FAQ

• Imagine H2O is 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and empowering people to solve water problems.
• Our annual competitions unlock the power of imagination and entrepreneurship, turning the water crisis into an opportunity.
• We believe that the market-based pillars of entrepreneurship and innovation offer the best strategy to spur water solutions, but our motivation is the social outcome.

• Direct Impact: We measure the number of participants in our competitions, the number of sustainable solutions that our program inspires and supports, and the success of the solutions by how many reach the market and their market success;
• Systemic Impact: We measure our success in creating an ecosystem for water innovation: (a) The size and depth of our community of entrepreneurs, inventors, caring citizens, scientists, and industry and capital partners dedicated to the water sector; (b) Our ability to raise the profile of water as an opportunity.

• Imagine H2O was founded in 2007 by a team of leaders in the water, energy, and non-profit sectors at Harvard Business School. We saw the world’s water crisis as an opportunity for new ideas, new businesses, and new ways to help people and the planet.

• Yes. Imagine H2O is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

• As a nonprofit, Imagine H2O is best suited to unite stakeholders from the public and private sector around the importance of water issues.

• The struggle for clean water is one of the greatest challenges of our time.  It effects health, economics, politics, and the environment.
• Water scarcity affects every continent and affects 4 out of every 10 people (World Health Organization)
• 1.1 billion people live without clean water today (World Water Forum)
• Water related diseases are the leading cause of child death, killing 4,500 children per day (UNICEF)

• Right here in the U.S. we face severe and rapidly escalating water problems.
• Demand in the U.S. has tripled in the past 30 years while the population has grown only 50% (Goldman Sachs)
• Up to $1 trillion is needed to rebuild America’s aging water infrastructure (Goldman Sachs)
• Over 80% of US waterways are contaminated by medications (US Geological Survey)
• Over 50% of America’s groundwater is polluted (CNN)
• States and cities are unprepared for water challenges that are only expected to grow more severe: in 2007, 40% of states suffered droughts and over 70% of states will incur water shortages by 2013 (EPA)
• Major water sources for millions of Americans are in jeopardy: there is a 50% chance that Lake Mead, a key source of water for 25 million people or approximately 10% of the US population, will run dry by 2021 (Scripps Institute)
• Over the last 25 years, droughts have killed more Americans than any other U.S. weather disaster and have caused $150 billion in damage nationally (Dept. of Commerce)
• Moving and treating water uses 19% of California’s electricity and 30% of its natural gas (California Energy Commission)

• For-profit and non-profit organizations, as well as government agencies, are responsible for providing an amazing water systems that billions of people rely upon.  But clearly, there is much more to do. 
• For-profit sector: A pervasive lack of awareness of water problems and the opportunity they provide for top entrepreneurs and investors means few innovators and funders focus on water. In addition, water solutions often face difficult paths to market. Today, less than 0.5% of venture capital funds water entrepreneurship.
• Non-profit sector: The water crisis has been broadly under-served by the nonprofit sector because activity: 1) Focuses primarily on developing countries, 2) Relies on philanthropic and policy-based solutions, not inventive commercial solutions, and 3) Lumps water with other social or clean energy initiatives.

• Imagine H2O solves the “market failure” for innovation in clean water and sanitation by:
  • Defining prize categories which focus attention on market opportunities that can be sustainably funded
  • Holding our annual prize competitions to select the best solutions to critical water problems and in future years, holding prize competitions for innovations in water policy, and youth prizes for the next generation of water innovators and leaders
  • Providing a go-to-market vehicle by incubating competition winners to help them reach market
  • Creating an ecosystem for water innovation, a virtual Silicon Valley for water, allowing stakeholders to connect and support each other
  • For more information on the Water Opportunity, click here

• All of us.  We believe availability of clean water and sanitation will be the dominant issue of the coming decades in the US and around the world, touching everything from human life, to health, to economics.

• To get involved, please join Imagine H2O
• You can get involved in the following ways:
  • Entrepreneurs and Innovators: Compete for the inaugural Imagine H2O Prize for Water Efficiency
  • Judges and Mentors: We are recruiting competition judges with expertise in water and entrepreneurship.
  • Volunteers: There are a number of opportunities to get involved, as much or as little as you’d like
  • Sponsors and Donors: Unique opportunities for sponsorship
  • Partners: We rely on a network of partners across stakeholder categories.