About Operation USA

Give and It Gets There

Operation USA is a Los Angeles-based international disaster relief and development agency helping communities at home and abroad overcome the effects of disasters, disease, violence and endemic poverty.


45 years and over 100 countries

Since 1979, Operation USA has worked in 101 countries—delivering over $450 million in aid for relief and development projects around the world.

Small, agile and effective

Operation USA is a hands-on agency with a small, dedicated staff overseeing our projects and disaster response work. Free of the bureaucracy and overhead of a larger organization, creative solutions allow us to respond to real needs in real time. As Founding Board member Julie Andrews says, “Operation USA is the little ship that gets in the harbor where the big ships cannot go.”

Privately funded, from day one

100% privately-funded, Operation USA works without any government financial support—or the constraints that support may bring.

Changing lives at home and abroad

Disaster relief is most often associated with the developing world–but, since our earliest days, Operation USA has dedicated a portion of our efforts to projects here at home. And, as needs have increased, in some years as much as 50% of our work is done in the USA.

In it for the long haul

In most cases, the effects of disasters are not limited by time. Years after a disaster has abated, communities are still frequently in need of assistance. Committed to rebuilding, Operation USA stays in the field long after many others have left. Long-term projects help rebuild lives and livelihoods.

Children and families first

At Operation USA, our focus is to provide support to children and families so the can recover, grow and thrive in the wake of disasters. Many of our programs emphasize education and health – cost-effective aid opens minds, builds futures, lengthens lives and transforms communities. But, in the end, we let the impacted communities guide us on placing the right resources to the right people at the right time.

Every donation makes an impact

When you donate to Operation USA, you immediately start to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most. Large or small, your donation helps.