Engineers Without Borders

What Engineers Without Borders does

Engineers Without Borders - San Francisco Professional Chapter (EWB-SFP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit humanitarian engineering organization and the first professional chapter of EWB-USA, established in September 2004. The chapter deploys volunteer engineering teams to design and construct sustainable infrastructure in underserved communities, with a minimum five-year commitment per partner and full handover to community-trained operators upon project completion. Active programs span six international locations (Ecuador Los Rios, Ethiopia Weledi, Fiji Buca/Loa/Vunikura, Kenya Lela/Arombe/Masara, Nicaragua El Llanito, Panama Tranquilla) plus domestic U.S. projects under the Community Engineering Corps (CECorps) partnership with ASCE and AWWA. Core technical capabilities include gravity-based water distribution systems, solar-powered pumping, biosand filters, urine-diverting composting latrines, fog harvesting devices, rock crushers for biosand filter media production, and well drilling with chlorination.

The organization generates revenue entirely through tax-deductible donations, corporate sponsorships (Silver $500+, Gold $1,000+, Platinum $2,000+, Benefactor $4,000+), institutional grants (notably Rotary Global Grants of $35k for El Llanito water materials and $37.5k for approximately 80 composting toilets in Nicaragua), and the annual SFari fundraiser, which raised $15,202 in 2022 plus $16,674.12 from event sponsors. The volunteer base comprises approximately 200 active professional members (engineering, health, business) drawn from a broader 3,000+ Bay Area network. Project implementation is supported by a remote-coordination model developed during COVID-19 that uses WhatsApp communication, local foremen oversight, and weekly coordination with in-country EWB staff, and individual project budgets range from tens of thousands to an estimated $83,000 for the Ecuador Los Rios well project.

The Appropriate Technology Design Team (ATDT), founded 2005 and elevated to EWB-USA's national R&D Group within the Engineering Service Corps in 2014, conducts technology development spanning composting toilets, fog harvesters, rock crushers, and cashew waste processing — the last involving partners including the African Cashew Initiative, Costco, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Distribution of project outputs is direct and physical: completed infrastructure is handed over to trained community operators with no recurring revenue stream tied to ongoing service delivery.

Name

Engineers Without Borders

Legal name

Engineers Without Borders - San Francisco Professional Chapter

Website

https://ewb-sfp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Engineers Without Borders - San Francisco Professional Chapter is a 501(c)(3) volunteer engineering nonprofit that designs and builds sustainable water, sanitation, and infrastructure systems for underserved communities across six developing countries and domestically in California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Water and Sewer Line and Related Structures Construction (237110), Utility System Construction (2371)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623), Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Cooperation, Capacity Building & Policy Advisory Programs (BPADABAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Works General Contracting (IMAFAAAG), Civil & Site Works EPC (Earthworks, Roads, Drainage, Foundations) (EUAEADAA)

Keywords

• Humanitarian engineering services
• Community development programs
• Water supply infrastructure
• Sanitation systems design
• Nonprofit engineering projects

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible individual contributions supporting specific project teams (Ecuador Los Rios, Ethiopia Weledi, Nicaragua El Llanito, Fiji Buca, Kenya Lela, Panama Tranquilla) or the Chapter General Fund. Donations processed through EWB-USA's donation platform.
2. Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorships at four tiers: Silver ($500+), Gold ($1,000+), Platinum ($2,000+), and Benefactor ($4,000+). Benefits include logo recognition at SFari event and chapter events, free event tickets, social media announcements, and post-event email communications to 1,700+ subscribers.
3. Event Fundraising (SFari): Annual fundraiser since 2005. SFari features virtual and in-person events, online silent auctions, and sponsor acknowledgments. Historical fundraising totals: 2022 raised $15,202 (from sponsors: $16,674.12), 2021: $11,470, 2020: $14,910, 2019: $12,000, 2018: $4,000, 2017: $6,000.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Engineers Without Borders - San Francisco Professional Chapter (EWB-SFP) delivers volunteer-led sustainable engineering projects to underserved communities, with a minimum five-year commitment to each partner community. Core offerings include water supply systems (wells, distribution, treatment, biosand filters), sanitation solutions (composting toilets, latrines), flood management, structural repairs for clinics and schools, and appropriate technology research and development. Projects are community-identified, community-owned, and designed for independent operation by local residents after volunteer handover.

Product overview

Engineers Without Borders - San Francisco Professional Chapter is a non-profit humanitarian engineering organization offering community-driven development programs. The organization operates as a portfolio of international and domestic engineering projects rather than a unified software product. Core offerings include water supply systems (wells, distribution, treatment), sanitation solutions (latrines, composting toilets), flood management, and structural repairs. The portfolio includes seven active international programs (Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Kenya, Nicaragua, Panama) plus the Community Engineering Corps for domestic US projects and the Appropriate Technology Design Team for R&D. All projects follow a sustainable engineering model where communities are trained to operate and maintain systems independently.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Arombe, Kenya escaped a cholera epidemic after installation of clean water sources (600 cholera cases reported in surrounding area in April 2015; zero outbreaks in Arombe after EWB intervention)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OFCB MinistriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary partner organization in Haiti. OFCB provides K-13th grade education (~2,500 students), healthcare, dental care, community bank, and partners with EWB-SFP for public infrastructure projects including the La Couleuvre Bridge project and Bayonnais medical clinic construction and operations.
• Friends of OFCBcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS-based organization dedicated to developing and empowering the Bayonnais, Haiti community by supporting OFCB projects and goals. Works alongside EWB-SFP on the La Couleuvre Bridge project and related infrastructure.
• Sustainable Harvest International (SHI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNGO partner in Panama since 2013. Connected the Tranquilla community's water board (La Junta) with EWB. Established a network of families to communicate on community needs. SHI first connected the community's water issues to EWB through their sustainable farming program. Facilitates ongoing communication between EWB project leads and community.
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational engineering society collaborating with EWB and American Water Works Association on the Community Engineering Corps (CECorps) initiative, which provides engineering services to US communities unable to afford or retain engineering services. CECorps led by an EWB Program Director.
• American Water Works Association (AWWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational water association collaborating with EWB and ASCE on the Community Engineering Corps (CECorps) initiative. Provides expertise and resources for domestic engineering projects serving underserved US communities with water and infrastructure needs.
• EWB Nicaragua Country OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn-country EWB staff supporting project implementation in Nicaragua. Provided remote oversight during COVID-19 travel restrictions, including foreman supervision and critical work approval. Coordinates with EWB-SFP on El Llanito monitoring, evaluation, and closeout activities.
• Alcance Nicaragua (Outreach International)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNGO partner in Nicaragua for both the El Llanito water project and composting toilet initiatives. Provided local coordination, community connections, and project monitoring. Rotary Global Grant co-funded ~80 composting toilets in Nicaragua communities.
• Themba Development ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for fog harvester design and implementation project. Works at the community level in South Africa to empower residents on water/agriculture, skills development, and education. ATDT collaborating on fog harvesting device for clean water access.
• A Single DropminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit working to unite communities through water organizations implementing bio sand filters. Partner for rock crusher project to enable local production of sand appropriate for bio water filters. Based in the Philippines with expansion to Africa planned.
• African Cashew InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for cashew waste technology project. Project seeks to extract more value for African communities from cashew crop byproducts (fruit and nut shell). Supported by Costco, African Cashew Initiative, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• ADESCO (El Salvador)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation formed by each municipal government in El Salvador, managing community development. Oversees community water system serving ~2,000 residents, coordinates with EWB on projects, and interfaces with Peace Corps. San Juan de Dios ADESCO managed latrine construction and pump installation.
• Outreach Ethiopia / ORDAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOutreach Ethiopia supported orphaned children in Weledi and identified infrastructure needs. ORDA (Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara) is a local NGO providing continuous support for latrine construction and community development. EWB-CHP originally partnered with Outreach Ethiopia; EWB-SFP continuing the partnership.
• EWB Sacramento Valley Professional ChapterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Sacramento Valley Professional Chapter on Panama program following COVID-19 travel ban to increase volunteer support. Sacramento Valley chapter led Panama program since 2014 before transfer to SF chapter. Sacramento Valley remains supporting during transition.
• Bayview BOOMminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood teaching marginalized youth to build and market mobile electronics. CECorps assisted BOOM with volunteer recruitment for circuit design, battery technology, bluetooth programming, and other electronics skills.
• Richmond LANDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity land trust in Richmond, CA developing a Tiny Home Village on two parcels in North Richmond (unincorporated Contra Costa County). CECorps volunteers providing general civil and structural engineering services for the development.
• Tiny Pine FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation developing a tiny home village in Concow CA to provide housing for survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire. CECorps (San Francisco and Sonoma County chapters) supporting development of ~30 tiny homes with community garden, playground, and community center.
• EWB-USA R&D Group (Engineering Service Corps)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerATDT evolved into a national EWB-USA Research and Development group in 2014, now part of EWB-USA's Engineering Service Corps. The SFP ATDT Composting Latrines in Nicaragua was approved as the first national R&D group project. Project teams recruited from EWB-USA's 16,900+ volunteers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• buildOn: Nonprofit mobilizing volunteers to build schools and deliver literacy programs in developing countries. Closely parallel volunteer-driven, community-partnered international development model to EWB-SFP, with comparable volunteer mobilization and partner-country footprint.
• Engineers Without Borders USA: EWB-SFP's direct parent organization and national federation. EWB-USA runs the same community-driven engineering model with 16,900+ volunteers across professional and student chapters, sharing the same R&D group, training, and donor platform as EWB-SFP.
• Engineers Without Borders International: Global federation coordinating EWB organizations across more than 45 countries. Operates the same volunteer engineering-for-development model internationally, with comparable water, sanitation, and infrastructure projects in developing communities.
• Community Engineering Corps (CECorps): Joint initiative of EWB-USA, ASCE, and AWWA that EWB-SFP leads locally. Provides pro-bono engineering services to underserved US communities — the same model as EWB-SFP's domestic program (Weott, North Richmond, Concow tiny homes).

Broad incumbents

• charity: water: Large nonprofit funding clean water infrastructure in developing countries. Comparable donor-supported funding model and beneficiary outcomes (wells, filtration), but at much greater scale and with paid staff rather than volunteers.
• Water.org: Global nonprofit co-founded by Matt Damon focused on access to safe water and sanitation through microfinance. Addresses the same water-access problem in developing countries as EWB-SFP's WASH projects, with a sustainable-financing lens.
• WaterAid: Established international NGO focused on clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries. Operates at significantly larger scale than EWB-SFP but addresses the same WASH-access problem in similar geographies (Africa, Asia, Latin America).
• Habitat for Humanity: Global nonprofit providing affordable housing and shelter infrastructure via volunteer labor. Directly comparable to EWB-SFP's CECorps tiny-home village work in California (Concow, North Richmond), with a far larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Others

• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): National professional engineering society that co-leads the CECorps initiative with EWB-USA and AWWA. ASCE provides volunteer capacity, technical resources, and credibility to EWB-SFP's domestic program and is the closest institutional infrastructure partner.

Emerging players

• Architecture for Humanity: Pro-bono design and construction services for underserved communities. While EWB-SFP leads on engineering, Architecture for Humanity addresses the adjacent built-environment and post-disaster reconstruction space with a similar volunteer-professional ethos.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/engineers-without-borders

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Engineers Without Borders