GRANT PARTNER IMPACT STORY
Imagine H2O BUILDING A VIRTUAL SILICON VALLEY FOR WATER CIRCLE: ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY
THE ISSUE While it is well known that developing nations face life-threatening water challenges, the US also faces severe and rapidly escalating water problems. The struggle for clean water is now identified as one of the greatest challenges of our time, but until recently, few organizations were addressing it, especially in the US. According to Scripps Institute, 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 (approximately 10% of the US population) will run dry by 2021. Yet, the pervasive lack of awareness of water problems and the opportunity they provide for top entrepreneurs and investors meant that even in 2008, few innovators and funders were focusing on this crucial issue.
SNAPSHOT GRANT TERM:
2008-11
AFTER FULL CIRCLE FUND’S ENGAGEMENT, IH2O SECURED
$400,000 IN FOLLOW-ON FUNDING OVER 1,000 PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED IH2O WORKSHOPS HELD AT CAMPUSES AROUND THE COUNTRY IH2O HAS NOW HAD
4 SUCCESSFUL
YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL PRIZE COMPETITIONS, SUPPORTING MORE THAN
250 STARTUPS
THE MISSION
THE RESULTS
Imagine H2O (IH2O) was founded in 2008 by a team of leaders in the water, energy, and nonprofit sectors at Harvard Business School, with a mission to inspire and empower clean water and sanitation solutions. They saw the world's water crisis as an opportunity for new ideas, new businesses, and new ways to help people and the planet.
Full Circle Fund Members provided strategic advisory and outreach support to help grow IH2O and develop its mission within the numerous public, private and other water communities it hoped to serve. Members assisted at a key inflection point in the development of IH2O’s Consumer Innovations Program, which supports entrepreneurs and startups with promising water solutions by asking the question, “Do you have an idea that changes the way millions of people use water?”
IH2O solves a market failure in water innovation by turning water challenges into market opportunities that can be sustainably funded.
THE PARTNERSHIP Full Circle Fund Members were excited to find an organization leveraging innovation and visionary thinking to rectify waterrelated problems faced by communities around the globe. Full Circle Fund became one of IH2O’s earliest seed investors at a time when the organization was just gaining traction.
Members also helped IH2O establish a skilled volunteer base with nearly 100 participants passionate about water, to help execute the mission of the organization. Finally, Members offered guidance on how to best engage IH2O’s broader web-based community of 400 water-stakeholders.
“Full Circle Fund provided a visionary early grant to Imagine H2O. But the biggest benefit came from Full Circle's people and relationships. A Full Circle volunteer eventually became our COO, a Board Member joined our board, and together, we built partnerships and funding relationships that have enabled us to grow into a global platform for innovation to solve the world's water needs.” - Tamin Pechet Chairman Imagine H2O
Full Circle Fund is an engaged philanthropy organization cultivating the next generation of community leaders and driving lasting social change in the Bay Area. We recruit top leaders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, and empower them to leverage their experience, connections, and financial resources to benefit innovative social entrepreneurs and organizations. www.fullcirclefund.org