Giving Compass' Take:

· Writing for Global Citizen, Joe McCarthy and Erica Sanchez explain that billions of people around the world lack access to clean and safe drinking water, but celebrities like Matt Damon are working with organizations to make a difference and end this injustice. 

· How can donors make an effort to expand access to clean drinking water around the world? Is this an issue we face in the US?

· Check out these 5 clean water ventures changing the world through safe drinking water. 

Farmers in Tigray, Ethiopia, were able to overcome a drought and boost their crop yields when they tapped a nearby water well. A female entrepreneur in Nairobi, Kenya, was able to expand her business after buying two water tanks. Families in Mahahalli Village, India, no longer needed to pay water trucks when they came together to build a well.

These stories are bound together by both the transformative power of water, and the entrepreneurial potential of people who are given access to resources.

As unlikely as it sounds, they’re also connected to Academy Award-winning actor Matt Damon.

Through his nonprofit organization Water.org, more than 16 million people have received access to quality water and sanitation over the past decade.

And after so many successful case studies, Damon recently told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the group is raising more money than ever, meaning it will be able to help higher volumes of people each year.

“Our model is undeniable now," he said Thursday in an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box.

Read the full article about access to safe drinking water by Joe McCarthy and Erica Sanchez at Global Citizen.