At least 10% of the world’s population lives without safe drinking water. Around the world, many people must walk long distances, wait in long lines, or pay significant amounts to secure any water at all. While we wish we could recognize them all, the following ten organizations stand out for their contributions and efforts to water preservation.
Water is essential to life, yet 844 million people in the world – one in nine – lack access to it. This lack of access affects so many other areas of life. It means an increased prevalence of disease due to lack of hygiene. It means more women and children carry the burden of collecting water, so young girls miss out on the chance to attend school. And it leads to higher rates of poverty, as people must focus on gaining access to the water they need to survive or must pay high amounts just for water.
On the other hand, access to clean drinking water can turn problems into potential: unlocking education, economic prosperity, and improved health.
While we wish we could recognize every water conservation organization and clean water charity that has made a contribution to water preservation efforts, there are far too many remarkable organizations to fit into one blog post.
These 10 organizations are stepping up to make a big difference in the water crisis. Some have small power teams, some have a global focus, and some are just getting started. But they’re all after the same goal – bringing clean, life-saving water to more people.
33 Buckets is a nonprofit organization empowering communities through lifetime access to clean water.
Founded by three Arizona State University students in 2008, 33 Buckets implements engineering solutions for clean drinking water for people with a focus on human-centered designs. They build their solutions for specific communities to address their unique needs. This tailored approach empowers communities to receive long-term access to clean water. They maintain partnerships such as those with local NGOs in Peru to maintain contact with their beneficiaries and adjust their approach as needed.
33 Buckets has a team of 18 people, including their board of directors.
They’ve brought clean water to over 7,100 people and counting.
They’ve worked with 15 communities in three countries, including Dominican Republic, Peru, and Bangladesh.
33 Buckets uses Donorbox for their fundraising, including for their keynote campaign The Ripple Effect –
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charity: water is a nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.
Their partners select water solution locations based on geography and assessments of need. Then, they also consider the potential for building strong relationships with local stakeholders, the risk of overlap with the work of other organizations, and the availability of spare parts and repair services. Additionally, a community’s willingness to participate is important, since strong programs require buy-in and participation to sustain water points over time. charity: water work with sector experts to know which approaches are most effective to deliver water, sanitation, and hygiene services in developing countries.
charity: water works with a robust staff of 73.
They’ve funded 137,000 water projects, addressing the water crisis for 17 million people.
Over 29 countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Through the delivery of Water Wheels, Wells on Wheels provides an immediate solution that empowers young girls to step into the classroom without delay. With support from their donors, they break barriers one wheel at a time and ensure a brighter future for these girls. They focus on making it easier to gather water for people who need it the most.
It started with an invention – a large, round water drum fitted with handles so it can be rolled along the ground. Wells on Wheels creates and donates these wheels to families who have to walk far distances to access clean water. This ultimately protects women and young girls who are usually responsible for fetching water, which allows those young girls to spend their time in school instead.
Wells on Wheels has a powerful team of 13 people, including its founders.
To date, Wells on Wheels has impacted the lives of 7,145 people, which includes 4,287 children.
Wells on Wheels primarily works with communities in India, where they have a dedicated on-the-ground team.
This organization is able to share this exciting invention with those in need through the generosity of their donors. You can learn more and watch their informative video to see their wheels in action on their Donorbox donation page.
To ensure everyone has access to safe water and sanitation by removing barriers and advocating for system change.
Their WaterCredit Initiative® solution uses micro-financing in new ways to bring small, easily repayable loans to those who need access to affordable financing and resources to make household water and sanitation solutions a reality. Water.org helps people gain access to clean water and sanitation by teaching, training, and guiding local micro-finance institutions to make loans for providing access to clean water and sanitation. Focusing on water for people who need it the most makes a huge difference in the global water crisis. One of Water.org’s central tenets is the concept of community ownership of any water project(s).
Water.org has a large staff of over 100 employees.
They have empowered more than 10 million people with access to safe water and sanitation solutions.
They serve 13 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
For Mission Clean Water, clean water is just the beginning. They make sure that the right local leadership councils are in place ahead of the project, and they maintain communication and coordination with those communities for years to come.
Mission Clean Water works differently to develop long-term solutions by starting at a grassroots level. Their solutions are implemented together to ensure the longevity of the project after their technical teams move on. Their focus is on isolated communities that have been historically underserved, but are in arid climates with some of the most pressing need for clean water access. This clean water serves as drinking water and helps with their established sanitation solutions.
They have a staff of 18 people, including their board of directors.
Their eight projects have ensured over 25,000 people have access to clean water – for life.
Their projects have been focused in Uganda.
We love their Water Warriors membership program that allows their donors to become long-term partners in building these long-term solutions.
Blood: Water is an equipping agency that partners with African grassroots organizations to address the water and HIV/AIDS crises. Their mission is to address the water crisis in Eastern Africa by focusing on water for people who were affected by HIV/AIDS. By increasing their awareness and education Blood: Water hopes to improve the longevity of people suffering from the autoimmune disorder and reduce the stress of access to drinkable water.
Blood: Water provides technical, financial, and organizational support so that African civil society organizations expand the reach and effectiveness in the communities they serve to address the water crisis. Through outreach and intimate knowledge of the areas where they work, their partners identify and empower local heroes to champion issues affecting the health of community members. Water committees are formed and maintenance teams are trained prior to the implementation of a water point. People who adopt healthy behaviors and see the health benefits in their own lives begin to share with their neighbors what they’ve learned about safe sanitation and hygiene. Their access to clean water is the first step.
They work with a staff of around 20 people.
They have partnered with moreover 800 communities in Africa, providing life-saving water and health needs for over 500,000 people in 13 different countries. Along the way, their 1000 Wells Project has expanded to include a variety of clean water solutions and sanitation and hygiene training, as well as funding health clinics, community health workers, and support groups, which help in the prevention, treatment, care, and support of communities affected by AIDS, incorporating HIV/AIDS-specific programming alongside ongoing water programming.
They’ve built programs in over 12 countries in Africa.
Their vision is a world where everyone, everywhere has safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene. Their mission is to transform the lives of the poorest and most marginalized people by improving access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Water Aid has a unique two-tiered approach to solving the water crisis.
They have field offices around the world that, together with local partners, help communities access clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene. These sanitation solutions have a life-changing effect on those they help.
They also work with key decision-makers in all layers of government, both in the US and internationally, to do more to provide these vital services.
A larger organization, Water Aid has a staff of over 100.
Water Aid got clean water to 321,000 people in households, 148,000 people in schools, and 971,000 people in healthcare centers. They worked with governments to change 14 national policies, strategies or standards, and have improved water service management in 26 urban public utilities. They also strengthened management capacity to deliver clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene in 84 rural districts.
They serve 34 countries around the world.
Paani’s mission is to not only provide temporary relief where they can, but to work toward building permanent solutions against the most complex problems that countries like Pakistan are facing. We strive to combine evidence-based initiatives with cultural competency to ensure that community members feel comfortable and empowered in our presence.
Founded by four Pakistani-American University of Michigan students, Paani strives to facilitate real, tangible change in Pakistan through improving access to fresh, clean water for people. This includes building water systems like deepwater wells, solar wells, and reverse osmosis plants. They work with partners on the ground in Pakistan to determine the appropriate solution to implement in each community with the goal of ending the water crisis.
They work with a staff of 6 people, including the founders, plus team members on the ground in Pakistan directly addressing the water crisis.
Paani has built over 14,000 water solutions. They provide their donors with thorough documentation of the well-building process, including a video of the finished system and a water quality report.
Paani’s work focuses on Pakistan.
They use Donorbox for their fundraising needs. We love how they provide detail for each donation amount to demonstrate the impact of each donation.
Their mission is to build wells and sanitation solutions at schools throughout sub-Saharan Africa, enabling youth to fully harness the life-changing power of education. Their goal is to provide schools and communities with tools they need to improve child health, increase school enrollment rates, and promote gender equality.
They build wells and sanitation solutions at schools and teach the importance of clean water, hands and living spaces – empowering children (particularly girls) to go to school instead of spending hours fetching drinking water. Their commitment involves more than just drilling a well, they also train the local community in basic well maintenance, so that the wells are fully sustainable.
They serve their mission of ending the water crisis with a staff of 21.
They’ve worked in hundreds of villages, partnering with the community to build wells and sanitation solutions at schools.
Activities across East Africa.
“We clean water for kids.”
Splash is a social justice organization committed to the poor, an international development agency disciplined around urban economies, a social enterprise dedicated to putting ourselves out of business, and a safe water company focused on children.
Splash develops customized water interventions, installing commercial-grade water filtration systems that remove 99.9999% of bacterial pathogens to meet or exceed World Health Organization standards. They also provide durable, child-friendly drinking and hand washing stations so that kids can access the water easily. Their colorful station designs have been developed and field-tested through multiple iterations to make sure that kids are excited to use them. Splash encourages long-term behavior change by instilling in kids, teachers, staff, and parents the value of safe drinking water and good hygiene throughout their lives.
They operate with a staff of over 50 people.
Because of Splash, over 1,600 child-serving institutions now provide clean water for over 400,000 kids.
They work in Ethiopia, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Thailand.
UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6 calls to ensure universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for all by 2030. This means effectively ending the global water crisis in a handful of years.
Access to clean drinking water changes everything; it’s a stepping-stone to development. When people gain access to clean water, they are better able to practice good hygiene and sanitation. Children enjoy good health and are more likely to attend school. Lives of women and children improve. Parents put aside their worries about water-related diseases and lack of access to clean water. Instead, they can water crops and livestock and diversify their incomes. Communities develop and thrive.
Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that communities value and demand clean water, hygienic environments, and decent sanitation as their basic human right. And these 10 water nonprofits are at the forefront of the battle!
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Ilma Ibrisevic is a content creator and nonprofit writer. She’s passionate about meaningful work, sustainability, and social movements. If she’s not working, she’s obsessing over coffee or cooking. You can connect with her on Linkedin.
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Ilma Ibrisevic