Urban Water Funders

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Meet the Urban Water Funders Steering Committee

Water shapes the economic growth, environment and social fabric of our communities and is vital to our daily lives.  Increasingly communities are facing a variety of water related challenges – aging and inadequate water infrastructure, flooding, drought and extreme weather, and water service affordability.

Urban Water Funders is a network of place-based and national funders addressing urban water issues in communities across the country.  Funders learn together, build relationships, and catalyze action.

Currently, funders are prioritizing a variety of solutions to urban water issues — including One Water approaches, natural and green infrastructure and climate resilient strategies — with a strong focus on water equity and vulnerable communities.

Our goal is to explore the role of water in urban settings to the benefit of the environment, equity and economies of communities, with specific interest in:

• Climate resilience, including an emerging interest in disaster preparedness
• Natural infrastructure and green stormwater infrastructure
• Integrated water management or One Water

The Funders Network strives to provide funders with the tools, connections, partnerships and resources they need to inform and strengthen their grantmaking.

Funders that participate in the Urban Water Funders are able to:

• Connect and learn together on a range of relevant topics.
• Align efforts to scale up solutions to urban water challenges.
• Collaborate on joint projects and special initiatives.

By engaging with the Urban Water Funders working group, funders have the opportunity to:

• Attend annual in-person meeting to build relationships and explore collaboration.
• Deepen their knowledge about topics of national interest through regular learning calls and webinars.
• Learn and share with fellow funders through regular peer learning calls and virtual brown-bag conversations.
• Align philanthropic efforts on urban water issues through conference calls, in-person meetings, funder exchanges, and data-sharing to explore specific issues.

How can I participate?

TFN working groups and initiatives are open to participation from TFN members and non-members alike. We welcome participation from grantmaking organizations, philanthropy serving organizations, local governments, and infrastructure groups that support funders. If you would like to subscribe to TFN’s Urban Water Funders working group in order to receive newsletters and other resources, click here. 

To learn more about how your organization can become a TFN member, please visit our member services resource page here.

Urban Water Funders, originally known as the Stormwater Funders’ Group, was created in 2010 and initially operated as an ad hoc group interested in the intersection of smart growth and sustainable stormwater practices. In 2012, the Stormwater Funders’ Group became a learning network in coordination with leading national and regional funders. In 2015, the Stormwater Funders’ Group developed a formal steering committee structure as it shifted from a learning network to one focused on aligning and action. The group changed its name to Urban Water Funders in November 2017 to better reflect its goals and participating funder interests.