Blood:Water

Blood:Water Healthy Partners. Healthy Communities. Yet, the development sector has largely undervalued their contributions. Blood:Water was built to be different.

Blood:Water partners with African community-driven organizations to end water- and HIV/AIDS-related health disparities through organizational strengthening and financial support. We find, vet, and partner with growth-stage organizations
operating on the fringes of the funding ecosystem whose work is already
evidencing meaningful change. We commit to eight-year partnerships
that combine organizational strengthening (OS) investments with flexible
funding to advance sustained community-led health and resilience. Communities and locally-led, community-based organizations are already driving meaningful impact through their knowledge, resilience, and innovation. Therefore, despite decades of effort and trillions of dollars spent, health disparities in East and Southern Africa persist, driven by complex, interconnected challenges, including the ongoing impact of HIV/AIDS and inadequate access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). These locally-led organizations are the most effective change agents impacting health disparities, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 & 6. Still, they receive less than 10% of global funding — and less than .1% in flexible funding — to strengthen their organizational health and invest in long-term solutions. This lack of support undermines their sustainability and challenges their full missional potential. As it has for the past twenty years, Blood:Water remains committed to supporting the mission, vision, and strength of locally-led organizations — where partners lead, funding is flexible, and communities are honored as the heart of lasting change.

We’re thrilled to welcome Hillary Omala to the Blood:Water Board of Directors.Hillary is Investment Director at Dovetail...
08/24/2026

We’re thrilled to welcome Hillary Omala to the Blood:Water Board of Directors.

Hillary is Investment Director at Dovetail Impact Foundation and brings more than 20 years of leadership across African civil society and global health. He previously served as Executive Director of CFK Africa and the Kakenya Center for Excellence and held senior leadership roles at Lwala Community Alliance.

His career began in infectious-disease surveillance research with the CDC/KEMRI program, where he developed a conviction that continues to guide his work: the best decisions are grounded in evidence and in the communities they serve.

That commitment to evidence-based, community-led change is deeply aligned with our own. We’re honored to welcome Hillary’s experience, insight, and perspective to our board.

Please join us in celebrating Hillary. 🌍

When much of the world's development funding disappeared last year, local leaders didn't. And neither did we.Throughout ...
07/30/2026

When much of the world's development funding disappeared last year, local leaders didn't. And neither did we.

Throughout 2025, Blood:Water's partners kept showing up for the communities that know and trust them most, even as they navigated real uncertainty. Our new Annual Report, The Power of Community, tells that story:
🌍 11 African-led, community-rooted partners safeguarding care for 1.1 million people
🎓 2 partners celebrating graduation after eight years of partnership
🤝 130 leaders learning and growing together through The Leader Collective
📈 A growing movement of supporters investing in local leadership for the long term

This report is a look back at what deep partnership made possible, and a reminder of why locally led work matters now more than ever: bloodwater.org/ar25

This month, we asked you to think about the leaders who shaped your life, and to recognize that same quality of leadersh...
05/29/2026

This month, we asked you to think about the leaders who shaped your life, and to recognize that same quality of leadership in the women and men serving communities across East and Southern Africa.

Blood:Water’s partners are leading the kind of work that cannot be sustained from a distance. They are strengthening community health systems, supporting HIV care, expanding access to clean water, and walking with families through needs they know by name.

They kept going when global health funding was cut, supply chains were interrupted, and programs built over years were suddenly left without support. They are doing it right now.

This is the leadership that holds communities together.

Your gift helps extend the reach of leaders who are already at work:
$50 helps reach about 15 people.
$100 helps reach about 30 people.
$250 helps reach about 75 people.

Dedicate and send an e-card to a leader who changed your world, and help fund the frontline. → https://fundraise.bloodwatermission.com/campaign/790194/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=organicmay26

You know what a leader looks like.Not because someone described it to you, but because you lived it: the mother who carr...
05/25/2026

You know what a leader looks like.

Not because someone described it to you, but because you lived it: the mother who carried more than you knew, the mentor who showed up, the person who helped you become who you are.

That kind of leadership does not just shape families. It holds communities together.

When global health funding disappeared overnight, programs were cut without warning. Medication supply chains were interrupted. Community health systems were left without support.

But local leaders kept showing up.

They knew the names and faces of the people at risk of losing care. They absorbed what they could, found workarounds, and kept going because the people depending on them had not stopped needing them.

This is not a crisis that happened and ended. It's ongoing. And what happens next for communities across East and Southern Africa depends, in large part, on whether those leaders are supported.

Today, you can give and send an e-card someone who showed up for you, and help fund local leaders showing up for thousands of others across East and Southern Africa → https://fundraise.bloodwatermission.com/campaign/790194/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=organicmay26

The first leader most of us ever knew was a mother.She showed up, day after day. She cared, guided, protected, and carri...
05/08/2026

The first leader most of us ever knew was a mother.

She showed up, day after day. She cared, guided, protected, and carried more than we probably ever realized.

That kind of leadership often goes unnamed. But it shapes who we become.

This Mother’s Day, you can honor her or another leader who shaped your life in a meaningful way.

When you give in her name, you can send an e-card to let her know a gift has been made in her honor, supporting leaders who are showing up for their communities every day.

https://fundraise.bloodwatermission.com/campaign/790194/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=organicmay26

This Mother's Day, we're thinking about what leadership actually looks like. For most of us, the first leader we knew wa...
05/04/2026

This Mother's Day, we're thinking about what leadership actually looks like. For most of us, the first leader we knew was a mother who carried more than anyone saw.

At Blood:Water, we partner with local leaders in East and Southern Africa doing that exact kind of work, quietly, consistently, for their entire communities. And this May, we you can honor both.

When you give this month, you can dedicate your gift and send an e-card to a mother or someone special who led you. It's a small gesture that honors the leadership that you've known personally and that's changing the world.

Give today and send a card to someone worth celebrating. 💙
https://fundraise.bloodwatermission.com/campaign/790194/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=organicmay26

04/27/2026

We’ve been working on something meaningful… and it’s finally here.

🎙️ Rooted: A Podcast from The Leader Collective at Blood:Water

On Rooted, we sit with leaders across East and Southern Africa to hear the stories of moments that rooted them in purpose and continue to guide their work today.

These are stories about people: resilience, hopes, disappointments and unimaginable victories. Because every mission starts with a person, and every person has roots.

Our hope is that you would find common ground here and that these conversations create connection, invite reflection, and inspire you to lead with purpose.

📻Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BEnftyNLTT2P9z7aOCE17
🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rooted/id1893048984?i=1000761096924�
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W27kNa5NNi0&list=PLCGaJ5qyw3mY6Z_Qu_bf9xQ4qCymN1kMo

We're thrilled to welcome Ntefeleng Nene to the Blood:Water Board of Directors.Ntefeleng is Partner and Head of Bridgesp...
04/17/2026

We're thrilled to welcome Ntefeleng Nene to the Blood:Water Board of Directors.

Ntefeleng is Partner and Head of Bridgespan's Africa office, where she works alongside philanthropy and nonprofit leaders shaping a stronger future for African-led development. Her career spans public health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equity, organizational strengthening, and leadership development, with earlier roles at Accenture Development Partnerships, Management Sciences for Health, and FHI360.

Through all of it, one conviction has run through her work: African institutions and leaders have the vision, capacity, and innovation to drive lasting change in their own communities. It's a conviction we share, and one of the reasons we're so honored to welcome her perspective to our Board.

Please join us in celebrating Ntefeleng. We're glad she's here. 🌍

We have exciting news to share. Geoffrey Kinaalwa Ssemakula has joined the Blood:Water Board of Directors, and we couldn...
04/15/2026

We have exciting news to share. Geoffrey Kinaalwa Ssemakula has joined the Blood:Water Board of Directors, and we couldn't be more grateful.

Geoffrey is the Executive Director of Partners for Community Transformation (PaCT) in Uganda. Over more than 18 years, he has dedicated his career to building community-led solutions that address structural inequality and create real pathways for young people and vulnerable communities to thrive.

His work spans HIV prevention, WASH, maternal health, education, and economic empowerment, and under his leadership PaCT has expanded nationally, delivering hundreds of water points and integrated community interventions across Uganda.

Geoffrey is also the founder of La' Marc Coffee, a purpose-driven Ugandan coffee brand supporting youth entrepreneurship through training, mentorship, and enterprise development.

He joins the board as one of our newest graduated partners, bringing not only deep expertise in locally led development, but the firsthand perspective of a leader who has walked alongside Blood:Water in partnership. That experience is rare, and we believe it will shape the organization in meaningful ways.

Please join us in welcoming Geoffrey. We're honored to have him at the table. 🌍💧

We have some exciting news to share. Lisa Corcoran joined Blood:Water in January as our Chief of Staff, a newly created ...
04/09/2026

We have some exciting news to share. Lisa Corcoran joined Blood:Water in January as our Chief of Staff, a newly created role that reflects where we are as an organization and where we're headed.

Lisa will ensure alignment across strategy, people, and operations, and lead our integrated development team. These responsibilities sit at the heart of our growth as a more nimble global team, with leadership and operations centered in Nairobi.

What makes this moment especially meaningful: Lisa is not new to Blood:Water. She has been a trusted collaborator and friend to our partner community for years. She is drawn to this work for the same reasons that have always defined us: trust-based philanthropy, and walking alongside partners not just as funders, but as long-term allies.

Lisa's career spans law and social justice, with deep respect for the people and organizations doing the hard, hopeful work of real change. She spent eight years at For Impact partnering with social-impact organizations on leadership, fundraising, and organizational support. Most recently, she served as Board Chair of the Amani Institute, helping steward a co-founder transition and merger.

Please join us in welcoming Lisa. We're so glad she's here.

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PO Box 60381
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37206

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Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
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