suppliers from around the world, and these prices can change from time to time. Our contracts are reviewed each year to ensure we are getting the best value possible. For these reasons, the prices of the items can go up or down over time.
Delivering essential shelter aid into the hands of the vulnerable families who need it costs more than just the price of the individual items. We also need to pay for transport and other distribution costs involved in delivering aid around the world. To ensure the price of each aid item represents this full cost, we’ve added these additional amounts to the individual aid items.
These costs are worked out annually based on the previous year and also change over time. We update the prices of our aid items once a year.
The cost of transport and other distribution costs represent around a third of the cost of the aid prices. The additional costs are based on the previous year’s costs and may change each year. As every disaster is different, every response is different, and so the costs are representative of average costs.
Contacting ShelterBox
Visit our Contact Us page for more information.
If you would like to let us know about a change of address, name, or email address, please contact us.
If you would like to opt out of promotional paper mailings or emails, please contact us.
Volunteers are an integral part of the ShelterBox Team.
They not only help to pack and hand-deliver our aid to communities, but also help to raise awareness and funds for ShelterBox.
Join the ShelterBox Team by becoming a volunteer.
If you are not based in the US but would like to find out if there are volunteer roles available in your country, please take a look at our affiliates.
Booking a ShelterBox speaker to give an online talk is one of the most inspiring ways to hear about our work.
Book a speaker now by completing the speaker request form.