Direct Relief Earns “Perfect 100” and Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator

SANTA BARBARA, Calif: Direct Relief’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned a renewed four-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.

This is the tenth consecutive year that Direct Relief has earned this top distinction.

Of the more than 9,000 charities rated by Charity Navigator, Direct Relief is also one of only 69 to receive a perfect 100 score. These charities have earned scores of 100 in Charity Navigator’s evaluations of both Financial Health and Accountability & Transparency. “The exceptional charities on this list execute their missions in a fiscally responsible way while adhering to good governance and other best practices that minimize the chance of unethical activities,” Charity Navigator says about its Perfect 100 list. “Less than one percent of the thousands of charities rated by Charity Navigator have earned perfect scores.”

Charity Navigator has also included Direct Relief in its recommendation list of 10 Highly Rated Charities Relying on Private Contributions (those that don’t take government funding or collect membership fees). It has also ranked Direct Relief #1 on its list of 10 of the Best Charities Everyone’s Heard Of.

“Direct Relief receives no government funding and is deeply committed to honoring the generosity and intent of every person, organization, and business that pitches in and is part of the work,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief CEO. “It’s nice to share the Charity Navigator recognition with each of them because it’s about their money and also because it reflects the organization’s longstanding effort to use every charitable resource it receives in the most productive, efficient way possible for the public benefit.”

The new rating draws on financial information from the 2019 fiscal year. It comes as Direct Relief responds to the concurrent crises of Covid-19, a record-setting hurricane season, and historic wildfires, as well as chronic and widening gaps in health care access globally.

Direct Relief, the first U.S. charity to earn national accreditation as a pharmaceutical wholesale distributor, provides donations of prescription medications, vaccines, and medical supplies provided by healthcare companies to address chronic needs and emergencies in the U.S. and approximately 100 countries each year. Its humanitarian activities also include grantmaking and applied research involving GIS data to inform and direct public health and emergency response efforts.

Since January 1, 2020, Direct Relief has donated and distributed more than 6.8 million lbs. of requested medical aid, including more than 131 million doses of medicine to more than 90 countries; more than 40 million masks and other supplies to protect health workers on the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic; over 600 midwife birthing kits to facilitate 30,000 safe births across three continents; insulin for 14,000 children with Type 1 diabetes across 20 countries; and more than 500,000 doses of naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, to organizations throughout the U.S.

Additionally, Direct Relief has issued more than $40 million in grants to community health centers, free & charitable clinics, and other non-profit health providers serving people across the U.S. and world at disproportionate risk from Covid-19 and other emergencies. It is also working with infectious disease epidemiologists and technology companies to analyze and derive insights from aggregated mobility data to inform decision-makers at the state and local levels on social distancing policies.