Water.org

Last updated
Water.org
Formation2009 (1990 as WaterPartners)
Type Developmental aid organization
Executive Director
 Gary White
Key people
Website www.water.org

Water.org is an international nonprofit organization that helps people living in poverty get access to safe water and improved sanitation through affordable financing. This organization was founded by Matt Damon and Gary White.

Contents

Water.org currently works in 11 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America: Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

Description

In 1990, Gary White founded WaterPartners International. [1] White had observed that people were paying high prices for water, whether paying a local water vendor or paying with their time by walking to collect water. He had an idea to loan people the money upfront for them to finance the purchase and installation of a water tap or toilet. [2] In 2008, the first loans for water connections and toilets were distributed in India. [3]

Water.org utilizes microfinancing solutions to help people in need of loans for water and sanitation. [4] Water.org partners with local financial institutions in the countries they work in to add water and sanitation loans to their portfolios. [5]

Many families cannot pay to connect to local water networks. A loan for water allows families to connect to a water supply and even get a faucet inside their home. This saves families money from paying large portions of their income to a water vendor. It also results in women and children having more time to attend work and school that was previously spent walking to collect water. [6]

Corporate partnerships

Water.org has partnered with corporate sponsors to promote awareness and raise funds. [7] In this context, co-founder Matt Damon has been the face of advertising campaigns to promote Water.org in conjunction with products from major sponsors.

In October 2011, Water.org received an $8 million grant from the PepsiCo Foundation to scale up WaterCredit, tying in with the Aquafina and Ethos Water brands of bottled water owned by PepsiCo and Starbucks. [8] [9] [10]

Stella Artois became a Water.org partner in 2015. In January 2018, their new commercial, which premiered during the NFL Super Bowl, encouraged viewers to contribute to the work of Water.org by purchasing a limited-edition Stella Artois "blue chalice", imprinted with an embellished blue version of the brand's logo. [11] Each purchase would help Water.org provide up to five years of clean water for one person in the developing world. [12] [13] [14]

In October 2021, a new partnership was announced with the cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com, whereby Water.org was to receive a $1 million donation. The announcement quoted Damon as saying, "Crypto.com gave us this great donation, which is amazing. The money that I make for the commercials to promote them, I give 100% of that to Water.org as well. So, it's millions of dollars coming in to us. The thing that we really are proud of with what we're doing and where it relates to Crypto.com is the self-determination piece, because it's about giving people more power. It's about just creating an environment where people can help themselves." [15] [16] [17] [18]

Ratings

As of December 2020, Charity Navigator gave the organization 4 out of 4 stars, with an overall score of 95.75 out of 100. Water.org has received a 4 out of 4 star rating for 11 years. [19] The organization is recognized as an accredited charity by the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, [20] and has a "Platinum Seal of Transparency" from Guidestar. [21]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella Artois</span> Belgian pilsner

Stella Artois is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia, where it has a reduced ABV. Stella Artois is owned by Interbrew International B.V. which is a subsidiary of the world's largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Damon</span> American actor, film producer, and screenwriter (born 1970)

Matthew Paige Damon is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among Forbes' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North American box office, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received various awards and nominations, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Skoll</span> Canadian engineer, internet entrepreneur and film producer

Jeffrey Stuart Skoll, OC is a Canadian engineer, billionaire internet entrepreneur and film producer. He was the first president of eBay, eventually using the wealth this gave him to become a philanthropist, particularly through the Skoll Foundation, and his media company Participant Media. He founded an investment firm, Capricorn Investment Group, soon after and currently serves as its chairman. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he graduated from University of Toronto in 1987 and left Canada to attend Stanford University's business school in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Cotton</span> Welsh entrepreneur and philanthropist (born 1950)

Ann Lesley Cotton OBE is a Welsh entrepreneur and philanthropist who was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2006 Queen's New Year Honours List. The honour was in recognition of her services to education of young women in rural Africa as the founder of Camfed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiva (organization)</span> Micro-loan platform

Kiva is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, that claims to allow people to lend money via the Internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students in 77 countries. Kiva's mission is "to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive." They have been accused of deceptive business practices, misleading donors into believing their funds would be used for specific individuals and misrepresenting other aspects of their operations.

The H2O Africa Foundation was an NGO founded by Matt Damon to raise awareness about clean water initiatives in Africa. It was part of the Running the Sahara expedition and documentary project undertaken by Damon, James Moll, LivePlanet, and the Independent Producers Alliance. In July 2009, the H2O Africa Foundation merged with WaterPartners to form Water.org, an organization co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White of WaterPartners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skoll Foundation</span> US philanthropic foundation funding social entrepreneurs

The Skoll Foundation is a private foundation based in Palo Alto, California. The foundation makes grants and investments intended to reduce global poverty. Jeffrey Skoll created the foundation in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WaterPartners</span>

WaterPartners International was an American nonprofit developmental aid organization tasked with the specific purpose of providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing countries. Founded in 1990, it has since provided safe drinking water and sanitation to more than 200 communities in eight countries – Bangladesh, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Guatemala, India, Kenya, and the Philippines. The organization's co-founder and current executive director Gary White is also a founding board member of the Global Water Challenge and Water Advocates.

The Jefferson Awards Foundation was created in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service. The Jefferson Awards are given at both national and local levels. Local winners are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition. Local winners come from national networks of "Media Partners" and "Corporate Champions", and from the associated "Students In Action", Lead360 and GlobeChangers programs. The Jefferson Awards Foundation is led by its CEO, Hillary Schafer, its president, Sam Beard, and its chairman, Jack Russi, in conjunction with the Foundation's board of governors.

VillageReach is a registered 501(c)(3) that works with governments to solve health care delivery challenges in low-resource communities. It is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, in the United States, with offices in various countries including Mozambique, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa. The VillageReach approach includes developing, testing, implementing, and scaling new systems, technologies and programs that improve health outcomes. This is achieved by extending the reach and enhancing the quality of health care. The benefits are manifested through supply chain and logistics improvements, information and communication technology, human resources for health, private sector engagement, and advocacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health Leads</span> Non-profit organization in the US

Health Leads is a national non-profit organization based in Boston with a stated vision of "health, dignity, and well-being for every person, in every community." The organization runs community-based programs and learning initiatives across the U.S. that focus on addressing social, racial, and economic factors that impact health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Chen</span>

Jane Marie Chen is the co-founder of Embrace, a social enterprise startup that produces a low-cost infant warmer, that gives premature and low-birth-weight infants a better chance at survival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yunus Social Business</span>

Yunus Social Business (YSB) is an impact-first organisation with a non-profit impact-investing arm, Yunus Funds, and a corporate social-innovation consulting arm, Yunus Corporate Innovation. Both business units are based on furthering the concept of social business, as developed by YSB Co-founder and Chairman Professor Muhammad Yunus.

KickStart International is a nonprofit social enterprise headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. KickStart designs and mass-markets climate-smart irrigation technology to smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, in order to enable a transition from subsistence agriculture to commercial irrigated agriculture. Donor funds are used to design the irrigation pumps, establish supply chains, demonstrate and promote the pumps, and educate farmers on the benefits and methods of small-scale irrigation.

INJAZ Al-Arab is a non-profit organization for education and training in workforce readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship across the Arab World. INJAZ Al-Arab is the Regional Operating Center of JA Worldwide (JAW), one of the largest global non-governmental organizations dedicated to addressing fundamental social and economic challenges faced by young people. INJAZ Al-Arab is also an active participant in the United Nations Global Compact. Over 3.7 million students have participated in a broad base of entrepreneurship training opportunities aimed at developing basic business skills to start and run their own businesses while obtaining soft skills increasingly demanded by the private sector. Since its inception, INJAZ Al-Arab has built a network of over 88,000 classroom volunteers, who are leaders from the corporate world. INJAZ Al-Arab has a Regional Board of Directors, which comprises 24 executives that manage some companies and institutions, as well as a team of staff, led by Akef Aqrabawi, President and CEO of the Middle East/North Africa for JA Worldwide,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary White (engineer)</span>

Gary White is the CEO and co-founder of Water.org.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Nolan</span>

Matt Nolan is an English drummer, bespoke musical instrument maker and metal sculptor. Nolan works as an independent cymbal and gong maker from his workshop in Bath in the South-West of England. Nolan is part of a small community of one-man "artisan cymbalsmiths" and attracts the interest of professional drummers and musicians. Nolan was an electrical engineer before he became an instrument maker. According to The Drummer's Journal, Nolan is "the only person in the UK independently making cymbals, alongside only a handful of other individuals worldwide."

Sally R. Osberg an American business executive who formerly served as president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, where she partnered with founder and chairman, Jeffrey Skoll. She was the founding executive director of the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashf Foundation</span>

Kashf Foundation is a non-profit organization, founded by Roshaneh Zafar in 1996. Kashf is regarded as the first microfinance institution (MFI) of Pakistan that uses village banking methodology in microcredit to alleviate poverty by providing affordable financial and non-financial services to low income households - particularly for women, to build their capacity and enhance their economic role. With headquarters in Lahore, Punjab, Kashf has regional offices in five major cities and over 200 branches across the Pakistan.

Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange company based in Singapore. As of May 2022, the company reportedly had 50 million customers and 4,000 employees. The exchange issues a token, Cronos.

References

  1. ↑ Sudekum Fisher, Maria (July 15, 2009). "Damon joins K.C. organization to provide for developing communities". Associated Press . Retrieved June 2, 2022– via Missourian.
  2. ↑ Porgas, Seth (January 26, 2017). "Water.org Cofounders Matt Damon & Gary White: Corporate Partnerships Are The Future Of Charity". Forbes . Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  3. ↑ McGirt, Ellen (2015). "Water.org Cofounders Matt Damon and Gary White are empowering the planet one tap at a time" (PDF). Tempus . Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  4. ↑ Brinton, Carlson. "World Water Day 2021: Water.org Is Fighting to End the Water Crisis". Green Living Magazine. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  5. ↑ Revkin, Andrew (29 September 2009). "Matt Damon's Quest for Clean African Water". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Brinton, Carlson. "World Water Day 2021: Water.org Is Fighting to End the Water Crisis". Green Living Magazine. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "Partners".
  8. ↑ "PepsiCo Foundation expands commitment to Water.org with $8 million contribution to scale "WaterCredit" across India". Water.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  9. ↑ Zmuda, Natalie (October 18, 2013). "Pepsi partners with Starbucks water brand. Also teams with Matt Damon's group to push charitable message behind Ethos". AdAge. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Why Matt Damon and Gary White of Water.org are friends of PepsiCo". youtube.com. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Stella Artois Limited Edition Chalice at Water.org (Matt Damon)". youtube.com. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Stella Artois And Water.org Team Up To Encourage Beer Lovers To 'Make Your Super Bowl Party Matter'". www.prnewswire.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  13. ↑ "Stella Artois Chalices". Water.org. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  14. ↑ "Stella Artois: Give the gift of time (Matt Damon for Water.org)". youtube.com. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  15. ↑ Conway, Jeff. "Matt Damon announces Water.org partnership with Crypto.com". forbes.com. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  16. ↑ Bhasin, Kim (October 28, 2021). "Matt Damon is the Face of Crypto.com". Bloomberg.
  17. ↑ "Fortune Favours the Brave – Crypto.com". youtube.com. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  18. ↑ "The making of Fortune Favours the Brave – Crypto.com". youtube.com. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Charity Navigator: Water.org" . Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  20. ↑ "Give.org: Water.org" . Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  21. ↑ "Guidestar: Water.org". Guidestar. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  22. ↑ "GWI Announces Winners of the 2019 Global Water Awards". WWD Magazine. April 25, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Angela Bassett, Orlando Bloom and Gal Gadot Among the Celebrity Presenters for the 14th Annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute". CNN. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  24. ↑ "International Peace Award" . Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  25. ↑ "Forbes Hosts Sixth Annual Forbes 400 Summit On Philanthropy In Honor Of Its 100th Anniversary". Forbes. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  26. ↑ "Water.org News, Press & Perspectives". Water.org. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  27. ↑ Schwab, Hilde (21 January 2014). "Meet the 2014 Crystal Award winners". WE Forum. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  28. ↑ "EMA Awards - Past Recipients and Honorees". EMA.
  29. ↑ "Awards: Social Entrepreneur". Schwab Foundation.
  30. ↑ Danson, Ted (21 April 2011). "Matt Damon and Gary White". Time. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  31. ↑ "2009 SKOLL AWARDS FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP". Skoll foundation. 26 March 2009.
  32. ↑ "Water.org News, Press & Perspectives". Water.org. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.