River Network

River Network grows and strengthens a transformational national network of water, justice, and river advocates. We envision a powerful and inclusive movement that ensures abundant clean water for all people and nature to thrive.

We believe:
• Joy and hope for our planet flows through our rivers.
• All living beings share a common home and a fundamental right to clean water.
• People, places, and nature are interconnected and must adapt to survive in a rapidly changing world.
• Equitable and enduring solutions start with community – created with, by, and for the people
most impacted.

Our ultimate goal is to deliver a future of clean and ample water for people and nature in which everyone is guaranteed the right to affordable clean water and healthy rivers. Whether through our website, River Rally (our annual conference), River Voices (our quarterly e-magazine), or the grants and services we deliver, we constantly strive to expand and strengthen our community, our approaches, and our coalitions in order to build this future together.

Recognizing River Network’s leadership role and shared accountability for the health of water across the U.S. and the many people who call it home, our Strategic Plan concludes with three ambitious focus areas that define the network’s impact working collectively over time.

Healthy, Resilient Rivers

Healthy rivers sustain people and natural systems, and are vital assets for the communities through which they flow. Yet many are threatened by pollution, habitat destruction, depletion, and climate change, especially in low-income and communities of color. Successfully tackling these threats requires an integrated, equitable approach at multiple scales. This includes addressing river corridors, floodplains, and upstream and downstream connections. River Network advances these approaches by strengthening local organizations’ abilities to develop diverse coalitions, lead advocacy efforts, promote best practices, and leverage funding to achieve resilient and accessible rivers.

Safe, Affordable Drinking Water

Drinking water is fundamental to our health and well-being. However, across the country, access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water – two thirds of which comes from streams and rivers – is not guaranteed. By equipping groups nationwide with the knowledge and capacity needed to advocate for equitable access to clean drinking water and influence decision makers at the federal, state, and local levels, we can advance the human right to water and ensure sustainable drinking water access for all.

Climate-Resilient Communities

Communities across the US face increasing risks of flooding, drought, and other weather-related natural disasters whose impacts disproportionately affect low-income and communities of color. Local, grassroots, community groups are key to contributing their expertise, leveraging power and influence, and serving as effective local and regional agents for change, ultimately building more equitable, thriving, and climate-resilient communities with and by the people who are most impacted.

River Network is the only national nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to grow and strengthen the nationwide network of water, justice, and river advocates, ensuring they are well-equipped to
improve and protect their waterways, create climate-resilient communities, and ensure equitable access to safe, affordable drinking water.

River Network accomplishes this locally and nationally by responding to the capacity and training needs of organizations and communities, and by synthesizing, elevating, and activating
proven and promising practices from the field.

River Network shares challenges, learnings, and successes from the field, catalyzing organizations to apply them for healthy rivers and clean drinking water.

River Network equips and connects advocates at the local, state, and federal levels to advance and implement policy, increase investments, and build power for greater collective impact and action.

These efforts create a connected and inclusive movement for equitable access to healthy waters and climate-resilient communities for people and nature to thrive.

Since 1988, River Network has been at the forefront of expanding national interest in protecting the waters of our country, encouraging diversity in the environmental movement, and helping engaged community members and local organizations take a stand for their waters. Today, our national network includes over 2,200 individual members representing of over 750 local and regional nonprofits, tribes, government agencies, and businesses working to ensure abundant clean water for all people and nature to thrive. This network connects our rural and urban areas, supports local and regional groups, and represents our immense collective power.

River Network is committed to equity and building a stronger network of diverse organizations and communities, working individually and collectively to ensure safe, affordable drinking water, healthy rivers, and climate-resilient communities. These issues have never been more essential and making real and lasting progress will take all of us.