Vessel Collective: Bridging the US Water Gap
2025 Catalyst Fund Awardee
George McGraw
Venture
Vessel CollectiveProgram
Catalyst FundLocation
United States
Year
2025With over a decade of experience in the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) sector, George McGraw is a leading expert in the human right to water and sanitation. As founder and CEO of DigDeep, he has led significant efforts, including community programs, policy initiatives, and research to bring clean, running water into American homes. George’s leadership was instrumental in producing the first national study to make visible the real scale of the water access crisis in the US: over 2.2 million people endure life without access to running water and basic plumbing. This disparity disproportionately affects communities of color, tribal nations, immigrants, and low-income families in rural areas. Recognizing the urgent need for systemic change, George founded Vessel™—convening and catalysing key stakeholders to take collective action and close the gap.
Closing the Water Access gap requires a dedicated community of practice working alongside impacted communities to lead the charge through advocacy and action.
As a deeply entrenched systemic issue, the US's WASH crisis requires a multipronged coordinated effort with actors across the public, private and nonprofit sector that is led in collaboration with the communities who are most affected. Vessel™ operates nationwide, forging powerful alliances with nearly 15 US-focused WASH organizations such as Water For People, US Water Alliance, and Community Engineering Corps. Vessel™ drives impact by developing solutions in collaboration with impacted communities, raising awareness, supporting and advocating for the collection of data & information, challenging traditional concepts of WaSH, and advancing partnerships with other US WaSH organizations. In May 2024, Vessel™ held its first-ever US WASH Convening and welcomed approximately 300 attendees from more than 100 organizations, 30% of which represented frontline communities.
The Vessel™ collective’s unique position as a convener allows them to identify critical priorities from across geographies and sectors and build meaningful consensus for sustainable change. Vessel™ is laying the foundation in building a formal, robust, and dedicated U.S. WASH sector: a network of nonprofits, funders, academics, government agencies and other community champions to share knowledge, strategic coordination, and engage in more effective policy making.
Indigenous woman outside the US Capitol Building
Vessel Collective members distributing clean drinking water to communities