World development

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

Why we want to help

Sustainable WASH services within households and communities, healthcare facilities and schools are fundamental to a person’s dignity and safety as well as providing long-term health, social and economic benefits. In spite of this:

• Worldwide, over 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water
• More than half the global population does not have access to safe sanitation
• Three billion people do not have access to handwashing facilities with soap

People living in rural areas, urban slums, disaster prone areas, and low-income countries are the most vulnerable and the most affected, as are women and children because of their traditional household role in many cultures and the risk to their safety in the absence of a nearby safe water source or adequate toilet.

TWF’s current priorities in this area are:

• Operation and maintenance of rural water services
• Strengthening WASH systems
• Increasing access to, and uptake of, improved sanitation in rural and low-income urban areas
• Menstrual health and hygiene|
  
  
• We are currently only accepting WASH applications under our Small Grants programme, we are NOT able to accept any WASH applications under our Main Grants programme.

Information for Small Grant Applicants:

In addition to demonstrating how your project aligns with TWF ’s priorities (above), we will prioritise applications that:

• Show specialist skill sets and experience and/or long-term links with the focal area;
• Contribute to the applicant organisation’s longer-term goals;
• Address a demonstrated local need and are carefully tailored to the local context; 
• Provide evidence of positive impact from previous work within WASH and/or evidence to support the efficacy of your intervention;
• Demonstrate local leadership;
• Are cost-effective;
• Have a strong monitoring and evaluation component;
• Align with in-country government policy and priorities;
• Consider how impacts will be sustained in the longer-term;
• Have a diverse funding base (and/or a sustainable fundraising strategy beyond TWF).

Examples of organisations which TWF has previously supported under our Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme can be found here.

Application Eligibility: 

We receive many more funding applications than we are able to support. We are therefore only able to consider support for applications that meet all three of these requirements:

• Clearly fit with the descriptions of what we will, and what we will not support;
• Use the flow chart below and meet the eligibility criteria for a Small Grant;

Follow the relevant Application Guidelines including the FAQ section.

Eligibility for a Small Grant

UK-based organisations only

Requesting under £10,000 in the field of: WASH

Have an income of below £300,000

Deliver work at a local scale - for example supporting just one or a small number of communities, schools or groups

Tend to plan and deliver work over a one to two year time frame

Can demonstrate successful project delivery and the ability to monitor project outputs and outcomes

Have waited at least 24 months since last unsuccessful application

World Development Small Grant WASH Application Guidelines