How a clean water NGO plans to put itself out of business by 2032

Eric Stowe, the founder and CEO of the international clean water nonprofit Splash, has a plan to quite literally work himself out of a job. Splash has brought clean water to some 1 million children living in urban poverty in places where there is widespread consumption of unsafe water, lack of routine handwashing, and limited access to toilets. Since its launch in 2007, Splash has been guided by the idea that it should implement local systems to replace its own work long term. It has entered eight countries and exited six after demonstrating a model that is durable, cost-effective, and scalable — then getting out of the way. When his work is done, Stowe plans to shut down Splash as a charitable organization. And he hopes to do that by 2032. “In everything that we’re trying to do, we want to have an exit strategy, if not even a death knell of what we are as an INGO and what INGOs should be in general,” Stowe said at Devex’s WASH Works event last month alongside the United Nations 2023 Water Conference. Splash’s philosophy could provide a model to other international NGOs at a time when they’re trying to figure out their role amid growing calls for localization — the term for directing financing and shifting power to organizations based in the countries where aid work is implemented. Handing over the work to local partners Splash installs water filtration systems, water storage tanks, and drinking water stations; implements behavior change programs to promote healthy habits like handwashing; and strengthens menstrual health services. Back in 2013, Stowe gave a TEDx talk in Seattle, Washington, where he’s based, called “How to Kill Your Charity (Yes, That’s a Good Thing).” The audience laughed when he said he was so disillusioned by international nonprofits that he decided to start his own international nonprofit. Splash now has a small team in Seattle, other staff working remotely across the United States and internationally, and the majority of its nearly 70-person staff is based in Ethiopia, where the organization has recently expanded. Splash views its long-term success in terms of putting itself out of business in every country where it works, he explained. Since then, several other organizations working in water, sanitation, and hygiene, or WASH, have halted their operations and encouraged others to do the same. Experts in the sector say this work should be the government’s responsibility. So they demonstrate a model, work to build local capacity, then ensure there’s a plan in place for infrastructure to be maintained in the long term. “We’ve opened up offices in eight countries. We went from two to four to six to eight very quickly, and we’ve descended back down to two almost as quickly,” Stowe told Devex. “And in each case, we have effectively handed over our operations or services to a local provider.” For example, in Thailand, Splash handed operations to a for-profit water filtration company. In Vietnam, the local government took over. And in Bangladesh, the handover went to BRAC, the world’s largest NGO, which is based in the country. “In every single case, there’s likely to be a better long-term local solution,” Stowe said. Bringing water infrastructure to schools Stowe started Splash with the goal of reaching kids through a range of urban institutions, including orphanages, hospitals, and shelters. But more recently, the organization has focused entirely on schools. In 2018, Splash launched Project WISE — which stands for WASH in Schools for Everyone — in Kolkata, India and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The aim was to reach 100% of government schools in select cities, where Splash would introduce WASH infrastructure, behavior change programs, and menstrual health services. Project WISE is based on five principles: working with local staff, reaching every public school in the city, using local products, having a clear exit strategy, and reaching a minimum of 30% government investment in overall financing. In Ethiopia, where city governments have come forward with 35% of the financing, Splash has expanded to an additional city, Bahir Dar, with plans to launch in two additional cities next year. But in India, Splash didn’t see enough government commitment to ensure that its services are not needed in perpetuity. The government did not come forward with the required investment, leading the organization to halt its growth there last year. Splash built up a staff of 60 people there over two years, but eventually decided to close down operations in Kolkata. “We came to the table with $12 million, and said you need to put in at least $4-$5 [million],” Stowe said at the Devex event. “We just could not flush that cash out of the system.” Splash had reached a third of Kolkata’s schools, rather than its target of 100% coverage. But even when other funders offered to fill the gap left by government funding, Splash declined. “Schools would be reliant on us forever, and it would all fall apart the second we left,” Stowe told Devex. Still, there were learnings. If Splash were to do the work in India over again, Stowe said, he would select a different, medium-sized city for launch. He would still work with the local government, but extend partnerships to the federal government as well, in what he describes as “an accordion approach.” And he would coordinate with the ministry of finance in addition to the education ministry, since the finance officials control spending. Evolving the model While Splash views its work in Ethiopia as a success, a challenge with the work in both Ethiopia and India is that the models are almost entirely reliant on Splash, as opposed to local entities, Stowe said. Despite the INGO’s intentions to enter these countries with a clear exit strategy, Splash designed the program, did the work, and monitored the project. This ultimately made the handover more difficult than intended. Now, Stowe and his colleagues are moving into the next phase of Project WISE. They’re looking at possible countries for launch, with plans to expand to Kenya next year. And this time, they have a plan to ensure they can support local ownership. “We want the INGO to take a backseat,” Stowe said at the event. The idea is to work with and through local organizations from the outset. To avoid the power dynamics in many of these INGO partnerships, where there is a large primary organization and multiple smaller NGOs, Splash has reached out to organizations that are similar in size, budget, and mindset that can collaborate with the INGO to bring WASH to every public school in Kisumu and Mombasa in Kenya. Examples include the Sanergy Collaborative, which is behind Fresh Life Toilets, and Shining Hope for Communities, or SHOFCO, which provides a range of services in urban slums. “Every one of these cities that these partners work in need WASH in schools, and what we’re saying is they’re more capable, more efficient, more effective, and more appropriate than us in the long term,” he told Devex. “So why not just accelerate this?” Working with local partners should allow Splash to get in and out of Kenya within five or six years, Stowe said. That’s a big contrast with Ethiopia, where Splash initially started working in 2008, meaning they will have been in the country for 20 years by the time the organization closes its operations there in 2028. Stowe said he wants Project WISE to reach 12 cities across four countries. Then by 2030, the INGO will stop taking on new services, closing down its nonprofit activities within the next two years. At that point, Splash might pivot to a consultancy providing technical assistance to governments and local NGOs, Stowe said. Ultimately, the goal is that “nobody needs us anymore,” Stowe said. Update, April 7, 2023: This story has been updated with information on what Splash might do after it shuts down its charitable work.