ShelterBox USA
Emergency shelter and tools for families displaced by disaster and conflict worldwide
Our editorial assessment
ShelterBox fills a specific, critical gap in disaster response: emergency shelter. It delivers tents, water filtration, solar lights, and tools to families who have lost their homes to earthquakes, storms, and conflict, tailoring each response to local needs. Charity Navigator awards ShelterBox USA a four-star rating with a perfect accountability and finance score, and roughly 82% of spending reaches programmes with just 8 cents to raise each dollar. For donors focused on the immediate aftermath of disaster, it is a focused, well-run choice.
The problem they're solving
When disaster strikes, shelter is one of the most urgent and hardest needs to meet — displaced families may wait months for permanent housing. ShelterBox provides the tents, tools, and essentials that let families stay safe and begin to recover in the meantime.
About ShelterBox USA
ShelterBox provides emergency shelter — tents, tools, water filters, and household essentials — to families who have lost their homes to disaster or conflict, working through local partners.
Where your dollar goes
What your donation could do
Your $100 contributes toward full ShelterBox shelter kits for families.
Illustrative estimate based on figures this organisation publishes about its own programs — not a statement from the charity itself. Actual impact varies by program and year.
What donors say about ShelterBox USA
Donors signed in with Google can rate ShelterBox USA from one to five stars and share a short review of their experience — whether as a donor, volunteer, or beneficiary. Community ratings are displayed as their own criterion alongside our editorial metrics; they never alter the editorial 0–100 score.
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How this score was produced
The Charity Ranking score is our own editorial assessment, produced with a weighted rubric covering program spending, transparency and governance, evidence of impact, cost-effectiveness, and leadership. It draws on publicly available reports from independent evaluators such as GiveWell, Charity Navigator, and CharityWatch, but it is not a rating issued or endorsed by any of those organisations. The community rating shown above is a separate signal contributed by signed-in donors; it is displayed alongside our criteria but never feeds into the editorial score. Read the full methodology →