WaterAid partners with YouTubers to raise $40m for clean water in a month

Photo credit: WaterAid/ Lee-Ann Olwage

WaterAid partnered with YouTubers MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) and Mark Rober as they launched #TeamWater on 1 August, a global campaign to raise $40m by 31 August to bring clean water to 2m people.

The initiative seeks to rally action and donations globally, by harnessing the reach of content creators with a combined following of 2bn subscribers. MrBeast and Mark Rober launched the campaign on Friday on their YouTube channels, and will lead the charge with call-to-action videos across their platforms, activating a global network of creators to raise awareness and drive donations. Emerging from the YouTube and TikTok creator networks, #TeamWater is rooted in the platforms where creators and audiences come together, fuelling a global movement through community-driven engagement.

#TeamWater is the third large-scale environmental campaign led by Donaldson and Rober, following the success of #TeamTrees and #TeamSeas, which together raised over $50m to plant 20m trees and remove 30m pounds of rubbish from oceans, rivers, and beaches worldwide.  

Tim Wainwright, chief executive of WaterAid UK, said: “We’re pairing up with the world’s most influential content creators as part of a powerful global movement to tackle one of the world’s most solvable challenges: the global water crisis.

“All funds raised will go towards long-term, sustainable water solutions – from solar-powered wells to hundreds of miles of pipes – for homes, schools and healthcare centres. With WaterAid’s decades of experience, we will ensure #TeamWater’s impact will change lives, delivering clean water to millions, for decades.”