Trailblazer Foundation

What Trailblazer Foundation does

Trailblazer Foundation is a US-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2004 by Chris Coats and Scott Coats, headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, with a field office in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The organization delivers an integrated four-program poverty intervention model (Health, Food Security, Education, and Economic Development) targeting rural, below-poverty-line families in Siem Reap province. Its flagship Health Program centers on bio-sand water filtration technology, concrete slow-sand filters that remove pathogens without electricity or fuel, each serving up to 15 people for over a decade at a $100 unit donation, alongside water wells ($375 each), and latrines ($175 each). The Food Security Program delivers agricultural and chicken-raising training; the Education Program provides bicycles ($55), school uniforms ($15), and constructs 6-classroom schools ($112,000 each, with deeds transferred to the Cambodian government); and the Economic Development Program operates self-managed Village Fund micro-finance initiatives capitalized by recipient contributions.

Revenue is generated entirely through donations: one-time and recurring individual gifts (including a monthly giving program), peer-to-peer fundraising via DonorBox, GlobalGiving, Facebook Fundraisers, GiveSendgo, and Grapevine, corporate giving through B1G1's Worthy Causes platform, and institutional partners such as the Rotary Club of Comox Valley, Tawingo Fund, Four Girls for Friends, Friendly Planet Travel, and EllisKnight International. Volunteer fees ($10/day for short-term volunteers unable to commit two weeks) and volunteer-sourced fundraising further supplement contributions. The organization employs 12 staff supplemented by long-term remote volunteers and field crews led by local Cambodian personnel. By end of 2024, the organization reported reaching 101,410 people, 20,282 families, and 145,000+ people with extended protection across 300+ villages, alongside 12 school buildings and 3 libraries constructed.

Name

Trailblazer Foundation

Legal name

Trailblazer Foundation

Website

https://thetrailblazerfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Trailblazer Foundation is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers clean water, food security, education, and micro-finance programs to rural, below-poverty families in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, using bio-sand water filters, agricultural training, school construction, and self-managed Village Funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid / Community Development Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Food Services (624210), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Sanitary Services (4950), Services-Educational Services (8200), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAJAKAD

International & Local Implementing NGOs

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Global Health & Development Agencies (NGOs/Multilaterals)

SECONDARYHLAJAKAH

Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Global Health & Development Agencies (NGOs/Multilaterals)

SECONDARYHLAJAKAG

Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Global Health & Development Agencies (NGOs/Multilaterals)

SECONDARYBPADABAJ

Infrastructure, Energy & Urban Development Aid Programs

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Bilateral Development Agencies & Aid Programs

SECONDARYEDADALAC

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Education Partnerships, Intergovernmental & NGO Programs

Keywords

• Clean water access
• Rural community development
• Water filtration systems
• Micro-finance programs
• Humanitarian aid services

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Collins

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individual supporters. Monthly giving program encourages recurring contributions. Donors can give to general fund or designated programs (wells, filters, latrines, bicycles, uniforms, agriculture training, village funds). Donors can also purchase named wells.
2. Corporate and Business Giving Partnerships: Corporate donors support through B1G1's Worthy Causes platform, enabling businesses to integrate charitable giving into operations. Organizations like Friendly Planet Travel, Four Girls for Friends, EllisKnight International, and others make corporate donations. GlobalGiving workplace giving programs.
3. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: Supporters create personalized fundraising pages through DonorBox, GlobalGiving, Facebook Fundraisers, GiveSendGo, and Grapevine to raise funds from their personal networks. Organization provides marketing materials and support to fundraisers.
4. Volunteer Fees and Program Contributions: Volunteers who cannot meet the minimum two-week commitment are asked to contribute $10 USD per day. Volunteers cover their own travel, accommodation, and living costs. This effectively creates a volunteer-sourced revenue stream that offsets program delivery costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels15 records

Core offering

Trailblazer Foundation operates four integrated humanitarian programs in rural Siem Reap province, Cambodia: a Health Program that delivers bio-sand water filters, water wells, and latrines; a Food Security Program providing agricultural and chicken-raising training; an Education Program distributing bicycles and school uniforms and constructing schools; and an Economic Development Program establishing community-owned Village Fund micro-finance initiatives. Programs are demand-driven, identified through Village Integrated Workshops, and delivered directly by local Cambodian field staff to poor rural families.

Product overview

Trailblazer Foundation is a nonprofit organization operating four integrated programs—Health, Food Security, Education, and Economic Development—that work together to move rural Cambodian families from survival to sustainability. The Health Program provides bio-sand water filters and water wells; the Food Security Program delivers agriculture and chicken raising training; the Education Program distributes bicycles, uniforms, and constructs schools; and the Economic Development Program establishes Village Fund micro-finance initiatives. These programs are interconnected: clean water enables food security through garden irrigation, food security and health enable economic participation, and education creates pathways for generational change.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bio-Sand Water Filters Concrete bio-sand water filters that treat contaminated water from wells and dramatically reduce waterborne diseases such as diarrhea. Each filter serves approximately 15 people and can last over a decade without electricity or fuel. Recipients receive hygiene and sanitation training alongside the filter and contribute a small co-pay (e.g., $3) to foster ownership. Filters are manually constructed at Trailblazer's field site in Siem Reap and installed in beneficiary households in rural Cambodian villages.
• Water Wells Wells installed in rural villages to bring water closer to families, providing consistent water supply for irrigation and improved sanitation/hygiene. Each well provides access for up to three families.
• Latrine Construction Construction of household latrines at approximately $175 each, improving hygiene and sanitation in rural communities and reducing disease transmission from open defecation.
• Agriculture Training Comprehensive farming skills development including horticulture, soil management, composting, organic pesticide and fertilizer application, and homestead gardening to build self-sustaining families and communities. Reported to increase participating family income by approximately 150%.
• Chicken Raising Training Skills development training within the Food Security Program helping rural Cambodian farmers improve practices for raising chickens as part of diversified income and nutrition strategies.
• Bicycle Distribution Provision of bicycles to students in rural Siem Reap villages facing long commutes to school, helping them access education and avoid dropping out due to distance barriers (e.g., students like Vorn Salong who previously missed class frequently now attend every day).
• School Uniforms Two sets of school uniforms provided to students in need to meet government requirements that many rural families cannot afford.
• School Construction Construction of 6-classroom school buildings (approximately $112,000 each) and libraries in response to District requests, with deeds transferred to the Cambodian government for staffing and curriculum.
• Village Fund Micro-Finance Self-managed micro-finance programs providing essential loans to individuals and savings groups within partner villages. Recipients of other Trailblazer assistance (e.g., wells, filters) contribute small amounts to capitalize these community-owned funds, ensuring sustainability. Loans are used to start or expand businesses, invest in livestock, or cover healthcare.

Quantifiable outcome

• 101,410 people reached across 300+ villages with clean water access, 20,282 families, 145,000+ people extended protection
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GlobalteercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobalteer is a local partner organization that places international volunteers with Trailblazer Foundation for the Cambodia Clean Water Project. Volunteers work at Trailblazer's field site and accompany staff on filter deliveries. Globalteer recruits, screens, and refers volunteers to Trailblazer's on-ground operations.
• Rotary Club of Comox ValleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Rotary club partnership that funded installation of 50 new bio-sand filters and refreshing of 197 existing filters in rural Siem Reap villages. Project brought clean water to over 1,200 people at approximately $16 per person. Rotarians from the UK also participated. Collaboration included hands-on involvement in Siem Reap.
• B1G1 (Business for Good)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerB1G1's Worthy Causes platform enables business donors to integrate charitable giving into their daily business operations. Trailblazer is featured as a Worthy Cause. Businesses including EllisKnight International participate in #GivingBackFriday campaigns through B1G1. B1G1 helped launch Trailblazer's farmers training programme by facilitating connections with farming families.
• Friendly Planet TravelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFriendly Planet Travel, a travel company, supports Trailblazer Foundation as a philanthropic initiative. President Peggy Goldman explains the company's support for Trailblazer's efforts to develop ripples of sustainability through community water projects.
• Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through the Cambodia Clean Water Project with Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy Project, a luxury travel company's philanthropic arm focused on creating access to safe drinking water in developing communities.
• IE3 GlobalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIE3 Global places interns with Trailblazer Foundation. U.S. Army veteran Austin King served as an IE3 Global Intern at Trailblazer in Cambodia.
• Trailblazer AngkorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrailblazer Angkor is a related entity that co-delivers Bio-sand Water Filters and Hygiene Introduction Training with Trailblazer Foundation in Siem Reap villages. Mr. Sor Ratanak serves as Field Director for Trailblazer Angkor. Mentioned in village project descriptions (Prohut village 2015, Chrey Kharng Cherng village 2014).
• EllisKnight International RecruitmentminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEllisKnight International Recruitment participates in #GivingBackFriday through B1G1, providing 100 days of access to school uniforms for children in Cambodia via Trailblazer.
• Local Cambodian Staff and Community LeaderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrailblazer employs local Cambodian staff (named staff include Heng, Sambo, Mr. T, Ratanak, Sor Ratanak, Muoy, Pheap, Sokun, Samnang, Yang Chanto) who lead field operations, training, and village engagement. Village chiefs (e.g., Mr. Nhem, village chief of Svay Chek) identify needs and register beneficiaries.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Water.org: Global nonprofit addressing water and sanitation access through small loans and partnerships. Comparable in combining water access with microfinance-driven sustainability, paralleling Trailblazer's integration of Village Fund micro-finance with bio-sand filters.
• charity: water: Nonprofit focused exclusively on funding clean water projects in developing countries. Directly comparable donor-funded WASH model with public fundraising, project tracking, and beneficiary reporting similar to Trailblazer's bio-sand filter program.
• iDE (International Development Enterprises): International nonprofit focused on market-based approaches to rural poverty, including agriculture, water/sanitation, and micro-enterprise in developing countries. Strongly comparable to Trailblazer's integrated Food Security + Economic Development programs and rural Cambodia footprint.
• Globalteer: Nonprofit placing international volunteers with community development projects in Cambodia and other developing countries. Directly comparable as Trailblazer's volunteer placement partner, sharing the rural Cambodia focus and volunteer-driven program delivery.
• Engineers Without Borders: Nonprofit that designs and implements infrastructure projects (water, sanitation, energy, agriculture) in developing communities. Comparable volunteer-driven, project-based delivery model and rural community partnership approach.

Broad incumbents

• WaterAid: Large international NGO focused on clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries. Comparable WASH mission and beneficiary profile (rural poor in Asia/Africa), but operates at significantly greater scale across multiple countries with broader programmatic scope.
• World Vision: Major international child-focused NGO running integrated WASH, food security, education, and economic development programs in developing countries including Cambodia. Directly comparable integrated model and target geography, but much larger scale and broader donor base.
• Samaritan's Purse: Large faith-based humanitarian organization running WASH, agriculture, education, and disaster relief programs globally. Comparable integrated program structure (health/water/ag/education) but operates at vastly larger scale.
• Concern Worldwide: International humanitarian organization addressing extreme poverty through integrated health, livelihoods, and education programs. Comparable integrated approach to rural poverty alleviation, operating across multiple developing countries including in Southeast Asia.

Emerging players

• Waterlines: Smaller nonprofit implementing bio-sand water filters in developing communities. Highly comparable to Trailblazer's core Health Program technology and beneficiary model, though operating at a smaller scale and different geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TrailblazerFdn
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLKrbglMS4w2gOBriOUrUaQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/TrailblazerFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trailblazer-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/trailblazerfoundation
• TikToktiktok.com/@trailblazerfoundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trailblazer Foundation