By Katy Snyder, JVA Consulting

A while back, we wrote a blog about the great work that Denver-based Water for People is doing to maintain open and honest conversations with its donors about how it is meeting its goals and objectives as it works to solve water, sanitation and hygiene problems in the developing world. With a track record like this, we were not surprised to learn about its latest achievements: both the organization and its CEO, Ned Breslin, won the Skoll Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Award, and the organization made it onto a list of the best NGOs in the world.

According to Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, who is quoted on Water for People’s website, “For the last 20 years, Water For People has been working toward solving the global water and sanitation crisis affecting nearly two billion of the world’s population.” Osberg also pointed to the organization’s openness as a reason for its recognition: “Ned Breslin has led the organization to become one of the most innovative NGOs tackling the challenge. By putting transparency and accountability at the heart of its programs, Water For People is demonstrating its commitment to long-lasting water and sanitation solutions and changing the business as usual approach to development.”

Part of that innovation, the FLOW mobile phone system, which we mentioned in our previous Nonprofit Street article was also cited by Skoll as a determining factor in its award to Water for People. The FLOW system uses mobile phone technology to pinpoint water systems that aren’t working and quickly fix them. Osberg called FLOW, “an innovation poised to become a standard assessment tool for the aid community.”

Water for People also earned a spot on the Global Journal’s list of top 100 NGOs. And it didn’t just make the list, it was in the top 20—placing 17th out of 100 of the best nonprofits in the world. The ranking also placed Water for People in the company of such heavy hitters as CARE International, Oxfam and Human Rights Watch, which all scored within the top 20 as well.

If you’d like to further the cutting-edge work that Water for People is doing to provide clean water in a pioneering, community-driven way, join the Rocky Mountain Section of Water For People on Friday, March 9, 2012, from 6–10 p.m. at The Westin Denver Downtown for its Annual Theme Dinner Gala fundraiser. This year’s event celebrates Water For People’s work in Bolivia. The evening features a cocktail hour; silent auction; keynote speech by Jake Norton (co-founder of Challenge 21, www.challenge21.com); Bolivian-themed dinner; and a live auction by the Auction Divas. Registration for the event is online at http://www.rmswaterforpeople.org. Sponsorships are also available online or by contacting Emily Allen at emilyallen@kennedyjenks.com. All funds raised will support Water For People’s water and sanitation programs around the world.