Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25253
WATER BABY companies, with public institutions and private foundations and donors. But most importantly, it takes a commitment that t his is an effort I will continue to do for the rest of my l ife, no matter what else I'm doing. Why? Because it matters. You have to never take "no" for an answer. And believe 110 percent that you will solve the problem-even daunting, seemingly unsolvable problems like the global water crisis. How does starting a nonprofit compare to a new business endeavor in the private sector? Steve: Starting a nonprofit, especially in this day and age, is exactly like starting any business. If you want it to be successful , you have to take all the necessary steps to ensure it 's running like a very, very well-oiled machine. Rob: I echo that. I've started a number of businesses and received a lot of funding for them. My last company was funded by Intel. It 's really the same sk ill sets. We apply for-profit business model ing and structures to a nonprofit. That's a fairly unique approach because many people in the nonprofit world are dOing incredible work, but they don't necessarily have experience in the private sector. We're using all of the positive aspects of the private sector and applying them to the nonprofit sector. Steve: The nonprofit of the future is going to have to be profit/nonprofit just for the sake of everybody's vying for the same dollars out there. Nonprofits are going to have to be more creative in how they raise money, and that may not come exclusively through fund- ra ising. It may come through producing products, and being very, very creative financially. SOUTH AFRICA • Per person, based on douf)J~ occupancy. Roundtrip travellrom ~lew York UFK) or Atlanta (All1, Valid throuqh 5!31i03 & 9/1/03-12/06/0), Does not include inlernationill depanuf(> tax, customs user fees or PFC & insuri'\nc:e ctlafqes (approx. S80). Conditions apply. • What will your story be? 1-800-822-5368 www.mysouthafricanstory.com lA.. SOUTH AFRICAN AI R.WAYS How is Global Water Trust funded? Rob: Currently, the funding is coming from our own personal pocket s. We have just embarked on a major fund-raising campaign. We plan to receive funding from private donors, foundations, and even a nonprofit venture capital fund in New York that invests in nonprofits who develop solutions to global humanitarian problems . How much funding are you seeking? Rob: The initial funding that we're seeking is five million dollars. Two million dollars of which will go towards a pi lot project to bring clean water to about two hundred and fifty thousand people in Ghana and Tanzania. W 0 f1-.f1-.1 E r populations that can't afford it?" But the bottom line with the international water criSIS is, it won't go away on its own. And yet, resolving the issues requires action on so many fronts that it's almost overwhelming. "Most decision·makers in the world are not able to comprehend it, to deal with it (all its aspects and interconnections)," says Shady, "and a crisis, normally if not dealt with, ends up a catastrophe." That's precisely why his group and others like the Pacific Institute continue to plug away, investigating specific aspects of the morass that is the world's water. "Everything is inter·linked with water," says Gregory Hartl of the World Health Organization in Geneva. "We look at this from a health angle, but I know that other agencies will look at the lack of freshwater as a security issue, which means that if co untries don't have freshwater they'll go to war for it. " But perhaps better than anyone, Gleick summarizes what must be done: "We will not be able to solve water problems unless we think in a new way-unless we move away from the belief that the answer is one more massive concrete dam blocking our rivers to the idea that we must meet basic human and environmental needs for water; let all affected stakeholders play a role in making decisions; refocus on what we do with the water and how efficiently we do it and use appropriate economic approaches to pay for water and for the costs to us and the environment of using that water." • What comes after t he five million? Rob: Our real vision, certainly our pie-in-the- sky vision, is to ra ise enough money over the next five years to be a self-sustaining trust. What would you like to see the Global Water Trust have achieved, five years from now? Rob: We would like to deliver sustainable clean water to 5 to 10 million people currently living in the most water impoverished regions of the worl d. Five to 10 million people. We believe that is doable. There are a billion and a half people in the world without water, so if we can deliver water to a mill ion people a year, then eventually we can double or triple that. Once we're successful we want to share our model with other NGOs, so they can use their resources to deliver water to 10 million more people. Steve: The UN's prediction that by the year 2025 seventy-five percent of the Earth's people will not have access to clean, potable water or sanitation is a doom sayer 's approach. We are thinking instead: There are 22 years to not let that happen. What can we do in 22 years? If you could pick one thing for people to do to help water conservation, what would it be? Rob: Consume less. What advice would you give to someone who, like you, wants to make a difference in the water criSiS, such as by starting an organization like you did? Steve: Be fearless. Follow your heart. Stay impassioned and disciplined. It's going to be a tough and challenging road, but if you stay true to your vision you'll get there. • GLOBAL WATER TRUST ROB KRAMER, STEVE REISS, LISA EISENPRESSER PHONE: 310-450-1749 WWW.GLOBALWATERTRUST.ORG 78