Water Project Sponsorship

By sponsoring a project, you can provide clean water for a community, school, or health clinic. 100% of your donation will fund clean water.

You can also give by:

^Check

^{Stock or Wire}

^Crypto

^DAF

How sponsoring a project works

While building a water project is no simple task, we think sponsoring one should be. Here are three steps you can expect:

You make a donation

On average, projects start at $10,000 and can cost $25,000 or more depending on the location and project type.

^{Covered costs}

We match you with a water project

A member of our team will be in touch to allocate your donation to an appropriate water project.

^{Example projects}

You receive Progress Reports

The average water project takes 21+ months to complete. We’ll keep you updated along the way.

^{Reporting timeline}

Looking to dive deeper into the details? Give this video a watch.

A tailored approach

No two communities are the same, and neither are their water solutions. That’s why our local partners carefully consider factors like geography, water availability, and culture before proposing the right solution.

Drilled wells

A drilling team drills deep into the earth to reach fresh aquifers.

^{Learn More}

Featured programs

charity: water actively works in 22 countries worldwide. The featured four highlight the variety of solutions, programs, and costs across our portfolio.

India

Malawi

Nepal

Uganda

India

India is the seventh-largest country by land area and the second-most populous in the world. Although the national government is committed to improving sanitation and water access, their ambitious goals need outside partnerships to create widespread change. Today, the government is working on the Jal Jeevan Mission, an initiative to bring piped water to every household in India by 2024. Our local partners are supporting these efforts.

Meet a local partner

We began working with Gram Vikas in 2008. After a 4-year pause due to a capacity-building period at Gram Vikas, we resumed our partnership in 2018. Gram Vikas specializes in piped water systems in the states of Odisha and Jharkhand, where access to improved water and sanitation services remains low. While they are a social-technical partner to the government, they are fully funded by humanitarian organizations.

We’re funding piped systems with household tap stands in India.

Reporting back

Sponsoring a water project is a major investment — and we want you to feel informed. From start to finish, the average project takes 21+ months to complete. You’ll receive two Progress Reports during that time as well as a Completion Report.

Implementation cycle begins

100% of your donation will be sent to our local partners in either January or July – when our implementation cycle begins. That means it may take several months for your donation to reach our partners. Once it’s received, however, they quickly get to work.

We prove every project

Once completed, we'll show you the water project(s) you funded with photos and GPS coordinates. Your virtual recognition will be featured on our Completed Projects Map.

See Proof

Frequently asked questions

How does charity: water determine the cost of sponsoring a project?

How do you choose which communities will receive a water project?

Can I choose where my donation goes?

How do you choose your local partners?

Is the community involved in building a charity: water project?

Have you encountered challenges or delays in the past?

What’s included in progress reporting and why does it take 21+ months to get a Completion Report?

How long do water projects last?

Can I visit the project I funded?

TALK TO A

Team member

If you have additional questions, please reach out. We’d love to tell you more about Water Project Sponsorship opportunities.

Giving as

An individual or family?

Email Emma

A business or corporate foundation?

Contact Ashley

Ready to change everything?

When a community, school, or health clinic receives access to clean water, everything changes. Health improves. Girls don’t miss school. Parents have time to earn extra income.

It is truly one of the best investments you can make. We hope you’ll make it with us.

Interested in making clean water part of your lasting legacy? Learn more about The Tributary

DAF

When granting through your donor-advised fund, please use the following information:

Our legal name: Charity Global, Inc.

Tax ID: #22-3936753

Mailing address: PO Box 5026, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5026

Check donations

Kindly make checks payable to charity: water and use “Water Project Sponsorship” on any references or memos. Our mailing address is:

charity: water

PO Box 5026

Hagerstown, MD 21741-5026

Stock or Wire

If you’d like to give a gift via wire or stock, please reach out to connect@charitywater.org for our account information.

We're able to accept donations in the form of stock, government (including municipal) debt, and corporate debt through the Depository Trust Company (DTC). For security, settlement, and reduced paperwork, electronic transfer through the DTC is preferred. This can be arranged from most brokerage accounts.

Crypto

When you donate crypto directly to charity: water, we immediately convert your coins into fiat. Please visit charitywater.org/crypto to learn more.

Where your money goes

Project costs include physical project construction, sanitation and hygiene programs, and sustainability initiatives.

PERSONNEL: Program management, engineers, technicians, hydrogeologists, drillers, welders, drivers, community trainers, and hygiene specialists.

LOCAL PROGRAM SUPPORT: Accountants, grant managers, facilities and office admin, computers, phones, space rental, maintenance, utilities, and insurance.

MATERIALS: Cement, pipes, pumps, solar panels, construction supplies, spare parts, training manuals, digital cameras, and GPS devices.

MOBILIZATION: Vehicle rental, vehicle repairs, fuel, meals, and lodging.

SUSTAINABILITY: Needs assessments, establishment of water point management groups, technical training, and routine monitoring.

Drilled wells

Drilled wells are used when groundwater is available and reachable by either mechanical or manual drilling methods. A borehole is drilled, lined, and tested for water quality to ensure it can supply enough safe water for the community. If necessary, the well is also disinfected. Finally, the well is fitted with a pump that will bring clean water to the surface.

Piped systems with tap stands

Piped systems are good options if a water source has a high enough yield to sustain multiple water distribution points or is too far away for a community to access. These interconnected pipelines use gravity, electricity, solar power, or a combination of these methods to bring clean water directly to distribution points. The system’s size and structure is tailored to the geography, amount of water available, and financial and technical resources. In some cases, partners can use existing infrastructure. They may rehabilitate non-functional parts or add extensions to existing systems to bring water to more people.

BioSand Filters

BioSand Filters kill 99% of bacteria in dirty water. It is a simple, low-cost solution that cleans water quickly by filtering dirty water through a biological film, coarse sand, fine sand, and gravel. A spout is installed to access the filtered water.

Rehabilitations

Sometimes, existing water points need repairs that exceed the financial or technical capacity of the local government and community. Rehabilitating a well or piped system can cost almost as much as building a new one because rehabilitation may require heavy machinery, replacement of hardware and concrete, or the reformation of Water User Committees. Still, it’s an efficient solution because it avoids drilling a new well.

Spring protections

For communities already using nearby and naturally occurring springs as their water source, a spring protection system is sometimes preferred. As the name suggests, this system protects naturally clean spring water from outside contaminants — like livestock and bathing — and provides safe access points for the community to collect it.

Rainwater harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is a preferred solution for areas that receive significant annual rainfall. These projects are often large enough to harvest and safely store the water for use throughout the dry season. They’re also an ideal alternative for regions where safe groundwater and public water services are unavailable, unreliable, or too expensive to access.