Water For Good kicks off 3-year plan

Bentonville-based nonprofit Water for Good recently released a three-year plan with goals to nearly double the number of people it serves globally with sustainable water, improved sanitation and hygiene education services. The nonprofit aims to raise $44.1 million to achieve its goals over the next three years.

Water for Good expects to increase the number of people it serves annually from about 1.35 million in 2025 to more than 2.6 million by 2028. The nonprofit, which operates in five countries across Africa and Asia, has focused its plan on expanding access to safe water and community health, and on increasing its operations and technical assistance related to the long-term reliability of water access systems.

Globally, about 696 million people lack basic access to water, and 60% of water systems in sub-Saharan Africa are nonfunctional due to maintenance challenges, according to the organization’s report. Water for Good’s three-year plan aims to scale its Vision of a Healthy Village model, which integrates water access, sanitation, hygiene education and ongoing maintenance into a system designed to improve long-term outcomes. The nonprofit’s work has contributed to a median 90% reduction in childhood diarrheal disease prevalence and a 90% functionality rate for water access systems.

The plan’s four focus areas include expanding water access and community health programs, scaling operations and maintenance services, providing technical assistance to partners and governments, and testing a drilling enterprise in Ethiopia to address infrastructure gaps.

The fundraising goal of $44.1 million is the amount needed to meet operational goals over the next three years, according to the nonprofit’s spokesman. The amount includes a $5 million cushion for contingencies.

Water for Good has 263 employees, including 26 U.S. staff, 10 of whom work remotely and 16 work at the Bentonville office.