Annual reports
Discover our annual reports, and learn more about our working supporting people displaced by disaster and conflict.
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Making a difference in 2024
In 2024, we hit an amazing milestone: we’ve supported over three million people since 2000. And that’s all thanks to you, our dedicated supporters, volunteers and partners.
ShelterBox teams supported communities affected by conflict, extreme weather, and overlooked crises. We worked in areas like Burkina Faso, Yemen, Chad, Gaza, and Lebanon. We also supported families displaced by extreme flooding and tropical storms.
Shelter is the foundation for life – for survival, stability and dignity. It offers a place to feel safe, stay together, stay healthy, earn a living and help children get an education.
How you give to us
Your gifts reach us in a number of different ways.
Whilst a large part of our income comes from supporters who donate to appeals when disasters strike, many choose to give us a regular gift, sign-up to our Book Club or take part in local events or challenges.
ShelterBox works with fantastic corporate partners. We have strong relationships with trusts and foundations.
We work with a global network of supporters, volunteers and partners. We are incredibly proud to be official project partners with Rotary International and receive amazing support from Rotarians around the world.
Where your money goes
In 2023, around 84p in every pound given to ShelterBox was used to provide emergency shelter after disaster. The remaining 16p was invested to raise future vital funds.
In case events in any single year have a distorting effect, we also report a three-year average to give a clearer picture of how we are performing. Our current three-year average is 78p in every pound spent on providing emergency shelter and 22p spent on raising funds.
In 2023, we spent £23 million – that’s more than ever before – supporting disaster-hit families with essential items like tents, tarpaulins, toolkits, solar lights, water filters and carriers, blankets, cooking sets and mosquito nets.
Running costs
Sometimes called ‘support and governance’, these are the costs involved in running a charity.
They are made up of essential activities that allow us to grow our support for disaster-affected families. They include things like:
- Safeguarding training, process and policies – making sure the families we support, as well as our staff, volunteers and supporters, are kept safe.
- Strong leadership and skilled teams - making sure we have specialist teams in place, as well as training and paying our staff.
- Technology and financial systems – helping us to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.
- A healthy and safe working environment – including things like insurance to protect our teams working in extreme environments.
It is very important to invest in making sure we have these in place to allow us to continue to support more people. ShelterBox is committed to keeping our governance and support costs as low as possible whilst also delivering the best possible emergency shelter support.
In 2022, we spent £2.3 million on these activities.
Financial FAQs
Who funds ShelterBox?
We work with a global network of supporters, volunteers and partners. A large part of our income comes from supporters who donate to appeals when disasters strike, many choose to give us a regular gift, sign-up to our Book Club or take part in a local event or challenges.
We work with fantastic corporate partners and have strong relationships with trusts and foundations.
We are also incredibly proud to be official project partners with Rotary International and receive amazing support from Rotarians around the world.
However people choose to support ShelterBox – they’re a part of our family. The ShelterBox family is a powerful one, and it spans every part of the globe.
Does ShelterBox receive institutional funding?
Last year (2024), we got our first big funding from EU Echo through our partners in Mozambique.
In the future, we hope this type of funding will help our organisation grow and make our supporters’ money go further. For example, with UK Aid Match, the UK government matches the money raised by the UK public, doubling the impact of donations.
However, we will still rely on our generous supporters to continue our important work. Our independence and flexibility are fundamental. We will always make sure that any funding we seek will have the biggest impact on supporting people in our programmes.
How much does ShelterBox hold in reserves?
At ShelterBox, our reserves policy sets the agreed level of reserves at £13.8 million. Our reserves cover three main areas: buying and storing stock, having a rainy-day buffer, and ensuring short-term cash flow.
Most charities keep some money in reserve. This money is saved each year and can be used for any important purpose when needed.
Reserves help during emergencies, manage cash flow, and fund future projects. They make charities stronger and able to handle financial challenges. This ensures they can continue their work for a long time.
At ShelterBox, our mission is to make sure no one is without shelter after a disaster. Global events like weather, earthquakes, and conflicts are unpredictable. We plan for unknown emergencies each year and the exact needs are always uncertain.
Our reserves help us manage this uncertainty. They provide stability even if we face financial shocks like reduced income.
How your support makes a difference
Kaltoumi B, Cameroon
The positive aspect of this tent is mainly the fact that it is very spacious. I had my own space and the children had theirs. This is the first decent shelter I enjoyed after losing everything. I was animated by immense joy.
Faay, Somalia
Like many other women in this camp I became a mother at a very young age, and as a result, I was faced with lots of challenges… When I look at the beautiful house that I have been given, I have a sense of faith in a better future and even a better hope for my child
