Nonprofit-Performance-360-Vol-4-No-1-Shankwitz

Marc Yaggi Nonprofits that work

Clean Water for All Waterkeeper Alliance

W ithout water, there is no life. Without clean water, there is no healthy life.Water is the resource that is most taken advantage of and fought over. Since the population and technological booms of the 20th century, pollution from manufacturing, farming, mining, energy production and human waste has taken a toll on water supplies. Climate change impacts are shrinking those supplies even farther and have increased competition for freshwater sources. Water is the next great global crisis. It will take innovative solutions and an army of dedicated individuals to put an end to this path of destruction and preserve our precious water resources and planet. Environmental advocate Bill McKibben says that we need a movement with “thousands of leaders in thousands of places, connected like the solar panels on the roofs of an entire planet.” Waterkeeper Alliance is a global network of grassroots leaders protecting everyone’s right to drinkable, fishable, and swimmable water. Since 1966 when commercial and recreational fishermen mobilized to reclaim the Hudson River from the hands of polluters, the Hudson, despite continued challenges and threats, has become an icon of ecosystem revitalization. Riverkeeper’s success spurred an explosive growth of similar grassroots organizations around the world. Founded in 1999 to support those groups, Waterkeeper Alliance is made up of more than 300Waterkeeper organizations and affiliates, protecting waterways in 34 countries.

While other nonprofit organizations work effectively on water issues, Waterkeeper Alliance is unique in combining a singular focus on clean water with an action-oriented model connecting grassroots activists to a powerful global network. Growing a Global Network of Grassroots Leaders Waterkeepers,ordinarycitizenswhocourageously work full-time to ensure drinkable, fishable and swimmable water for their communities, are the core of our movement. Waterkeeper Alliance superpowers their work and turns individual local efforts into a unified, global entity. Anyone carrying the Waterkeeper name must meet the Alliance’s high standards for ethics, conduct and effectiveness. Waterkeepers patrol waters, hold polluters accountable, advocate for protection of clean water, strengthen legal protections, and raise public awareness about threats to local waters to increase pressure for action. Waterkeepers in Australia, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal, Sweden, Togo, the United Kingdom, and more patrol and protect nearly 2.5 million square miles of watersheds.They are the boots on the ground making sure that water is protected and that communities are safe. Employing a Unique Model to Address our Most Critical Water Issues Contaminated water sickens and kills. Pollution and shrinking access to water is alarming:

30 I Nonprofit Professional Performance Magazine