Sombrilla International Development Society is an Alberta-based, independent Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). It is non-denominational and non-partisan. It was founded in 1985 as a registered charity by a group of Candian journalists and professors disturbed by the gross human rights violations in Central America. The society was subsequently joined by people from a variety of other occupational and professional groups. In the first years as an organization Sombrilla's primary focus was to provide settlement sponsorship for Guatemalan refugees whose efforts in the struggle for social justice made them targets of repression.

Since the mid 1990's, Sombrilla has shifted its focus to the conditions that create refugees. As a result it strives to facilitate respect for human rights, social justice, sustainable development, and gender equity in solidarity with Latin American communities.

Sombrilla develops partnerships with Latin American NGO's that share its values in order to assist them in their development. Sombrilla focuses on providing assistance that is result oriented and sustainable.

In Canada, Sombrilla implements a public engagement strategy with two main objectives: the first focuses on presenting the Canadian public with the issues resonating from Latin America and the Global South, in an effort to develop basic awareness. Secondly, the strategy attempts to move from this basic awareness to the involvement of groups and individuals in organized action in support of communties in Latin America.

"Sombrilla" is the Spanish word for "umbrella," which symbolizes the partnerships between organized communities from Canada and Latin America that assist in sheltering vulnerable populations from oppression while promoting community participation.