International Relief Teams

What International Relief Teams does

International Relief Teams (IRT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit humanitarian organization founded in 1988 (originally as Southwest Medical Teams, renamed in 1989) and headquartered in San Diego, California. The organization provides emergency and long-term humanitarian aid — food, clean water, shelter, and essential medicines — to families affected by disaster, conflict, and chronic poverty across 78 countries, with active programs currently spanning Ukraine, Sudan, Lebanon, Guatemala, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Chad, Syria, Sri Lanka, Mexico, and domestic U.S. disaster zones including the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires and Hurricane Helene. Since founding, IRT has delivered over $770 million in cumulative humanitarian assistance.

The organization's service portfolio comprises three core programs (Disaster Relief, Medicines, and Food/Water/Shelter) and four volunteer-driven initiatives (Disaster Rebuilds, Feeding San Diego's Kids, One-Day Tijuana Homebuilding, and Pack to Plate). Aid is delivered through a network of trusted local partner NGOs, clinics, and community organizations on the ground, which the organization identifies as its primary distribution mechanism enabling rapid response with low overhead. The medicines program has scaled notably, delivering $40 million in essential medicines to Guatemala (reaching 205,510 people across 46 clinics) and $5.4 million to Lebanon (12,500 people across 8 clinics) in 2024.

The business model is donation-funded with no commercial revenue. Funding sources include individual one-time gifts, recurring monthly donations via the LifeChangers program, workplace giving channels (CFC, United Way, Global Impact), donor-advised funds, IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions, stock transfers, corporate sponsorships for meal-packing events, and legacy bequests. The organization operates with a lean staff of 1–10 employees under Interim CEO Rose Uranga, governed by a Board of Directors and recognized with a Charity Navigator 4-Star rating and Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency.

Name

International Relief Teams

Legal name

International Relief Teams

Website

https://irteams.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

International Relief Teams is a San Diego-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1988 that delivers food, water, shelter, and essential medicines to families affected by disaster and poverty across 78 countries via trusted local partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid Services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian Health & Emergency Medical Relief NGOs (HLAJAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD), Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH), Disaster Relief & Humanitarian Aid Volunteering (EDAIAGAF), Humanitarian Logistics, Supply Chain & Air/Sea/Land Relief Transport (BPAGAAAI)

Keywords

• Humanitarian aid services
• Disaster relief programs
• Essential medicines delivery
• Volunteer home rebuilding
• Food assistance programs

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: International Relief Teams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded entirely by donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Revenue is generated through one-time gifts, monthly recurring donations (LifeChangers program), workplace giving programs (CFC, United Way, Global Impact), donor-advised funds, IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions, stock transfers, and legacy bequests. No program or product revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

International Relief Teams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit humanitarian organization that delivers life-saving assistance to families affected by disaster and poverty. Its core offerings include disaster relief (food, clean water, shelter, and medicines), essential medicines distribution to clinics in low-income countries, and volunteer-driven programs for home rebuilding and food assistance. The organization funds all activity through voluntary donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations, operating via trusted local partners across 78 countries.

Product overview

International Relief Teams operates as a humanitarian aid organization offering a portfolio of relief programs rather than a unified software product. Their core service offerings include Disaster Relief (emergency food, water, shelter, and medicines for crisis-affected communities), Medicines (essential medical aid distribution to clinics in Guatemala and Lebanon), and Food, Water & Shelter programs. These are complemented by volunteer-driven initiatives: Disaster Rebuilds (home reconstruction after wildfires and hurricanes), Feeding San Diego's Kids (weekend meal provision), One-Day Tijuana Homebuilding, and Pack to Plate (group meal packing events). The organization does not offer a technology product platform but rather delivers humanitarian services through physical programs and volunteer engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Disaster Relief

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivered $770+ million in humanitarian aid across 78 countries since 1988
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International Medical Corps: Los Angeles-based humanitarian organization providing emergency relief, medical care, and public health interventions in conflict and disaster settings. Comparable scale, US headquarters, and combined disaster-response + health-delivery model.
• MAP International: Faith-based humanitarian organization that procures and distributes essential medicines to hospitals and clinics in low-income countries. Closely comparable to IRT's Guatemala/Lebanon clinic supply model.
• Convoy of Hope: Springfield, MO-based nonprofit providing disaster relief, food distribution, and community outreach including meal-packing volunteer programs. Closely comparable to IRT on Pack-to-Plate-style volunteer-driven food programs and disaster response.
• Direct Relief: Santa Barbara-based humanitarian aid nonprofit that procures and delivers essential medicines and medical supplies to under-resourced health systems worldwide. Highly comparable to IRT on the medicines program (Guatemala/Lebanon) and global clinic-focused delivery model.
• Heart to Heart International: Lenexa, KS-based humanitarian nonprofit focused on delivering medical aid, medicines, and disaster relief supplies globally. Highly comparable to IRT's medicines-to-clinics and emergency response programs at similar operational scale.
• Americares: Health-focused international relief NGO delivering medicines, medical supplies, and emergency response to disaster-affected communities globally. Overlaps directly with IRT's disaster relief, medicines, and emergency preparedness programs.
• Project HOPE: Global health and humanitarian NGO delivering medicines, training health workers, and responding to disasters worldwide. Direct overlap with IRT's medicines program and emergency health response in low-income and conflict-affected countries.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: Large-scale global humanitarian NGO delivering emergency relief, food security, and long-term recovery programs across 40+ countries. Significantly larger than IRT but competes directly for corporate/foundation disaster-response funding in the same geographies.
• World Vision US: Major faith-based humanitarian organization delivering disaster relief, food assistance, and child-focused development programming worldwide. Comparable on food/shelter/disaster mix but at materially greater scale and donor recognition.
• Catholic Relief Services: USCCB-affiliated international humanitarian agency providing emergency relief, food assistance, and health programming across 100+ countries. Competes with IRT for institutional donor funding and operates similar food/shelter/medicine programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IRTeams
• Facebookfacebook.com/InternationalReliefTeams
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-relief-teams

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Relief Teams