NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Glenn Gamboa

Water.org announced a $1 billion plan Tuesday to help 100 million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America get lasting access to water and sanitation.

The Water.org Water & Climate Fund, unveiled at the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York, plans to use $50 million in philanthropic money to create a billion-dollar investment portfolio to help bring new water delivery and wastewater treatment projects to underserved communities, then use those communities’ utility bills to fund further projects. Amazon donated the first $10 million of philanthropic money needed for the fund.

It was the day’s largest proposal at the conference, which convened world leaders from politics, business and philanthropy for the first time since 2016. And it showed how the conference encourages nonprofits to take on increasingly ambitious projects to tackle the world’s toughest problems.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.