Blue Planet Network Financial Overview

Our goal is to keep Blue Planet Network expenses as low as possible while still providing a solid operating basis from which to grow the network.  Our overhead as a percentage of our total expenses is 12.7%. 

Since much of the work of the Network is performed by our members at no cost to Blue Planet Network, we do not have to hire incremental managers.  Our organization is as global as our network.  We have staff in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Boulder, Colorado.  The head of our technical staff and membership team works in Bangalore, India to be closer to our partner projects.  So we all pitch in and do whatever it takes to get the job done.

We calculate the average cost of providing safe drinking water per person by dividing our water program expenses by the number of people who gain access to the water.  This is an average cost, and actual costs may be higher or lower, depending on the actual project details.

Blue Planet Network covers our operating expenses through generous financial support from foundations, corporations, and major donors.  100% of online individual donations go to water and sanitation projects run by our network partners. 

We feel it’s important that you read about the specific water projects on out network…so you can see the specifics of where your generous donations are going and the impact they are having.  We also encourage you to read about our operations, finances, mission and programs in our 2010 Annual Report as well as our Guidestar status.

Annual Report  |  GuideStar 

In order to understand some of the Guidestar information better, it is helpful to understand that, historically, our operations were financed largely by our founder.  During that period, his contribution was divided evenly between donations and loans with an open-ended repayment date.  While we continue to report that loan and accrued interest as part of our financials, we assume that repayment date to be in the future and not something to be considered as part of our regular financial evaluation.  Currently, our focus is on raising operational financial support from third parties through grants and sponsorships.