News, Press & Perspectives

Find the latest news and press releases about our work in the water and sanitation sector below. 

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Get Blue_Press release header June 2026[87]
Water.org and Founding Partners Launch Get Blue™ to Bring Water Home™ Through Everyday Actions

June 9, 2026

Join Get Blue™, co-founded by Water.org’s Matt Damon and Gary White, and partners Gap Inc., Starbucks, Amazon, and Ecolab to shop, share, and donate to help end the global water crisis.

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The TODAY Show - Matt Damon, Gary White Talk Global Water Crisis and Solutions

June 9, 2026

Water.org co-founders Gary White and Matt Damon joined the TODAY Show to talk about Get Blue and why bringing safe water home for families around the world is within reach. "It's a massive problem but we have solutions," Damon says. Five dollars helps one person get lasting access to safe water or sanitation.

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TIME - Water Will Be the Defining Business Issue of the Decade

Jan. 23, 2026

Water shapes how people spend their time, the choices available to them, and their ability to participate in community and economic life. For the estimated 2.1 billion people who lack access to safe water and the 3.4 billion who lack access to safe sanitation, water dictates everything.

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TIME - Vedika Bhandarkar Believes We Can Solve the Water Crisis in Our Lifetime

May 1, 2025

TIME profiles Water.org President & COO Vedika Bhandarkar as part of Gold House’s A100 List, honoring the most impactful Asian Pacific leaders. Drawing on her 25-year career in finance, Vedika is helping unlock capital and scale smart solutions to accelerate access to safe water and sanitation, driving progress toward a world where everyone everywhere has the resources they need to thrive.

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NextBillion - The Keys to Successful Blue Bonds: How Peru’s Strong Local Lending Systems Are Expanding Water and Sanitation Access

May 26, 2026

For millions of families safe water solutions exist and are within reach — what's missing is affordable financing to pay for them. Water.org's Rocio Cavazos explains how two blue bond issuances are closing that gap for people in need in Peru, and what it took to build the lending systems that made them possible.

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A cyclist and a horse-cart carriage pass each other in a flooded area after heavy rain caused a river overflow, submerging scores of homes in Bandung, Indonesia on March 16, 2025. Timur Matahari—AFP/Getty Images
TIME - The Key to Solving the Global Water Crisis

March 22, 2025

The global water crisis is one of the most urgent and complex challenges facing humanity today. More than 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water, and 3.5 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation. This crisis undermines health and safety, education, and economic opportunity.

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An idea that is changing charity

Feb. 19, 2019

Our smart solution has proven that if you invest in women, they’ll change their world. Read more about why we created WaterCredit from Gary White, Water.org CEO and Co-founder.

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Bloomberg - Ending the World's Water Crisis

Jan. 28, 2019

Matt Damon and Gary White speak to Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua at The Year Ahead luncheon in Davos, Switzerland, about utilizing both direct philanthropic efforts and micro-finance investments to provide access to water and sanitation.

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Stella Artois is Bringing Back The Dude and Carrie Bradshaw This Super Bowl For a Good Cause

Jan. 28, 2019

Jeff Bridges and Sarah Jessica Parker are changing up their usual to join Stella Artois and Water.org in their new “Pour it Forward®” campaign to help end the global water crisis.

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CNBC - Water.org has helped 16 million people so far

Jan. 28, 2019

“Our model is undeniable now.” -Co-founder Matt Damon. Through access to affordable financing, we’re changing more lives faster with safe water and sanitation.

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Forbes - Water.org Takes Impact Investing Plunge

Jan. 2, 2019

“It took Water.org about 20 years to reach one million people through the traditional approach of digging wells and installing toilets. We are now reaching over one million people a quarter." Hear more from Gary White about the power of impact investing to change lives with safe water.

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Nobel Week Dialogue - Water Matters

Dec. 19, 2018

“What we’ve done is allow more than 16 million people to become their own activists and get access to water and sanitation through small loans.” Hear from our co-founder and CEO Gary White at this year's Nobel Week Dialogue discussion - Water Matters.

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Women's Forum Global Meeting - Investing to meet the SDGs

Dec. 4, 2018

"The mindset needs to be changed from the people living in poverty as a problem for us to solve. Rather, see them as a market to be served." Gary White, CEO and Co-founder, speaks on a panel at the Women's Forum Global Meeting.

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The Atlantic Water Summit - Ensuring Safe Water for All

Dec. 4, 2018

Gary White, CEO and Co-founder, discusses efforts to provide safe water worldwide at The Atlantic Water Summit in New York.

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Ethiopia Herald - Accelerating access to safe water through affordable financing

Nov. 21, 2018

Read how Water.org is working with local partners in Ethiopia to break down barriers to help more people get access to safe water and sanitation and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6.

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Harvard Business School Alumni - A market-based approach to solving the world's water crisis

Nov. 21, 2018

Jennifer Tisdel Schorsch, President of Water.org, discusses the way the organization approaches financing solutions to the global water crisis.

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CEO Magazine - The power of purpose

Nov. 15, 2018

From Matt Damon to Mark Zuckerberg, celebrities and tycoons are using their platforms for positive action.

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Winrock's SWP & Water.org Partner For Water Security & Access In Cambodia

Nov. 8, 2018

Water.org and the USAID Sustainable Water Partnership (SWP), implemented by Winrock International, will mobilize $4M in microloans to improve water access, sanitation and hygiene for 37,000 people in Cambodia.

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