Awards & Ratings
Find out why ReSurge International receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators and recognition from the world’s leading creative and humanitarian awards organizations. Visit our press page for ReSurge media coverage.
Give With Confidence
Independent organizations evaluate nonprofits on financial health, transparency, and accountability. ReSurge International has earned top ratings from all three of the most trusted charity watchdogs in the sector.
Charity Navigator is the world’s largest independent charity evaluating service, rigorously rating nonprofits according to its Encompass Rating System. ReSurge International currently holds a four out of Four-Star rating — earned by fewer than 25% of evaluated nonprofits.
Candid is the world’s leading source of information on nonprofit organizations. ReSurge International currently holds the Platinum Seal of Transparency — the highest possible rating from Candid.
The BBB Wise Giving Alliance evaluates charities against 20 rigorous standards for charity accountability, covering governance, finances, fundraising practices, and transparency. ReSurge International is accredited by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, meeting all 20 standards.
Best Paper Award — PRS Global Open
ReSurge International was among the first global surgery organizations to move away from fly-in medical missions and instead invest in training local surgical teams for lifetime impact. To prove the value of this model, ReSurge developed an original research methodology — in collaboration with Stanford University.
The peer-reviewed study, Modeling the Lifetime Impact of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Training: Implications for Building Capacity in Global Surgery, found that a reconstructive surgeon in a low-income country will directly treat approximately 10,000 patients over their career. If that surgeon becomes a trainer, they can impact over 400,000 patients in their lifetime through two generations of trainees. ReSurge International’s research won the Best Paper Award from PRS Global Open in 2025;
Campaign & Creative Awards
The Closing the Gap campaign was developed pro bono with Ogilvy Health and Papaya Films. It has been recognized by the world’s leading creative and humanitarian awards organizations for both its effectiveness and its impact.
2026
Effie Award — Nonprofit Category
Closing the Gap Campaign
2025
Cannes Lions – Act with Courage Showcase
KTR Awards – Gold, Silver, & Bronze
Conero Film and Advertising Festival
SIMA Documentary — Film Recognition
SIMA is an 11-minute documentary co-directed by Anna Santos and Henrique Ligiero Campos, filmed in Nepal. The film follows burn survivor Sima and ReSurge Nepal Country Director and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Shankar Man Rai. Dr. Rai is considered a humanitarian visionary, honored with the Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award by the Dali Lama. To host a private film screening, contact info@resurge.org
2025
LA International Art Film Festival
2025
Activists Without Borders Film Festival
2025
Iris Global Health Film Festival
A Place at the Operating Table — Film Awards
A Place at the Operating Table is a documentary short directed by Melissa Huerga Malillos, Alicia Dyke, and Brandon O’Larey and produced by FRANK in partnership with ReSurge International and SkinCeuticals. The film follows Dr. Thandiwe Munaiwa and the Pioneering Women in Reconstructive Surgery (PWRS) program, highlighting the journeys of female reconstructive surgeons in Zimbabwe. To host a private screen, contact info@resurge.org
2024
Hermes Awards – Platinum
2024
Telly Awards
Short Form, Advocacy and Causes
2024
43 Film Festivals
15 Wins and 14 Selections
A Story of Healing — Academy Award Winner
A Story of Healing is a short documentary directed by Donna Dewey in 1997, following ReSurge International, formerly known as Interplast, during two weeks of reconstructive surgery work in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. In 1998 the film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject. In 2007 it became the first Oscar-winning film to be released under a Creative Common License (CC BY-NC-ND), making it freely available for noncommercial screening and sharing worldwide
1998
Academy Award Winner
2007
First Oscar-Winning Film Under Creative Commons License
Your Donation Creates Sustainable Change.
The patients we serve at ReSurge are the core of what we do. Give today to create a ripple effect that changes the world through training and life-changing, no-cost reconstructive surgeries.