Community grant program launched by Zendaya, Global Water Challenge (GWC) and smartwater.
smart solutions: global water challenge is a community grant program launched by Global Water Challenge (GWC), Zendaya, and smartwater that supports leading nonprofit community-based organizations in their work on community water access, watershed health and economic empowerment. The program is powered by GWC’s women for water action platform that uplifts women and their communities through clean water access.
Clean water is a key ingredient for every community. Nearly 1 billion people globally lack access to clean water, approximately half of which are women and girls. In the U.S. alone, 2.2 million people have no water access at home at all and more than 44 million Americans are served by water systems with quality issues. When we mobilize clean, quality, affordable water access, we uplift communities, particulary women and girls.
Global Water Challenge established the women for water platform to mobilize collective action for clean water access for every woman and her community. Currently scaling impact in 27 countries across Africa, North and South America, the Middle East and Central Asia, women for water measurably contributes to economic empowerment outcomes while raising awareness for this important issue.
Program Focus
The smart solutions: global water challenge supports programs and organizations aligned with any or all of the following objectives:
Champion inclusive and practical community-based approaches to clean water access and watershed health and protection, including the empowerment of women through water-based activities;
Enhance, restore and protect water quantity and quality in communities and the surrounding watershed, resulting in improved access to clean water for local communities;
Improve watershed health and protection to contribute to healthy communities and enhanced community resilience; and,