WATSAN Trustee Kate Parrinder delivered a six-minute pitch to an audience of donors, and managed to raise over £5,200 to build a rainwater collection tank and toilets at Bwambara Hill.

Kate was one of four speakers to pitch their project at The Funding Network‘s Oxford event on 17th May 2018. Following the four pitches, the charity representatives leave the room and a compere chairs a pledging session where audience members can call out the amounts they would like to give to each of the projects, starting at £50. Many generous donors gave multiple significant donations, allowing WATSAN and the other charities to make thousands of pounds for a series of inspiring projects.

WATSAN’s pitch was for the much-needed water and sanitation facilities at Bwambara Hill, where a community of 1,500 people currently only have access to clean water via a single spring. This source frequently dries up due to the climate conditions in the area, and people resort to collecting water from the polluted Rushaya river.

Before pledging started, WATSAN’s pitch was backed up by our sponsor and donor Martin Fosten, who spoke for one minute about why he supports WATSAN, and pledged the first £250. We are very grateful to Martin, whose charismatic delivery certainly helped build our credibility and bring in the pledges!

The funds collected will allow WATSAN to build a rainwater collection tank and latrines at Bwambara Hill, having a huge positive impact on the surrounding community.

Other projects successful at The Funding Network Oxford were the Ark T Centre, Human Story Theatre and Oxford Against Cutting. More information about them and the event can be found here.

If you’d like to read Kate’s pitch to The Funding Network, please download her slides here.