Frequently asked questions

ShelterBox is a charity that delivers aid to families devastated by conflict or disaster, to give them durable shelter and the tools to rebuild communities.

Our global network of supporters, staff and volunteers make it possible to deliver aid to some of the most remote communities in the world.

We deliver the essentials people need to begin rebuilding their lives after disaster.

Each disaster is different, and so is every community. We don’t believe that one size fits all, so we spend time talking to affected families to make sure we provide the right support at the right time.

For some disaster-hit communities, our family-sized tents are the best solution until they are able to start rebuilding their homes. In other disasters, heavy duty tarpaulins, ropes and nails are needed to create emergency shelter or to patch-up damaged buildings.

We know that a home is much more than bricks and mortar or tarpaulin and tent pegs. That’s why we also offer other disaster relief items that are essential for survival and can help to turn a shelter into a home. Explore our ShelterBox aid in depth.

ShelterBox Canada is funded by public donations, Canadian individuals, companies, and groups. We do not receive government funding.

We rely on your support to help ensure no one is left without shelter after disaster strikes.

ShelterBox Canada is supported by generous Canadians across the country who believe that shelter is a human right, and no one should go without shelter. ShelterBox is internationally supported by our global network of ShelterBox affiliates and a range of partners, including Rotary International.

Find out more about our partnerships.

When disasters and conflicts occur, our ShelterBox operations team make careful assessments to ensure that ShelterBox aid is right for the situation.

We put families first and strive to reach as many vulnerable communities as we can that have been affected by disaster.

With your help, we give families the shelter and the tools they need to start their own recovery. Unfortunately, the need is ever growing and we aren’t able to help everyone.

That is why we have developed our ‘Response criteria’. These questions help us make those tough decisions. Most importantly, they help us prioritize the most vulnerable families around the world who wouldn’t otherwise receive the vital support they need.

We deliver aid to some of the most vulnerable communities after disaster and conflict. We work closely with local partners and community leaders to get aid where it needs to go.

ShelterBox aid is carefully prepositioned in warehouses around the world which enables us to respond faster and more efficiently.

Find out more about how our aid is delivered.

Our items are specially sourced and designed to ensure that the people we support have exactly the aid they need.

The aid is designed to withstand extreme conditions, from torrential rain to hurricane winds, and to last for a long time – until families are able to rebuild their homes.

For this reason, we are unable to accept in-kind donations of items.

ShelterBox also locally sources items from the communities we work in, ensuring that materials and shelter supports are locally appropriate and easier to adapt.

ShelterBox often collaborates with local community organizations, local aid organizations, as well as community leaders to make sure we are reaching all of the families in need of shelter.

Find out more about how our aid is delivered.

At ShelterBox, we are proud to have safeguarding policies in place designed to protect the families we help, our operational staff, and our incredible response team volunteers who travel to disaster areas with us, and the local communities we work with.

Find out more about our safeguarding policies

The price of a ShelterBox is a representative price based on the cost of a range of items that we often give to families in disaster situations.

The cost of the items vary from time to time, but we want to keep the ShelterBox cost the same for consistency. The average cost of a ShelterBox is $1200 CAD – but one type of ShelterBox does not fit all and the contents can vary depending on the needs of the families we are helping.

We work hard to understand how we can best help families in lots of different disaster situations and we send a combination of essential items to best suit their needs.

In some cases, our specialist emergency tents might be the best solution for families in one disaster-hit community. In others, heavy duty tarpaulins, ropes and nails might be what’s needed most. Some families might need mosquito nets to protect them from disease, while others might need blankets to keep them warm at night.

We love our ShelterBoxes, and we know our supporters do too. Over the past five years, we have been phasing out use of the box as other modes of delivery are more appropriate and a better use of our supporters’ generous donations.

Learn why we no longer use the ShelterBox.

We buy our aid items from a range of suppliers from around the world, and these prices can change from time to time. Our contracts are reviewed each year to ensure we are getting the best value possible. For these reasons, the prices of the items can go up or down over time.

Delivering essential shelter aid into the hands of the vulnerable families who need it costs more than just the price of the individual items. We also need to pay for transport and other distribution costs involved in delivering aid around the world. To ensure the price of each aid item represents this full cost, we’ve added these additional amounts on to the individual aid items.

These costs are worked out annually based on the previous year and also change over time. We update the prices of our aid items once a year.

The cost of transport and other distribution costs represent around a third of the cost of the aid prices. The additional costs are based on the previous year’s costs and may change each year. As every disaster is different every response is different and so the costs are representative average costs.