Humanity First

What Humanity First does

Humanity First International is a UK-registered international humanitarian charity (charity no. 1149693) founded in 1995 and headquartered in Surbiton, England. The organization operates eight core programmes (Disaster Relief, Community Care, Orphan Care, Water for Life, Food Security, Knowledge for Life, Global Health, and Gift of Sight) across 67+ countries on six continents, delivering services to vulnerable communities through a paid staff of 51-100 supplemented by a network of 3,500+ volunteers contributing over 660,000 hours of service. Its physical infrastructure comprises 14 hospitals, clinics, and mobile surgical units, more than 100 schools and 56 training centres, close to 6,200 water pumps, and 9 food banks plus 32 food pantries and 21 farming support projects.

The organization funds itself entirely through donations, with no commercial product revenue. Revenue streams include individual one-time and recurring donations (monthly tiers of £10-£70+), campaign-based appeals (Sudan, Middle East, Masroor Centre for Healthcare, Qurbani/Ramadan seasonal appeals), corporate CSR partnerships, and event-based fundraising (Global Telethons, Humanity First Day, Walk/Run/Bike Across the Globe). The 25th anniversary Global Telethon in 2020 raised over $3.5 million, representing the largest single fundraising event disclosed. Operations are coordinated through national branches in 58+ countries, supported by partnerships with the UN (ECOSOC consultative status), Red Crescent, Polish Red Cross, WFP, IAAAE, Siemens, Action Medeor, MAP, Anera, and Save the Children. Notable physical assets include the Mobile Eye Surgery Unit (Al-Ain) deployed in Benin and Togo, and the Masroor Centre for Healthcare under construction in Ivory Coast, scheduled to open in 2025-2026.

Humanity First distributes services directly to beneficiaries through field operations rather than through resellers, and engages donors through its website (humanityfirst.org), a dedicated multi-currency donation portal (donate.humanityfirst.org), social channels, email, and global events. The gtm motion is direct-to-consumer and event-driven, with emotional storytelling and quantifiable impact metrics (17 million people assisted, 284 disaster responses across 111 countries, 1,024,771 patients treated) as the primary fundraising mechanism. Recurring monthly donations and targeted campaign appeals constitute the most predictable revenue base, while telethons and global events provide episodic large-scale surges.

Name

Humanity First

Legal name

Humanity First International

Website

https://humanityfirst.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Humanity First International is a UK-registered humanitarian charity operating in 67+ countries through 8 programmes (disaster relief, healthcare, water, food, education, orphan care, and eye care), funded by donations and delivered via a 3,500-volunteer network and 14 hospitals and clinics worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid Services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Emergency Shelter, Camp Management & Non-Food Items (NFI) (BPAGAAAC), Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF)

Keywords

• Humanitarian aid services
• Disaster relief programmes
• Clean water access
• Global health clinics
• Orphan care support

Headquarters

HQ city

Surbiton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individual supporters worldwide. Donors contribute to specific programs or general humanitarian relief efforts. Regular monthly donation targets of £25,000 sought for hospital operations.
2. Campaign-Based Fundraising: Targeted fundraising campaigns for specific projects such as Sudan Emergency Appeal (goal £100,000), Masroor Centre for Healthcare, Middle East Crisis Appeal, and seasonal campaigns like Qurbani and Ramadan Sadaqah.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate social responsibility partnerships where companies fund specific projects in exchange for recognition on social media, website, and within local communities. Used for hospital construction and ongoing operations.
4. Event-Based Fundraising: Global telethons, charity walks/runs/bikes, and international exhibition events (Jalsa Salana) that raise awareness and funds. The 25th anniversary telethon in 2020 raised over $3.5 million.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Humanity First International is a UK-registered humanitarian charity that delivers aid and development services worldwide through eight core programmes: Disaster Relief, Community Care, Orphan Care, Water for Life, Food Security, Knowledge for Life, Global Health, and Gift of Sight. Its on-the-ground operations include hospitals, clinics and mobile surgical units, food banks, water-well installation, schools, orphanages, and emergency-disaster response coordinated across 67+ countries. The charity is funded entirely through individual donations, corporate CSR partnerships, and event-based fundraising rather than selling products or services.

Product overview

Humanity First International is a humanitarian charity organization operating eight core programmes: Disaster Relief, Community Care, Orphan Care, Food Security, Knowledge for Life, Water for Life, Global Health, and Gift of Sight. These programmes work together to provide comprehensive humanitarian aid across 67 countries. Key facilities include the Masroor Centre for Healthcare (Ivory Coast), Nasir Hospital (Guatemala), and Masroor Hospital Dakar, along with food banks in Canada, USA, and UK, and the Mobile Eye Surgery Unit deployed across West Africa. The Water for Life programme operates through partnerships with IAAAE to build and maintain water handpumps and boreholes, while the Knowledge for Life programme includes schools and training centres. The Food Security programme maintains a network of 9 food banks, 32 food pantries, and 21 farming projects globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Disaster Relief Programme: Emergency response programme providing vital supplies, clean water, sanitation kits, food, medical support, and shelter to displaced families and refugees.
• Community Care Programme
• Orphan Care Programme
• Water for Life Programme
• Food Security Programme
• Knowledge for Life Programme
• Global Health Programme
• Gift of Sight Programme

Products and services

• Disaster Relief Programme Emergency response programme providing immediate aid including vital supplies, clean water, sanitation kits, food, medical support, and shelter to displaced families, children, and refugees during natural disasters and conflicts.
• Community Care Programme Support and empowerment programme for disadvantaged individuals and local communities, providing constant care to elderly people, homeless individuals, and children with disabilities through trained volunteers.
• Orphan Care Programme Programme providing orphanages with healthy food, education, interactive activities, medical care, and emotional and psychological support for orphaned children in safe and healthy environments.
• Water for Life Programme Clean water and sanitation programme installing handpumps, building boreholes, and providing hygiene education to communities lacking access to clean drinking water, particularly in rural Africa and Asia.
• Food Security Programme Sustainable food security initiative combining immediate relief through food banks, food parcels, and soup kitchens with long-term farming support including modern tools, agricultural training, and sustainable practices.
• Knowledge for Life Programme Education programme sponsoring children, building schools and training centres, and providing quality education and childhood development programmes to bridge the global learning gap.
• Global Health Programme Healthcare delivery programme operating hospitals, clinics, and mobile surgical units, with focus on completing the Masroor Centre for Healthcare in Ivory Coast.
• Gift of Sight Programme Eye care programme providing screenings, prescription glasses, and cataract surgeries through mobile eye units and eye camps, working to prevent avoidable blindness in underserved communities.
• Masroor Centre for Healthcare State-of-the-art hospital in Yopougon-Gesco, outside Abidjan, Ivory Coast, featuring an Emergency Department, 3 Maternity suites, Neonatal care, ICU, 2 Operating Theatres, and a full diagnostic suite including X-Ray, Ultrasound, Endoscopy, and ECG.
• Masroor Hospital Dakar Medical facility in Dakar, Senegal providing treatments for Plastic, General, Gynecology/Obstetrics, Urology, and Maxillofacial surgeries using ECG machines, defibrillators, surgical equipment, and anesthesia equipment.
• Nasir Hospital (Guatemala) State-of-the-art hospital in Guatemala providing critical healthcare services, including cataract surgeries under the Gift of Sight programme.
• Food Banks Network Network of 9 food banks, 32 food pantries and soup kitchens, and 21 farming support projects across the globe reaching 7,954,867 people, with long-term food bank operations in Canada, USA, and UK.
• Tharparkar Wells Project Water well installation project in the Tharparkar desert region of southeast Pakistan, with over 850 wells constructed providing clean water for drinking and livestock.
• Mobile Eye Surgery Unit (Al-Ain) Mobile eye surgery unit equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic and surgical equipment to treat cataracts, deployed across Benin and Togo.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 17 million people assisted worldwide since 1995
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World Food Programme (WFP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for medical shipment logistics to West Africa supporting humanitarian missions in Chad and neighboring countries.
• International Association of Ahmadi Architects & Engineers (IAAAE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to build and renovate water handpumps across Kenya, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Togo, and Ghana. Jointly invested in a drilling rig for borehole construction at reduced costs with greater quality control. Training local water engineers and exploring monitoring technology.
• Red CrescentcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal Gaza team collaborates with Red Crescent for humanitarian aid distribution during the Middle East crisis.
• United NationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanity First holds consultative status with UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and collaborates with UN agencies for disaster response and humanitarian operations.
• MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Gaza team collaborates with MAP for healthcare delivery and humanitarian assistance.
• AneraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Anera for health days and medical support in Gaza, providing patient care and pharmaceutical supplies.
• Save the ChildrenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for humanitarian operations in Gaza providing relief to children and families.
• Polish Red CrosscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with local authorities and Polish Red Cross during Ukraine crisis response at the Medyka border crossing.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Human Appeal: UK-based faith-rooted humanitarian NGO delivering emergency relief, food security, water, healthcare, and education programmes across multiple continents. Highly comparable mission, geographic spread, and recurring-donation-driven GTM motion.
• Islamic Relief Worldwide: Faith-rooted UK-headquartered international humanitarian NGO operating in similar disaster relief, food security, water, healthcare, and orphan sponsorship verticals across ~40 countries. Closely comparable operating model, donor base profile, and global programme structure to Humanity First.
• Muslim Aid: UK-registered faith-based international NGO focused on disaster response, orphan sponsorship, food security, and healthcare in developing countries. Directly comparable in programme mix, UK charity registration status, and donor demographic profile.
• Penny Appeal: UK-based faith-rooted humanitarian charity with comparable small-donation recurring fundraising model and portfolio spanning water, food, orphan care, emergency relief, and healthcare in multiple developing markets.

Broad incumbents

• International Medical Corps: Established humanitarian healthcare NGO operating hospitals, mobile medical units, and emergency response across conflict and disaster zones. Comparable Global Health Programme and disaster relief focus, but with significantly larger institutional funding base.
• Relief International: International humanitarian NGO providing emergency response, healthcare, education, water/sanitation, and food security in fragile contexts. Directly comparable programme portfolio and cross-country operating model, at larger scale.
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): World's largest humanitarian network with directly comparable disaster response, shelter, healthcare, and emergency relief programmes. Humanity First already partners with national Red Crescent societies, making this an adjacent incumbent rather than direct competitor.
• BRAC: One of the world's largest development NGOs operating across health, education, water/sanitation, food security, and community empowerment. Comparable multi-programme, multi-country humanitarian model at much larger scale.
• Direct Relief: Large-scale humanitarian medical aid organization distributing medications, equipment, and supplies globally, with comparable partner-supported healthcare delivery model and presence in multiple low-resource countries.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): Larger, secular humanitarian medical NGO operating hospitals, mobile clinics, and surgical units in conflict and disaster zones. Comparable healthcare delivery infrastructure (including mobile surgical units), but operates at materially larger scale and broader medical specialization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HFI1995
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HFI1995
• Facebookfacebook.com/HFI1995
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/humanityfirstuk
• Instagraminstagram.com/hfi1995
• TikToktiktok.com/@humanityfirstint

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Humanity First