15 Nonprofit Water Organizations That Make Clean Water a Reality
Water revolutionizes the health and future of entire societies. For that reason, many nonprofit organizations commit to bringing healthy drinking water and clean water solutions to global communities. We’re highlighting a few of them today to celebrate the impactful work of these organizations around the world.
The Importance of Water Organizations
To see just how valuable water organizations are, consider these three statistics from water.org
- 771 million people ( 1 in 10) lack access to safe water
- 282 million people spend more than 30 minutes retrieving water each time they need it
- More people have a mobile phone than a toilet
Clean water is a basic necessity for life, but it’s not a reality for most of our global population. The need to eliminate this threat continues to grow, so we celebrate the nonprofits working tirelessly to save lives and transform societies for the better.
These water organizations provide hope for those who need it most and create a seamless path for people to do their part in addressing the global water crisis through advocacy, education, and action.
15 Water Organizations That Make Clean Water a Reality
1. Generosity.org
Generosity.org is a water organization committed to ending the clean water crisis in developing countries.
By empowering and equipping individuals through the spirit of generosity, we help them become self-sufficient and inspire in them the same spirit of helping their neighbor; ultimately paying it forward. We believe that generosity changes people, and changes the world. Our goal is to move from a place where communities rely upon us, to a place where communities utilize the tools we provide to become proud and progressive stewards of their own destiny. Our dream is to make our role obsolete. That’s how we change the world.
By empowering and equipping individuals through the spirit of generosity, we help them become self-sufficient and inspire in them the same spirit of helping their neighbor; ultimately paying it forward. We believe that generosity changes people, and changes the world. Our goal is to move from a place where communities rely upon us, to a place where communities utilize the tools we provide to become proud and progressive stewards of their own destiny. Our dream is to make our role obsolete. That’s how we change the world.
To date, Generosity.org has completed over 800 water wells in 20 different nations to help them access clean water.
2. Pure Water for the World
Pure Water for the World provides children and families in Central America and the Caribbean with the tools and education to develop sustainable water, hygiene, and sanitation solutions.
We love how the organization directly connects fundraising dollars to impact. This immediately helps potential supporters see how their donation or peer-to-peer fundraising campaign will make a difference for the people it serves.
Pure Water for the World has partnered with more than 750 communities throughout Haiti and Honduras. It provides critical resources and education to ensure safe water, improved sanitation, and adequate hygiene are pillars of their communities.
Explore the Tools These Organizations Use to Raise More
3. Blood:Water
Blood:Water is a water organization that partners with African grassroots organizations to bring clean water and HIV/AIDS support to one million people in 12 countries.
Founded by the multiplatinum, GRAMMY® Award-winning band Jars of Clay and activist Jena Lee Nardella, the organization serves as a call to personalize the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.
To fit every community’s varying needs, Blood:Water provides various solutions. From toilets and handwashing stations to services preventing mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission, local partners get to choose the solutions that best serve their communities. These leaders then activate and educate the people around them through meetings, local support groups, and training sessions.
Since its launch in 2004, Blood:Water has worked with 33 partners and brought clean water to nearly one million people in 12 countries.
4. Water for Good
Water for Good works with communities in the Central African Republic to establish sanitation best practices, improve agriculture, and empower people to create sustainable clean water access.
The organization connects underserved communities to locally-owned water businesses, a supply of spare parts, and government oversight.
Women are often more successful at managing their family’s budget, so we always recommend that there be at least one woman on the committee. They are also much more likely than men to be the ones responsible for fetching water for the family, another reason why it’s critical to have them represented on the committee.
In 2022 alone, the organization initiated or completed a total of 59 new water points, 1,936 service visits to pump water, 12,977 miles traveled by its maintenance team, and 1,121 water points served.
5. Hope of Life International
Hope of Life International is a faith-based water organization dedicated to serving vulnerable children and families in Guatemala.
The organization outlines how its efforts and community support can help prevent deaths due to diseases like typhoid and cholera.
Hope of Life International drives home the value of each donation with the message that it only takes one dollar to provide a child with clean water for a year. Thanks to donor support, the organization has distributed over 100 water filters and sponsored over 5,000 individuals.
6. Splash
Splash is a water organization that serves disadvantaged cities. It works with local governments and businesses to educate children about effective hygiene practices and trains local organizations and businesses to maintain toilets properly.
The organization creates these safe water projects through strategic partnerships with local entities to solidify long-lasting solutions. Existing technology and supply chains used by commercial markets—such as those of top-notch restaurants and hotels—inform Splash’s strategies to bring the same high-quality care to families in need.
We collaborate with government bodies to make sure we are in alignment on the target populations, the quality of services to be provided, and to make sure there is no duplication of efforts. We work with local businesses to ensure that products related to water filtration, hand washing, or sanitation are easily accessible locally and available over the long term.
Today, Splash reaches over 999,088 kids in China, Nepal, India, and Ethiopia.
7. Lifewater International
Lifewater International is a Christian water development organization that serves vulnerable children and families in remote and rural areas of East Africa and Southeast Asia.
The organization’s staff live in the areas they serve. They help community members drive change from household to household by actively participating in the development process and teaching underserved communities how to build their home latrines, drying racks, and handwashing stations.
We walk alongside families, leaders, and churches in overcoming all forms of water poverty as communities themselves take steps toward better health through practicing good hygiene and sanitation. When combined with a safe water source (that the community locally maintains and manages through a water committee), the health changes taking place at the household and community level have a lasting impact.
8. Planet Water Foundation
Planet Water Foundation serves schools, children, and rural communities worldwide by installing water filtration systems and launching health education programs.
The organization’s filtration systems, called an “AquaTower,” trap bacteria, viruses, and other harmful matter to provide 1,000 people with 10,000 liters of clean water daily. Children can also wash their hands with soap dishes mounted around the structure.
Planet Water Foundation installs these systems in just one day. After that, community members can help clean each AquaTower to prolong its life span, simplifying the maintenance procedures. Additionally, the affordable initial cost makes this a sustainable solution.
The organization supports more than 3 million people in 26 countries.
9. Water4
Water4 is a water organization on a mission to eradicate the world’s water crises through local, missional businesses and fostering independence. It empowers people through faith and education around long-term sustainability to help communities solve their challenges with a solution that lasts.
The organization has a signature “WaSH” training program that helps communities understand the importance of washing their hands, preparing food safely, and storing water to support good hygiene. This helps them introduce the social and health impact to the individuals. The organization also empowers local heroes through business development programs.
Water4’s a charity with an exit strategy. We build safe water businesses across Africa that sell water at an affordable rate. Water4 supports these businesses through charity, resourcing and scaling them to profitability when they can operate independently. It’s a local, sustainable approach to ending the water crisis, one that is built through charity, but not dependent on it.
To date, Water4 has completed 9,518 water projects, providing 2,131,399 people with safe water and educating 759,223 people in the process.
10. Safe Water Network
Safe Water Network is a water organization that works to build affordable, locally-owned water systems for communities in Ghana and India.
While the organization provides the tools to use these systems, referred to as “Safe Water Stations,” community members eventually take ownership of them and operate them as small businesses. Instead of being perceived as beneficiaries, individuals are consumers and business owners.
To help cover operating and maintenance costs, each station sells water. Safe Water Network then provides the education and equipment to manage these stations and the technical services and monitoring necessary to keep them in top condition. The organization also continues to improve this model by partnering with experts in academia and the public and private sectors for new insights.
To date, Safe Water Network has reached 20 million people through technical assistance and sector engagement and plans to create access to safe water for 50 million people by 2026.
11. Thirst Project
Thirst Project is a water organization that educates students about the clean water crisis and mobilizes them to take action.
The organization travels to secondary schools and universities across the United States to activate those believed to be the real game changers: young supporters. Thirst Project also encourages students to start Thirst Project Clubs to raise awareness about the cause within their schools.
In addition to raising awareness, Thirst Project has roots in India, Uganda, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Kenya, and Colombia. It focuses primarily on building hand pump wells that typically last over 40 years.
12. The Last Well
The Last Well is a faith-based organization on a mission to bring safe water to all Liberians.
No country has been able to provide clean water to all of its citizens nor eliminate water-borne diseases or sicknesses. The Last Well aims to change that narrative for the entire nation of Liberia.
To date, The Last Well has completed its original 12-year, $31 million mission to bring clean water and the good news of the gospel to Liberia.
13. Hope Rising Together
Hope Rising Together (formerly Let Them LOL) is a water organization that serves Sierra Leone. It builds wells to provide poverty-stricken communities with access to safe water.
After 10 years as Let Them LOL, Hope Rising Together emerged to renovate the Malting Silos in the heart of Buffalo, N.Y., into a community center.
What makes us very unique is that we have a Well Maintenance program. Our Sierra Leone maintenance team travels around to all of our communities where we have wells, servicing them and making repairs. This ensures that the clean water continues to flow for many years.
Hope Rising Together has completed over 145 wells, bringing water to 53,633 people in Sierra Leone.
14. WaterAid
WaterAid is a water organization transforming lives by providing clean water, hygiene, and sanitation hardware to the world’s most vulnerable and remote communities.
Founded in 1981, WaterAid is part of a global federation that works in over 30 countries. From the hardware of taps, pipes, and toilets to hygiene education, climate resilience, and maintenance, WaterAid’s projects work for the long term.
Providing access to clean water that’s close to home saves hours for those collecting water for their families. This frees up precious time for girls to go to school, and people can work and start businesses. However, clean water is just the beginning: it unlocks potential and empowers people to thrive.
The work of WaterAid has reached 28.5 million people with clean water, 29 million people with decent toilets, and 27.8 million people with hygiene education to date. WaterAid has a bold, new strategy to reach 400 million people in the next decade to end the water crisis.
15. charity: water
charity: water is a water organization that helps bring clean and safe water to families worldwide by partnering with experienced local organizations that build sustainable, community-owned water projects.
Founded in 2006 by Scott Harrison, a former New York City club promoter, in less than a decade, charity: water has become a leader in the nonprofit sector and a fundraising powerhouse.
The organization heavily emphasizes documenting and sharing the details of its work, keeping its ratings high among charity watchdogs and allowing supporters to get an inside look at who it has helped.
charity: water helps fund water, sanitation, and hygiene (“WASH”) programs for rural communities worldwide while monitoring, evaluating, and maintaining programs to operate sustainably for years to come.
To date, charity: water has funded 120,784 water projects in 29 countries to serve 16,835,671 people.
Water Organizations Hydrate the Future
These water organizations and associated campaigns push the envelope to bring safe and clean water to communities everywhere. At Classy, we celebrate organizations championing environmental sustainability and other aspects that bring natural resources to people worldwide.
Article Sources
- “Key Water.org Facts,” water.org, accessed or last modified 2022, https://water.org/documents/223/FY22_Key_Water.org_facts.pdf.
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