PLATINUM2023

UGANDAN WATER PROJECT INC

Today. Tomorrow. Forever.

Lima, NY   |  www.ugandanwaterproject.com

Mission

The Ugandan Water Project implements and advocates for safe and sustainably managed water, sanitation, and hygiene resources across Uganda, deploying the best available version of each resource and working collaboratively with local stakeholders to ensure they last.

Ruling year info

2013

Executive Director / Founder

Mr. James Harrington

Main address

PO Box 262

Lima, NY 14485 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

27-1481728

NTEE code info

International Relief (Q33)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The Ugandan Water Project works to end the water crisis affecting millions of people in Uganda by alleviating suffering in communities that demonstrate acute water-related needs. Many of the people we serve have no access to a safely managed water source and must collect drinking water from highly contaminated lakes, rivers, or ditches. Others must walk extremely long distances to find water. We work in rural and peri-urban areas where the average income is $2.75 per person per day. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by this problem as they often bear the burden of walking miles each day carrying heavy jerry cans to gather water for their families. The time and effort it takes to collect this essential resource, combined with the high risk of contracting water-related illnesses that results from drinking contaminated water, drastically reduces the economic opportunities, educational outcomes, and health of women, men, and children.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Rainwater Collection Systems

A UWP rainwater collection system consists of a 10,000-liter polyethylene tank that’s placed on a cement base and connected to a building’s metal roof through a gutter system. As rainwater is harvested, people can collect it from the nearby tap stand we install, then purify it using the four hollow fiber membrane water filters we include with each of our rainwater collection systems.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth

A borehole well is a simple hand pump well that typically ranges from 100 ft. to 250 ft. deep. Even though this pumping system is the most common method of water delivery across Africa, the wells include so many moving parts and endure so much wear and tear that many fall into disrepair after only a few years of regular use. By bringing in our crew to disassemble the well, upgrade its hardware, repair what’s broken, and train community members to maintain it, we’re able to bring these wells back to life and prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth

Made using the same hollow fiber membrane technology found in dialysis machines, the water filters we distribute to schools, communities, and clinics can purify water from any source. These small and portable filters are powerful tools for making water safe to drink, with a lifespan of up to 10 years and a capacity to filter as many as 1,000,000 gallons of water in that time.

Population(s) Served

In communities where dependable water sources are scarce, drilling a new borehole well is often the best way to provide safe and reliable drinking water. By tapping into groundwater that is trapped in aquifers often hundreds of feet below the earth’s surface, drilling a new borehole well is a higher risk, high-reward project that can provide years of abundant water to entire communities.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth
Adults
Children and youth

Charity-funded borehole well rehabilitations are paired with affordable, ongoing maintenance subscriptions paid by benefiting communities. This ensures that mechanically complex boreholes are properly maintained and repaired quickly in the event of a breakdown, providing long-term water security.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Adults
Children and youth
Immigrants and migrants

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of people receiving safe drinking water from community systems

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people, Adults, Children and youth

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

These numbers indicate the number of new people receiving clean drinking water at the time of installation of each of our products. They do not indicate the aggregate of the total of our work.

Number of water projects built

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Children and youth, Economically disadvantaged people

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Metric represents the total number of water projects funded in a fiscal year.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

We provide safe water to Ugandans: today, tomorrow, forever. We leverage the transformative power of clean water to empower Ugandans using our synergistic, three-tiered approach:

Equipping communities with the safe water resources they need to thrive today

Developing sustainable water enterprises that keep clean water flowing tomorrow

Supporting the establishment of national systems that will ensure safe water flows forever

Provide immediate water access today:
• Rainwater collection system installations
• Borehole well rehabilitations
• New borehole well drilling
• Solar powered water system installations
• Hand washing station installations
• Water filter distributions
• Water, sanitation, and hygiene training

Develop sustainable enterprises that keep clean water flowing tomorrow:
• AquaTrust: water infrastructure operation and maintenance
• AquaTrust Filters: high-performance water filter sales

Advocate for national systems that ensure safe water flows forever:
• National advocacy for sustainable operation and maintenance policies
• Participation in working groups that advise on sector policy development such as the UWASNET Good Governance Working Group
• District and National advocacy for uptake of a unified data system, mWater
• mWater data system training and consulting for NGOs and government teams

• Three-tiered – today, tomorrow, forever – approach to program implementation catalyzes innovation by generating actionable insights from multiple levels in the Ugandan water sector.

• Blending of philanthropic and market-based approaches allows for the incubation of Ugandan social enterprises during start-up and ensures operational stability as enterprises scale.

• Highly collaborative culture and integration with a broad network of WASH implementers and researchers injects fresh insights and opportunities to improve established programming.

• Team includes WASH and public health experts, engineers, data-system specialists, entrepreneurs, business administrators, community educators, and communication professionals with decades of collective experience spanning government, civil society, and the private sector.

As of January 2023, UWP has successfully funded and installed 1,285 major water projects, including 712 rainwater collection systems, 539 borehole well rehabilitations, 33 new borehole well installations, and 1 gravity fed system. We've also distributed hundreds of filtration systems in 2022 alone. Together, these projects have benefited more than 450,000 children, women, and men across Uganda since 2008.

In 2023, we are chairing the UWASNET Good Governance Working Group, providing training to five districts on the mWater management information system, continuing to grow our AquaTrust program, including expansion into a new district, planning to complete more than 300 water projects, and investing in our capacity to prepare for future growth.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve

Financials

UGANDAN WATER PROJECT INC
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

UGANDAN WATER PROJECT INC

Board of directors
as of 08/28/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

James Harrington

Ugandan Water Project

Cherith Reynolds-Clark

Doug Coburn

James Harrington

John Conrad

Mark Colgan

Mark Jenkins

Twesigye Jackson Kaguri

Ryan Gammons

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/2/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/28/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.