These 5 Organizations Are World Water Day Champs

The United Nations designated March 22 World Water Day back in 1993. In the 26 years since, freshwater has only become more important—and more difficult to come by.

A staggering one in four primary schools now lack access to clean drinking water, and 2.1 billion people live without safe water at home. The theme of this year's World Water Day, "Leaving Nobody Behind," addresses this injustice and speaks to the UN's goal of bringing potable water to all by 2030.

"Today, billions of people are still living without safe water—their households, schools, workplaces, farms and factories struggling to survive and thrive," the World Water Day website reads. "Marginalized groups—women, children, refugees, indigenous peoples, disabled people, and many others—are often overlooked and sometimes face discrimination, as they try to access and manage the safe water they need."

What they do:

Clean Water Action was founded to support the most comprehensive legislation on freshwater in the U.S., the Clean Water Act, in 1972. Since then, the organization has put on activist trainings around the country in the name of water safety. They also do a lot of campaigning for environmental politicians, organize cleanups, and raise awareness about lesser known water issues around the world. (Their blog is a must-follow.)

What they want you to do:

What they do:

This nonprofit works to bring clean water and working toilets to those in need. Since 1981, WaterAid has managed to bring water to 25.8 million people and toilets to 25.1 million by engaging with governments around the world on the importance of proper sanitation and donating money to community partners.

What they want you to do:

"This World Water Day, we are asking consumers to think about the 'virtual' water cost of many consumer products. According to our World Water Day Report, your morning coffee, for example, has a virtual water cost of almost 35 gallons of water, in terms of planting, irrigation and processing. Avocados are also water-intensive; just 1 pound of avocados requires 238 gallons of water. One hamburger has a virtual water cost of 449 gallons of water."

What they do:

The Water Project is doing amazing work in sub-Saharan Africa. The nonprofit has been funding infrastructure such as wells, sand dams, and rainwater collection systems for 10 years and sharing progress in real time on their impact page. (When I checked, they'd helped bring water to 428,750 people so far that day!)

What they want you to do:

What they do:

When you donate to Water.org, your money goes toward loans for families that lack fresh water. Operating off the idea that charity alone is not a long-term solution, these microloans empower people to take charge of their water supply for good.

What they want you to do: 

Water.org encourages giving directly to women and girls since they are often the ones whose livelihoods are most affected by water scarcity. (According to the U.N., women and girls are responsible for collecting water in eight out of 10 water-scarce households.)

What they do:

charity: water has raised over $360 million to help provide water to 9.5 million people in 27 countries by donating 100 percent of public donations straight to water-starved areas thanks to the support of a robust donor group. Then, it maps every completed project on Google Maps for total transparency.

What they want you to do: