WaterSchool Canada & USA

What WaterSchool Canada & USA does

WaterSchool Canada & USA is a dual-jurisdiction non-profit organization (Canadian registered charity BN 8596 72792 RR 0001; US 501(c)(3) EIN 46-0525417) that delivers water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions to rural communities in Uganda. The organization was founded in 2007 by Bob Dell and Fraser Edwards and has reached over 1 million people across 12 districts since program inception in 2001, reporting a 96.75% reduction in diarrheal disease over a four-year measurement window.

Program delivery is executed through Africa Water Solutions (AWS), WaterSchool's Uganda-based implementing partner, which maintains a 56-person professional staff embedded in target communities. The core technology stack combines low-cost behavioral interventions — SODIS (solar disinfection using sunlight and plastic bottles), tippy-tap handwashing stations, and SaTo Pan hygienic latrine slabs — with hardware additions including Sawyer point-of-use filters (added 2022) and solar-powered boreholes (added 2021). A complementary Girl+ program (launched 2023) extends the portfolio into menstrual hygiene management and girls' education.

The business model is donor-funded: a 13-person North American fundraising team generates revenue through individual gift-catalogue purchases at tiered price points, The Source monthly giving program, corporate partnerships (notably AWWOA and WELLReceived), and cryptocurrency donations. Disclosed CAD revenue grew from $1.91M in 2021 to $3.74M in 2024. Customer segments are bifurcated — individual and corporate donors in Canada and the United States on the funding side, and rural Ugandan households on the beneficiary side.

Name

WaterSchool Canada & USA

Legal name

The Water School

Website

https://waterschool.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WaterSchool Canada & USA is a dual-jurisdiction non-profit that funds and operates water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs in rural Uganda through implementing partner Africa Water Solutions, supported by individual and corporate donors across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Organizations (HLAJAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) (BPAGABAC), WASH & Public Health (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) (BPADAIAG), Water Resources, WASH & Integrated Water Management (BPADALAH)

Keywords

• Clean water access
• Solar water disinfection
• Sanitation and hygiene
• Rural community development
• Charitable WASH programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: WaterSchool raises funds primarily from individual donors in Canada and the USA through its website. Donations can be made in Canadian Dollars, US Dollars, and cryptocurrency. One-time gifts and monthly recurring donations (The Source program at $95/month) are accepted.
2. Corporate Donations & Partnerships: Corporate donors contribute through fundraising events (golf tournaments, walk-a-thons, conferences), direct corporate gifts, and cause marketing partnerships. WELLReceived, a US-based virtual medical receptionist company, has been selected for their Giving Back initiative. The Alberta Water & Wastewater Operators Association (AWWOA) has donated $188,000 since 2013.
3. Gift Catalogue Sales (Charitable Gifts): A gift catalogue offers donors the opportunity to purchase specific interventions (SODIS training, rainwater tanks, borehole systems, menstrual hygiene rooms, VSLAs) as charitable gifts. Pricing ranges from $4 (SaTo Pan) to $136,986 (complete borehole system). Cards and e-cards are available for gifting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

WaterSchool is a registered nonprofit charity that delivers Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) programs to rural Ugandan communities through training in SODIS (Solar Disinfection) water purification, sanitation infrastructure including SaTo Pan latrines and rainwater tanks, hygiene education, and economic empowerment via Village Savings & Loan Associations. Programs are funded by individual donors, monthly givers, corporate partners, and legacy gifts in Canada and the USA, with field execution handled by the implementing partner Africa Water Solutions (AWS).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Source: WaterSchool's monthly giving community for donors who believe clean water is the foundation for health, opportunity and lasting change.
• Girl+ Program
• SODIS

Products and services

• Family Clean Water Package A $95 charitable gift package that delivers SODIS (solar disinfection) training, hygiene and sanitation training, and plastic bottles to enable one rural Ugandan family to access clean drinking water.
• Community Transformation Package A $9,500 community-level intervention bundle providing SODIS training, hygiene/sanitation training, and Village Savings & Loan Program establishment for an entire community of roughly 700 people in rural Uganda.
• Rainwater Tank - Household A $1,232 charitable gift funding a 6,000-litre rainwater collection tank that serves five rural Ugandan families, available in $123 increments for partial funding.
• Rainwater Tank - Health Centre A $1,643 charitable gift funding a 10,000-litre rainwater collection tank for health centres in rural Uganda, available in $164 increments for partial funding.
• Sawyer Filtration System - Classroom A $195 donation funding a Sawyer hollow-fibre membrane water filtration system for one classroom, producing approximately 400 litres of safe water per day for school environments with inconsistent sunshine.
• Deep Borehole System A $136,986 solar-powered deep borehole and pump system that serves multiple villages, schools and health centres in rural Uganda, with component options including communal taps ($41), pipeline extensions ($82 per 100m), elevated holding tank storage ($253 per 1,000 litres), tower elevation ($10.70 per cm), and pump/electrical installations ($23).
• SaTo Pan Latrine Cover A $4 USD charitable gift funding one SaTo Pan (Safe Toilet) latrine cover for a family, using Lixil's trap-door technology to prevent flies from accessing faeces and transmitting diseases like cholera, diarrhoea, and typhoid.
• Village Savings & Loan Association Seed Funding A $82 CAD charitable gift providing seed funding and training to launch a new Village Savings & Loan Association (VSLA), enabling rural Ugandan families to invest, take micro-loans, and start small businesses.
• Menstrual Hygiene Management Room A $548 charitable gift funding one-tenth of the cost to build a Menstrual Hygiene Management room at a school, providing beds, spare uniforms, latrines, painkillers, and showers for girls (full room cost approximately $5,480, equipment-only $41.10).
• Champion a Girl's Education Sponsorship A monthly ($114) or annual ($1,370) recurring sponsorship covering school fees and school supplies for a vulnerable young woman who would otherwise be unable to attend school, including teen mothers supported through the Girl+ program.
• Empowerment Camp Mentorship A $65/day or $329 per-camp charitable gift funding mentorship and life-skills training for a young woman at WaterSchool's Empowerment and Mentoring Camp in Uganda.
• Cookstove Program A $4 charitable gift funding an energy-efficient cookstove built from local materials (termite dung, banana plants, locally made bricks) that vents smoke outside the home and uses approximately 80% less wood fuel than traditional open fires.
• The Source Monthly Giving Program A monthly recurring giving community where donors contribute $45 or $95 CAD per month to bring clean water and training to one new Ugandan family per month, receiving priority field updates and the annual impact report first.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96.75% reduction in diarrhea across partnered households over four years (2021-2024)
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Coca-Cola UgandaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019WaterSchool partners with Coca-Cola Uganda to collect and recycle old SODIS plastic bottles. In 2019, 172,885 old SODIS bottles were collected and recycled through this partnership. In 2021, 106,694 old bottles were collected for recycling. The partnership ensures SODIS bottles are repurposed rather than ending up in landfills.
• Compassion CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Fraser Edwards, Africa Director at Compassion Canada, one of the world's leading children's charities, partnered with founding CEO Bob Dell to spread SODIS technology to thousands more people in Uganda. Edwards co-founded WaterSchool with Dell in 2007.
• Africa Water Solutions (AWS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrica Water Solutions is WaterSchool's primary implementing partner in Uganda, founded in January 2018 following a reorganization of WaterSchool's Uganda operations. AWS has 56 professional staff delivering SODIS training, rainwater tanks, boreholes, sanitation infrastructure (SaTo Pans, latrines), hygiene education, and the Girl+ program across 12 districts in Uganda. AWS is governed by a board of directors chaired by Professor Ponsiano Ocama of Makerere University's Faculty of Medicine.
• Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology)coreTechnology or IntegrationEawag is a Swiss aquatic research laboratory that developed the SODIS (Solar Disinfection) water purification technique. Bob Dell worked with the Eawag team to refine the purification system and build a model for teaching SODIS to thousands of people in Uganda. Initial testing in Uganda in 2004 yielded tremendous results, leading directly to WaterSchool's founding.
• Empowered Girls Initiative (EGI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEGI, led by Jane Otai, provides support and advocacy for adolescent mothers (aged 12-18) to complete their education or vocational training. WaterSchool co-founded this initiative with EGI to identify supportive schools, provide childcare support, and work with families. During COVID-19 school closures, EGI pivoted to helping young moms start businesses (dressmaking, food preparation, mask-making, animal husbandry).
• Uganda District Local GovernmentsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaterSchool's field teams were included in district-level COVID-19 task forces in Uganda to provide leadership and technical guidance on WASH-related matters. Teams supported 13 Health Centres with hand washing detergent and installed tippy-tap hand washing facilities during the pandemic.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Water.org: Global WASH nonprofit (founded by Matt Damon and Gary White) combining water access with microfinance. Direct peer: similar WASH-plus-economic-empowerment approach via WaterCredit, overlapping beneficiary profile, comparable funding scale.
• charity: water: Largest dedicated clean-water nonprofit, funding WASH infrastructure in developing countries including East Africa. Direct peer: similar donor-funded model, comparable focus on transparency (100% model), and overlapping geographic interest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• WaterAid: International WASH-focused NGO operating across Africa and Asia. Direct peer: same WASH mandate, similar community-led training approach, and comparable geographic overlap in East Africa.
• WaterAid America: US affiliate of WaterAid, raising funds from American donors for international WASH programs. Direct peer: same WASH mandate as WaterSchool's US entity, parallel Canadian/US fundraising posture, comparable beneficiary profile.
• Water For People: US-based WASH nonprofit working in 9 countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Direct peer: similar community-led model, parallel commitment to long-term measurement of water access outcomes, comparable funding range.
• Lifewater International: Christian WASH nonprofit implementing water, sanitation, and hygiene programs across Africa and Asia. Direct peer: similar faith-affiliated funding base, comparable rural Uganda/West Africa presence, parallel donor-catalogue approach.

Emerging players

• Potters for Peace: Nonprofit that originally developed low-cost ceramic water filters and broader sanitation solutions for developing countries. Emerging peer: comparable low-cost-technology ethos and WASH focus; smaller scale and different geographic concentration.

Regional players

• WaterCan / WaterAid Canada: Canadian WASH-focused organization raising funds domestically for water and sanitation programming globally. Regional peer: similar Canadian-donor base to WaterSchool Canada, parallel registered-charity structure, but does not specifically target Uganda.

Broad incumbents

• Samaritan's Purse (WASH program): Large faith-based relief organization with substantial WASH and emergency water programs. Broad incumbent: parallel faith-affiliated donor base, overlapping WASH portfolio in East Africa, but operates at materially larger scale across many sectors.
• Engineers Without Borders (Canada): Large Canadian development organization placing engineers in African and other field programs including WASH. Broad incumbent: overlapping Canadian nonprofit funding pool, parallel Uganda engagement, but broader development mandate beyond water.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-water-school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 WaterSchool Canada & USA