News, Press & Perspectives

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Today - Water.org campaign with Stella Artois

Jan. 16, 2018

Matt Damon and Gary White on the Today Show, discussing Water.org's partnership with Stella Artois

Ethiopia: Inventive Water Financing to Prop Up GTP II Targets

Dec. 30, 2017

Water, Water Everywhere, Costs More Than You Might Think

Dec. 7, 2017

The case for digital finance in the water sector

Matt Damon Wants You to Sit and Give

Nov. 14, 2017

Change a life with a toilet; donate to Water.org by texting TOILETS to 50555

Solving The Global Water Crisis: A Water.org Mission

Nov. 1, 2017

Gary White shares his experience in building Water.org to what it is now, the organization’s accomplishments and their plan to transform 60 million more lives in the next five years.

Answering the Call to Invest in the World’s Poor

Nov. 1, 2017

Article by Gary White, CEO and Co-founder of Water.org, for the International Water Association

A Kansas City Social Entrepreneur Says Global Water Crisis Can Be Solved In His Lifetime

Oct. 20, 2017

“It is doable,” White told host Steve Kraske on a recent edition of KCUR's Up to Date. “We solved this problem in the U.S. and in Europe more than 100 years ago. It's not rocket science. We're not looking for a silver bullet. We know how to do this.”

Forbes - How Matt Damon Plans To Get 500 Million People Access To Water - And Make A Buck For Investors

Sept. 21, 2017

Speaking at the 2017 Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy in Manhattan on Tuesday, Matt Damon pitched access to safe water and sanitation as the lynchpin to achieving all of United Nations’ sustainable development goals.

Matt Damon: We need to talk about toilets

Aug. 14, 2017

Hollywood star Matt Damon is trying to improve sanitation in developing countries, one toilet at a time.

National Geographic - Talking Toilets With Matt Damon

July 26, 2017

The actor is on a mission to bring sanitation and safe water to the entire planet.

BusinessWeek - Matt Damon Receives Crystal Award

May 16, 2017

The Guardian - Matt Damon: 'Children are drinking water so dirty it looks like chocolate milk'

April 24, 2017