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:
Stock or Bank Transfer
If you’d like to give a gift via Bank Transfer or stock, please reach out to connect@charitywater.org for our account information.
Crypto
When you donate crypto directly to charity: water, we immediately convert your coins into fiat. Please visit charitywater.org/crypto to learn more.
DAF
When granting through your donor-advised fund, please use the following information:
How water project sponsorship 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 £8,000 and can cost £25,000 or more depending on the location and project type.
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.
You receive Progress Reports
The average water project takes 21+ months to complete. We’ll keep you updated along the way.
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.
Featured programs
charity: water actively works in 22 countries worldwide. The featured four highlight the variety of solutions, programs, and costs across our portfolio.
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.
6 MONTHS
Our partners complete extensive research and prep work. They acquire permits and supplies, partner with local communities, train local caretakers, and begin water point construction.
You receive your first Progress Report!
6-12 MONTHS
Our partners continue construction work, collect midterm reports, and send us progress updates.
12 MONTHS
Our partners finish the construction and train local communities to use and maintain their water points.
You receive your second Progress Report!
12-15 MONTHS
Our partners collect photos and GPS coordinates of the completed projects and send us information about the specific communities served.
21+ MONTHS
We verify final data from our partners and prepare Completion Reports.
Time to celebrate! You receive your Completion Report.
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
Twice a year, our partners submit grants with specific project costs. Our Programs Finance team closely examines these grants to ensure that they are accurate and reasonable. Project costs can vary greatly depending on technology, country, and partner organisations, but the majority of water projects are in the £8,000-£25,000 cost range.
Of course, water project costs are not usually a neatly rounded number. We promise, however, that 100% of your money will always go toward a water project. For example, if you donate £8,000 for a drilled well, but it ends up costing £7,200, the extra £800 will go toward another charity: water project. If the project cost ends up at £8,800, funds from other charity: water donors will cover the remainder. You will still be recognised as the project sponsor.
Each year, our local partners select the communities that will receive a water project. To make these decisions, they take factors like location, assessments of need, community engagement, presence of other organisations, and availability of spare parts or repair services into account. They also often work closely with the local government to identify target communities.
We have specific water project opportunities available in a variety of countries. If you feel strongly about supporting a specific country or region, a member of our development team will be happy to walk you through these opportunities. Please know, however, that we are limited by the grants currently available.
Undesignated gifts will be sent to the country where your donation will make the greatest impact. These countries are selected by our experienced Water Programs team which works closely with our local partners to assess needs and opportunities.
The Water Programs team identifies local partners via various WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) sector networks like Rural Water Supply Network, WASH Funders Forum, and other country-level networks and consortia. In addition, our Programs team often asks for referrals from existing partners. Once identified, our team meets with potential new partners and vets their programs and processes before formally bringing them on. We also make regular visits to our existing partners to ensure project quality and integrity.
In most programs, the community is engaged from the beginning. Our local partners prepare communities to receive a water point and often ask them to participate in some part of the construction process. For those who are able, that might look like carrying bags of cement mix, constructing BioSand Filters, or helping dig ditches for a piped system.
Our partners also typically form and train local water committees — a group of community members who are responsible for collecting water fees and maintaining the water point. Underserved or minority community members are intentionally represented on these committees.
charity: water works in some of the most challenging environments in the world. Naturally, that means that forces beyond our control occasionally require a change of plans. The list of uncertainties we've encountered is long: governments collapse, policies change, roads get washed out, pipes break, wells come up dry, or community needs change.
No matter what happens, we promise that 100% of your donation will directly fund water project costs. In addition to progress updates, we'll inform you if the location of your sponsored project has to change. In the unlikely event that we need to totally reallocate your funds, we'll put them toward projects substantially similar to the one you chose to support in the first place. If we absolutely cannot find a suitable project in the country you had hoped to help, we'll work with you to find an alternative.
You’ll receive three reports throughout the 21+ month project implementation timeline. Both your first and second Progress Reports will share more information about our local partner, their programming, and their progress so far.
To set expectations, please know that your project will be part of a larger grant. Your first two reports will feature updates at the grant level. Information specific to your exact project — GPS coordinates, photos, and more — will be included in your Completion Report.
Your Completion Report is delivered to you as soon as your sponsored project is complete and all final data is received and verified. It will include the following information:
- Community name
- Type of water project technology used
- GPS coordinates
- Population served
- Photos of the project, when available
We allow 21+ months for project implementation because we don't consider a project “complete” until we verify that all components are in place and working for the community. For example, we confirm that community trainings are complete, the water quality has been tested, and community surveys have been issued and collected. We also check the photos and GPS coordinates. All of this information is provided by our local partners and verified internally before assembling your Completion Report.
Once a project is built, it belongs to the local community. Thanks to trainings throughout the implementation process, the community should be able to afford and manage most routine repairs. charity: water stays engaged so that if they do run into problems that are beyond their ability to address, some outside help can be arranged. Specific examples of various project life expectancies are below:
Drilled well with hand-pump: A drilled well, also known as a borehole, has an estimated lifespan of 20-50 years. The hand pump installed on the borehole can have a lifespan of up to 15 years when well maintained.charity: water works closely with our local partners to provide geophysical mapping of aquifers with adequate water supply. Skilled engineers on our partner staff also provide close technical oversight of drillers, ensuring use of the highest quality hand pump materials in areas where groundwater is corrosive. (For example, using stainless steel pipes instead of galvanised iron.) High-quality hardware is the first step in ensuring that a drilled well with a hand pump can achieve its maximum lifespan.
BioSand Filters: Concrete BSFs can last for more than 25 years. If properly installed and used, the sand and gravel do not have to be replaced. BSFs also require very little cleaning.
Piped systems: A piped water system with tap stands has an estimated lifespan of 10+ years when properly built and maintained. To extend a system’s lifespan, our local partners take geophysical characteristics and population growth into account. For example, population growth for the next 20 years is considered for new piped water systems. They are therefore designed to be easily expanded and extended. High-quality hardware also contributes to a system’s lifespan. Like hand pumps, most piped systems use a drilled borehole (or multiple) as their water source. Our partners are careful to use stainless steel pipes in environments with corrosive groundwater.Overall, if the system is built with high-quality materials and maintained well, piped systems have a strong likelihood of lasting beyond a decade.
While you’ll receive the GPS coordinates for your sponsored water project, many of these communities are in rural, hard-to-reach places. We rarely facilitate visits to individual projects, and we generally don’t encourage it. The primary reason is that donor trips require ample coordination with our local partners, which inevitably takes time away from building water projects.
However, in the spirit of transparency, we do occasionally coordinate international trips for members of The Well — a group of philanthropists who invest in our operational costs — or Water Project Sponsors who have supported us for many years at a significant level.
Team member
If you have additional questions, please reach out. We’d love to tell you more about Water Project Sponsorship opportunities.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- mobilisation: Vehicle rental, vehicle repairs, fuel, meals, and lodging.
- SUSTAINABILITY: Needs assessments, establishment of water point management groups, technical training, and routine monitoring.
Types of projects
Explore some of our different project types:
Piped systems
Networks of pipes supply clean water to different community tap stands.
Learn More
Rehabilitations
A team repairs broken projects to restore clean water to a community.
Learn More
Other Ways to Give
Check
Kindly make checks payable to charity: water and use “Water Project Sponsorship 2022” on any references or memos. Our mailing address is:charity: waterPO Box 5026Hagerstown, MD 21741-5026
Stock
Please notify your charity: water representative of your stock gift so we can correctly credit your donation.
The security that you wish to donate can be electronically transferred directly to charity: water’s account, as follows:
Crypto
When you donate crypto directly to charity: water, we immediately convert your coins into fiat. Please visit charitywater.org/crypto
The journey of your donation
Watch this video to see how your donation turns into water, sanitation, and hygiene resources that transform entire communities and impact more people than you know.