Lifewater among Canada’s 10 most impactful charities

Volunteer-driven organization with no full-time staff ranked for second straight year as one of the best charities Canada for how much ‘bang for the buck’ donors achieve

Nov. 19, 2020 – Lifewater Canada, a non-profit organization providing safe accessible water to people who desperately need it in Africa and Haiti, has been ranked for the second consecutive year as one of the best charities in Canada for translating donations into meaningful improvement in people’s lives.

The ranking comes from Charity Intelligence, an independent organization that monitors the performance of 800+ non-profit organizations in Canada. Each year, Charity Intelligence compiles its “Top 10 Impact Charities” list. The 2020 version was released today, and again includes Lifewater.

“These top 10 have the highest measurable demonstrated impact,” says Greg Thomson, Charity Intelligence’s Director of Research. Our calculations estimate this group . . . delivers average returns of almost seven dollars for every dollar donated, compared with average returns of 1-2 dollars.”

In addition to including Lifewater in its Top 10 impact list, Charity Intelligence has listed Lifewater as Canada’s top water-focused charity, and made it one of only 11 charities of any kind in the entire country to receive an overall A+ rating.

“We are honored to again be reviewed so favorably by Charity Intelligence, an organization dedicated to helping Canadians make intelligent decisions about their charitable giving,” Lifewater president Lynda Gehrels says. “We’ll continue to focus on keeping our administrative and fundraising costs as low as possible (6% in 2019-2020) while ensuring that every donated dollar provides safe, accessible water.”

The U.S. Centre for Disease Control says 780 million people are forced to drink untreated water every day. Someone – usually a child – is dying every 20 seconds from diarrheal diseases (including dysentery and cholera) caused by dirty water and inadequate sanitation.

In response to this grim reality, Lifewater is drilling wells, rehabilitating dormant wells, repairing broken handpumps so wells can be functional again, installing rainwater catchment systems, constructing toilets and handwashing stations, and providing vital health and hygiene training.

About Lifewater Canada:

Lifewater was founded by Jim Gehrels in 1997 after the Ontario government hydrologist visited Africa and saw the urgent need for safe, accessible water. Despite an eye disease that would eventually leave him blind, Gehrels travelled overseas many times to oversee Lifewater’s operations. His wife Lynda often travelled and served with him. When Jim passed away last July, Lynda began leading Lifewater. The non-profit Christian charity is headquartered in Thunder Bay, ON, but also has part-time staff in Swift Current, SK, and Calgary, AB. They oversee water projects in Liberia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Haiti.

For interviews and/or more information:

Lynda Gehrels – President, Lifewater Canada – lifewatercanada@gmail.com or (807) 622-4848