I have worked for Barry and his brilliant and indefatigable IRT coworkers as a physician volunteer since 2005. I could not speak more highly of IRT than to say I trust them 100% with my time, my safety, and my donations. I can't think of a better relief organization to support.
This organization does tremendous good while using very little of their expenses for overhead. I am most impressed that they do millions of dollars worth of good using only three part time and three full time people. I choose to invest in IRT because I know every dollar is used to help people in need. They are efficient and effective.
International Relief Teams does incredible work throughout the world in a very efficient manner. We have been supporters for over 20 years and are consistently impressed by their follow-up and results. IRT consistently makes our world a better place!
IRT is a humble organization that accomplishes big things, utilizing an extremely high percentage of donated money to providing services not to overhead or administrative costs. IRT is a smart organization because they don't just donate services, they train people in the locations they serve to provide the services long after they are gone including creating training manuals in the native language of the population they are serving. IRT is a caring, dedicated organization with volunteers that have served for decades. The volunteer base includes doctors, nurses, builders, pilots, and accountants- all educated, skilled, compassionate workers with much to contribute. IRT is an impressive charity because of high standards of integrity and commitment.
Review from CharityNavigator
IR Teams is a very lean operation. Their administrative costs are miniscule for the magnitude of work they do. In fact, they are just plain miniscule. I believe they have a staff of four in their office. I met the CEO at a hotel I was staying at in Ho Chi Minh City. He was there establishing a network of centers to train teachers to train medical technicians in high risk postnatal care. The hotel was a nice local hotel for $60/night, while most Americans are staying at the international hotels for $200/night. This is how the operation is run. There is no fat. This is how the operation functions, very efficiently. I have the utmost confidence that my donations are being used effectively. They get a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator which I use as a guide before doing my own homework. I made one trip with them to Guatemala for a food distribution. They were very effective in making distributions to remote villages that other organizations neglect due to inaccessibility.
My meditation teacher (whom I highly respect) recommended this charity after casually meeting IRT's CEO. He must have made quite an impression bc a recommendation from him doesn't come easily. After my donation, I received a phone call from one of the staff members thanking me. My donation was not an excessively large one and I very much appreciated their thoughtful phone call. She was very gracious and we actually spent some time talking about their work and I could immediately recognize the enthusiasm their organization has for their cause. Feels very grassroots, which in the often political charity world, is a big compliment to their organization.
Review from CharityNavigator