Frequently Asked Questions

You can donate using any major credit card or via PayPal here. Please visit Ways to Donate for more options to make a donation. 

Thank you for thinking of Water.org. We offer multiple planned giving options. Visit here to learn more about how you can leave a legacy of safe water. 

To make a donation in someone’s honor, fill out the donation form here and at the bottom of the form select the box that says, "I would like this donation to be made in honor of someone." You can then write a custom message that we will email to the person you are honoring. 

Giving the gift of safe water is always a good idea - for a birthday, Mother’s Day, retirement or any other special occasion. To do so, make a donation online, and at the bottom of the form select the box that says, “I would like this donation to be made in honor of someone.” You can then write a custom message that we will send to your recipient. 

Yes, and thank you for your interest in being a business that gives back. Please visit our cause marketing page to learn more, register your business and start changing lives today. 

Donations of $5,000 USD or more can be designated to a country or region where we work. Please contact us if interested.

The most efficient and effective way to make an impact is to make a general donation to Water.org. Your financial gift will be leveraged for the most urgent needs. Our more than 30 years of experience gives us the insights and learnings to maximize our impact together. Further, there are administrative costs associated with directing your funds to a specific country or geography which can decrease the overall impact of your gift.

We welcome donations from around the world. All donations are in USD. If a donation is made from an international bank account, there may be additional fees incurred with that transaction. 

Please mail donations to our donation processing center:

Chicago Lockbox
Water.org
P.O. Box 7410928
Chicago, IL 60674-0928 USA

All other mail can be addressed to our main office:

Water.org
117 West 20th Street, Suite 203
Kansas City, MO 64108-1909 USA

Gifts are deductible under applicable laws. Water.org is a US registered 501(c)(3) organization. Our Tax-ID number is 58-2060131. Please consult your tax professional if you have questions.

Thank you for your continued support. If you need to update your credit card information, please reach out to [email protected] or call 816-877-8451. 

We appreciate your support to help change lives with access to safe water and sanitation. You can cancel your monthly donation by contacting [email protected] or 816-877-8451. We hope our paths cross again in the future!

Yes, send a request to [email protected] and we will provide you one. 

Because opportunity starts with water. Access to safe water can protect and save lives, just because it's there. Access to safe water has the power to turn time spent into time saved, when it's close and not hours away. Access to safe water can turn problems into potential: unlocking education, economic prosperity, and improved health. Water is the way to break the cycle of poverty, to protect and save lives and to make a bright future possible for all.

Here are a few reasons to donate to Water.org:

• We are a smart way to make a big impact. We empower people through access to affordable financing to install toilets or taps in their home. This unlocks opportunity for education, economic potential, and improved health.
• Our solutions are working and gaining momentum. With our unique approach, we can now reach millions of people every few months, and to date we’ve empowered more than 73 million people with access to safe water and sanitation.
• We drive sustainable, long-term impact. Our solution provides families with a sustainable water or sanitation solution for their home, rather than a temporary fix. It helps the people we empower solve their immediate need, and continues to enrich their lives long after the loan has been repaid.

Our financial statements and annual reports are available here. 

When you donate to Water.org, you can be assured that your donation is making an impact in the area that needs it most. We are excellent stewards of all gifts we receive, which is why so many partners, like Starbucks, Stella Artois, the Bank of America Foundation, and Acqua for Life support our work.

Water.org maintains the highest rating from Charity Navigator and is recognized as an accredited charity with the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance.

For more information, our financial statements are available here. We are confident that we deliver effective solutions that will transform lives with safe water and sanitation, and we’d love for you to be a part of our work.

On average, it costs $5 to reach one person with safe water or sanitation. This cost is derived from the total organizational costs divided by the total number of people served during the fiscal years of 2016-2020. A household is defined as 4.75 people. So, $5 x 4.75 equals approximately $25. This number may continue to evolve as we seek to develop the most effective ways to reach more people with safe water and sanitation.

Learn more about how we are able to reach more people at a lower cost here.

Click here to sign up for email updates and keep up to date on the life-changing work you help make possible.

There are many ways to get involved with Water.org, from fundraising to raising awareness of the global water crisis. Learn more here.

Thank you for your interest in changing lives with safe water through your business. Please see the business and group donation options here.  

You can raise money to change lives with safe water! Thank you for considering using your passions, talents, and connections to do so. To set up an online fundraiser, click here and choose “Start a fundraiser” and invite your friends and family to donate. 

We love it when our supporters get creative and come up with personalized ideas. Or you’re welcome to try one of these:

• Donate a special day like your birthday or wedding by asking for donations instead of gifts.
• Plan a run or walk, raising awareness of women and children in the developing world who walk each day to collect water. 
• Take an athletic approach and turn your sweat into safe water. Ask friends and family to support you as you gear up for your run, bike, swim or other athletic event.
• Host a movie or trivia night. Donate the proceeds from ticket sales and concessions.
• Get in the kitchen and plan a bake sale or lemonade or hot cocoa stand.

Yes! You can support us by shopping with businesses that give back. From coffee to water bottles to carpet cleaning to jewelry – shop online with these businesses and your purchases will support our work to bring water and sanitation to families around the world. 

Thank you for your interest in volunteering. Because our smart solutions rely on local in-country partners and the people we serve to implement, we don't have volunteer opportunities at this time. If you are looking for additional ways to provide support, we encourage you to visit our Ways to Donate page.

At this time Water.org does not have an internship program. All current job opportunities are listed here. 

Check here and see. You'll find both national and international openings listed. We’d love for you to join us and help change the world.

If you would like a Water.org employee to speak at an event, please fill out this form. Please be as specific as possible with your request so that we can best serve you. Please know we are not able to respond and fulfill every request; however, we will reach out to you if there is a fit.

If you are looking to interview a Water.org team member, please fill out this form. Please be as specific as possible with your request so that we can best serve you.

We are honored to be considered for your project. Due to the high volume of requests we get from students conducting research, we are unable to answer individual questions. We do provide many helpful resources on our website to learn about our work – the water crisis, our WaterCredit solution, where we work, and hope these support your needs.

Mr. Damon receives an extremely high volume of requests for his time and assistance. We forward these requests to his publicist on a regular basis. Submit your request or invitation here. Please know that Water.org is not an agent of Mr. Damon and we cannot guarantee a response. 

You are welcome to use any of our photos or videos as long as you give Water.org proper credit by stating "photo (or video) by Water.org". Please also feel free to share facts about the water crisis to support your efforts. 

To minimize our costs, we do not print and send materials. Feel free to print communications you may need, such as About Us, facts about the water crisis, as well as photos and stories of the people we empower. 

Today, 2.2 billion people – about 1 in 4 – lack access to safe water and 3.5 billion people – about 2 in 5 - don’t have access to a safe toilet. At Water.org we are working to change this.

Learn more about the water and sanitation crisis here.

In 1990, Gary White founded WaterPartners International. In 2009, Gary and Matt Damon met and joined together to create Water.org. For more than 30 years, we’ve made it our mission to bring access to safe water and sanitation to the world. We are an international nonprofit that pioneers market-driven financial solutions to end the global water crisis. 

The scale of the water crisis demands many different approaches. Providing water and building wells is one approach. We have a different and entirely unique approach.

For millions around the world, access to funds stands between them and getting safe water in their home. Our solutions focus on breaking down this barrier. We help bring small, easily repayable loans to those who need access to affordable financing and expert resources to make household water and toilet solutions a reality.

One of the major barriers to safe water and sanitation is affordable financing. That’s why we created WaterCredit to address this barrier head-on. WaterCredit helps bring small, easily repayable loans to those who need access to affordable financing and expert resources to make household water and toilet solutions a reality. When given an opportunity to pay for water and sanitation improvements with loans, families opt to finance long-term solutions versus struggle day-to-day to find that next liter of water. And, every repaid loan can empower another family with safe water. 

It’s a proven, powerful solution that is working. Learn more here.

We’re not alone in our mission, which is a wonderful thing. It takes all kinds to solve a problem of this magnitude. But there are a few things that set us apart:

• We break down the barriers between people and access to safe water and sanitation. For millions around the world, access to funds stands between them and safe water at home. It's expensive to be poor. And people living in poverty are already paying for water - in time and money. We believe that if we can provide people with small, affordable loans for water connections and toilets, we can empower them to take control of their future and break down this barrier. 
• Our approach is proven and powerful. We can now reach millions of people every few months, and to date we’ve empowered more than 73 million people with access to safe water and sanitation.
• We believe in the power and autonomy of the people we serve. They are people with financial power, rights, and the capabilities to define their own futures. They know the specific needs of their own homes and communities and what will work; we have resources that can help make it happen.
• We drive sustainable, long-term impact. Our solution provides families with a sustainable water or sanitation solution for their home, rather than a temporary fix. It helps the people we empower solve their immediate need, and continues to enrich their lives long after the loan has been repaid.

Water.org currently works in Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania and Uganda. We previously had programs in El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras. Click here for more specific information about our work in each country.

We work in countries that have critical water and sanitation needs as well as a market that supports our financial solutions. Water.org currently has programs in Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania and Uganda.

Water.org maintains a robust strategy to monitor and evaluate all of our programs. We work closely with our in-country partners to design a program that is right for them and help ensure the program is successful and meeting household needs in the area. Water.org staff communicates with partners on a weekly, and often daily basis as well as conducts occasional visits with our partners and the households we serve. These visits help to validate the work our partner is doing, ensure borrowers are being treated ethically, and confirm that water and sanitation improvements are being installed and are functional. 

Water.org empowers families with access to safe water and sanitation through affordable financing. We partner with high-quality, in-country financial organizations who have passed a rigorous certification process. With this in mind, we do not endorse or utilize any particular water treatment or water distribution products or processes. In our experience, the knowledge and hardware for a successful project are readily available through local resources.

Thank you for your support of and interest in solving the global water and sanitation crisis. Water.org empowers families with access to safe water and sanitation through affordable financing. We partner with high-quality, in-country financial organizations who have passed a rigorous certification process. In our experience, the knowledge and hardware for a successful project are readily available regionally. With this in mind, we do not utilize or endorse commercial products. Learn more about WaterCredit here. 

Because Water.org is a 501(c)(3) organization, all of our funding goes directly through our certified local partner organizations. These financial institutions establish water and sanitation loans in their portfolio of offerings to provide affordable loans to families in need. Therefore, we do not give funding for special projects outside of our organization. 

If your community is in a country where we work, we encourage you to reach out to our financial partners directly for financing opportunities. Please contact us to obtain a list of our partners in your country. Currently Water.org has partners in Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania and Uganda.. 

If your community does not fall within this list, we are unable to provide assistance. The following are directories that may be helpful in locating other organizations in the water and sanitation sector that may be active in your area:

• Millennium Water Alliance
• End Water Poverty
• Global Water Challenge