The Seattle-based nonprofit Splash has announced a transformative $40 million individual donation, marking one of the largest gifts in the organization’s history and anchoring its $70 million fundraising campaign for Phase II of Project WISE (WASH in Schools for Everyone).
The announcement was made by Eric Stowe, Splash’s founder and CEO, who emphasized the significance of the gift for the organization’s mission to improve clean water access, sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health resources for children in public schools across Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia.
“This gift is a bet on kids from resource-poor neighborhoods of unimaginable density, size, and complexity. We’ve shown our model works in multiple cities across Africa and Asia, and with this investment, we’re ready to scale our cost-effective, durable, and impactful approach—alongside committed government partners—to reach millions more kids over the next five years,” Stowe said.
Since its founding in 2007, Splash has provided clean water and safe sanitation to more than 1.1 million children daily in urban communities across eight countries.
The organization’s unique approach focuses on building local capacity and transitioning ownership of projects to local partners and governments, aiming to achieve sustainable, citywide coverage and ultimately discontinue direct services by 2035.
The $40 million gift will accelerate Splash’s efforts to deliver clean drinking water, dignified menstrual health resources, and safe sanitation facilities to schools, aiming to create safer and more inclusive learning environments, especially for girls.
The organization is now calling on additional donors and stakeholders to help close the remaining gap in its ambitious campaign.
