Philanthropy

Ways To Give

Your gift to AWWA’s philanthropy provides educational opportunities to water professionals.

Water Equation

Ways To Give

Why is that important to you, your family, and your community?

AWWA’s Water 2050 Think Tanks revealed that recruiting water professionals now is essential to the future of water.

There are many ways that you can  contribute to the educational and leadership skills of water professionals. You can make a one-time gift and designate it to a particular program funded by Water Equation. You could also make a recurring monthly gift of any size that will help us to budget and grow our giving plans. This monthly gift will easily help you become a member of one of our giving circles and you will be recognized in our annual donor impact report for your generosity.

Our donors also give through our annual WE Walk event to benefit young professionals and young professionals, attend AWWA Section fundraising events, or participate in of our many AWWA events. You can register to play golf to benefit the Dr. Philip C. Singer Scholarship or run in a 5K to benefit Community Engineering Corps.

Corporate Sponsorships are a great way to support philanthropy while providing recognition to your business. You can sponsor an academic scholarship, a WE Walk team, or one of the ACE events — including the golf tournament, 5K race, or professional headshots.

Please contact us at we@awwa.org for more information.

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Double Your Donation

The Dr. James K. Edzwald Scholarship provided the inaugural $3000 scholarship at ACE24 in Anaheim, California. The new goal is to provide a $6000 scholarship at ACE26 in Washington, DC. A $15,000 matching gift will double your donation to and help to provide additional assistance to worthy graduate student.

You may know Dr. Edzwald as your professor at the University of Massachusetts, or from your volunteer work with AWWA committees. In this photo, you may recognize a young Dr. Jim Edzwald and an even younger Jim Malle.

Dr. Edzwald has been instrumental in educating thousands of water professionals at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Clarkson University, and University of Massachusetts as well as at AWWA conferences during his nearly 60-year tenure. It is only fitting that this lifetime AWWA member’s scholarship will contribute to the continuing education of those seeking water-related education.

The scholarship will recognize a graduate student pursuing research on documenting climate change effects on water quality and treatment and/or resilient treatment methods about supplies with algae, Cyanobacteria, natural organic matter, and/or contaminants of emerging concern to the drinking water industry.

With your generous gift, It will provide $6000 annually with preference to a graduate student whose application emphasizes career goals of serving the water field.

Double Your Donation

Charitable Giving

Giving through Donor Advised Funds

Have you heard of a DAF, but aren’t sure how it can help you to plan your annual giving? Fidelity Charitable has accepted AWWA’s Water Equation as a recognized philanthropy. It’s video will explain how to receive the most from a DAF.

Memorial & Honor Gifts

Honor your family, friends, and loved ones by helping to fund the future of water with a gift to AWWA Water Equation.

Your generous, tax-deductible gift will help water operators, students and young professionals with continuing education in water technologies and provide engineering assistance to underserved communities through Community Engineering Corps.

When you make a gift to the Water Equation, your loved one will receive a beautiful card sent by email or by postal mail letting them know about the gift in their name. There are many special occasions where a a gift to AWWA Water Equation makes for the perfect gift, including memorials and bequests, birthdays, holidays, celebrations, milestones and achievements, and in honor of someone special.

For more information, email us at donations@awwa.org.

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1881 Society

Water Equation recognizes its generous donations with the 1881 Society and Giving Circles. These philanthropic leaders recognize the importance of training and educating our current workforce while advancing future generations of water professionals. They also recognize the importance of safe and clean water delivery for all communities.

1881 Society

Circle of Giving

What can a group of intelligent, caring, and focused women accomplish? Anything! That is the reason AWWA’s Water Equation is creating the Women for Water Circle of Giving to benefit youth programs in the water industry.

Donate to the Woman for Water Circle

The Plan

As a member of this illustrious group, you will be asked to suggest a youth program to fund to benefit students as well as the water industry. Your group vote will determine the programs to fund and the impact on your community and others across the nation.

Our Impact

100% of your gift will benefit youth programs selected by this circle of giving. Youth programs can include but are not limited to funding robotics contests, water tower building, high school programs, and transportation to/from water related field trips.

Join Now

Take your place amongst the Women for Water promote the water industry through youth programming. You can choose to make a monthly gift of $83.33, a quarterly gift of $250 or an annual gift of $1,000 to Women for Water.

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Young Professionals Giving Circle

Support Water Equation to fund young professional (YP) leadership development programs, including YP Summit, DC Fly-In, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). AWWA Student and young professionals engage in programs, utilize resources, and connect with other water professionals through association and Section opportunities.

Donate Now

Planned Giving

Gift planning helps provide ways for you to manage your assets while providing lasting financial support to ensure that AWWA will continue to provide solutions to effectively manage water, the world’s most vital resource. The following are descriptions and the benefits of ways to give.

Some of these gifting possibilities may require consultation with an estate or financial planning professional advisor. AWWA does not provide financial planning or tax advising services. However, we can meet with you and your advisors to work out the best giving option for you and your family. For more information, call 303.734.3613.

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Your assets remain with you during your lifetime. Wills are simple and inexpensive to prepare. There is no upper limit on the estate tax deductions that can be taken for charitable bequests. You can designate to which programs you would like these funds to be donated.

Charitable Remainder Trust

You receive an immediate income tax deduction for some of your contribution to the trust. As long as you are one of the beneficiaries, you pay no immediate capital gains tax on any appreciated assets you donate. You or your designated beneficiaries receive fixed payments for life or a term of years. This gift benefits you now and AWWA later.

Charitable Lead Trust

This trust helps lower estate and gift taxes that would otherwise be due on the value of the assets. This charitable vehicle is especially attractive if you wish to leave assets to children or grandchildren in the future. All appreciation that takes place in the trust goes tax-free to your heirs.

Charitable Gift Annuity

In exchange for a gift of cash, marketable stock, or securities, AWWA will pay your income for life. In addition you may receive a substantial income tax reduction in the year of the gift, and a portion of the annual payment you received is not taxed. Upon the death of the beneficiaries, the remainder goes to the American Water Works Association.

Deferred Gift Annuity

You receive an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of your gifts. You can postpone your annuity payments until you need them. The longer you defer your payments, the higher the effective rate you will receive. The principal grows tax-free. This can be an excellent retirement planning vehicle to implement during prime income producing years.

Gift of Life Insurance

You receive a gift credit and an immediate income tax reduction for the cash surrender value for the policy. You can make a significant gift now to AWWA without adversely affecting your cash flow. You may remove the proceeds from the donor’s taxable estate upon death.

Gifts of Real Estate

You may receive a tax deduction for the full market value, minimize capital gains taxes, and remove the asset from future estate taxes. You can continue to live in and maintain the property as usual, and receive any income it generates. This arrangement creates an immediate income deduction and a federal estate tax deduction.

Retirement Accounts and Pension Plans

You can escape both income and estate tax levied on the residual left in your retirement account by leaving it to AWWA. You can continue to take withdrawals during your lifetime. You also can elect to leave retirement plan assets to AWWA through your will or revocable trust, instead.

 

Academic Scholarships

Abel Wolman Fellowship

The Abel Wolman Fellowship supports promising doctoral students in the United States, Canada and Mexico. This $30,000 award provides up to two years of funding for advanced training and research in the field of water supply and treatment.

Abel Wolman and Linn Enslow created a method for controlled chlorination that provided safe drinking water through the world. As the editor of the AWWA Journal and then president of AWWA, he was a major contributor in the science and engineering of sanitation and water resources. He made a major impact in public health through the provision of water and wastewater treatment.

Professor Wolman’s advances in research are now the basis for the advanced training of today’s doctoral students. Recognize his good works with a contribution to this fund.

$100 will recognize 100 years of water chlorination.

Larson Scholarship

The Larson Aquatic Research Support Scholarships (LARS) provides a $7,000 award to a doctoral student and a $5,000 award to a masters student annually who are interested in careers in the fields of corrosion control, treatment and distribution of domestic and industrial water supplies, aquatic chemistry, and/or environmental chemistry.

Dr. Larson studied at the University of Illinois and made major contributions to the water industry through his published research findings and his contributions to the field of water technology. He was elected as Board President of AWWA in 1970 and was instrumental in establishing the Water Research Foundation.

This endowed scholarship was established anonymously in 1989 by a colleague of Dr. Thurston E. Larson. Since then it has relied on funding through the generosity of AWWA donors. Help us to continue his legacy of research and technology by contributing to the LARS scholarship.

Dr. Philip Singer Scholarship

AWWA is creating an endowed scholarship to honor the legacy of Dr. Philip Singer, PhD, to offer an annual $3000 award to a graduate student pursuing a career in research in the area of drinking water/quality treatment.

Application requirements:

  • Graduate student at an accredited college or university
  • Plan of study to include water quality/treatment and public health
  • Current research emphasis is water quality/treatment

Donate online to honor the legacy of Dr. Philip C. Singer by contributing to a $100,000 endowed scholarship fund or download the donation form.

Corporate Scholarships

AWWA scholarships are mutually beneficial to the corporate sponsors and recipients, as they create a mentoring partnership which can result in an employment opportunity.

Corporate scholarships are an admirable way to show pride in the water industry, to support our workforce and to partner with AWWA’s philanthropy. Scholarships are formalized each summer for the scholarship application process.

For more information please contact us at we@awwa.org.

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