Wellspring
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About Wellspring
A foundation that stays.
Wellspring is a charity foundation working with mountain villages a day's walk from the nearest road. We bring solar light, clean water and schooling, and we keep coming back until the village runs them without us.
- Founded 2011
- 2,140 homes lit
- 91¢ of every dollar to the field
Tashing, Khaling valleyOur story
From eleven lamps to thirty-eight villages.
Scroll, or pick a year
2011How we work
Three rules we don't break.
01We walk in
Every village we work with is at least a day from the road. If a mule can't carry it, we don't specify it.
02The village owns it
Each lamp, tap and classroom is handed to a village committee with a trained keeper and a repair fund.
03We stay
We come back every spring for ten years. Most of what goes wrong goes wrong in year three.
Governance
Who checks the work.
Wellspring Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit · EIN 00-0000000
- Board
- Seven unpaid trustees, three of them from the valleys. Minutes are published within a month.
- Accounts
- Independently audited every year. 91¢ of every dollar reaches the field.
- Safeguarding
- Every staff member and volunteer is trained and checked before they travel.
About Wellspring
A foundation that stays.
Wellspring is a charity foundation working with mountain villages a day's walk from the nearest road. We bring solar light, clean water and schooling, and we keep coming back until the village runs them without us.
- Founded 2011
- 2,140 homes lit
- 91¢ of every dollar to the field
Tashing, Khaling valleyOur story
From eleven lamps to thirty-eight villages.
2011One village, eleven lamps
Two friends carry eleven solar lamps to Dhorpa and stay the winter to see if they last. They do.
2014First gravity-fed tap
Pangri digs four kilometres of trench by hand. Water arrives at the school yard in May.
2017Schools join
We start paying teachers through the winter, so eleven schools stop closing when the passes do.
2021The 1,000th home
A house in Sumdo. The village technician fits the panel herself.
202538 villages
2,140 homes lit, 38 villages on clean water, and the first valley team run entirely by people who grew up there.
How we work
Three rules we don't break.
- 01
We walk in
Every village we work with is at least a day from the road. If a mule can't carry it, we don't specify it.
- 02
The village owns it
Each lamp, tap and classroom is handed to a village committee with a trained keeper and a repair fund.
- 03
We stay
We come back every spring for ten years. Most of what goes wrong goes wrong in year three.
Governance
Who checks the work.
Wellspring Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit · EIN 00-0000000
- Board
- Seven unpaid trustees, three of them from the valleys. Minutes are published within a month.
- Accounts
- Independently audited every year. 91¢ of every dollar reaches the field.
- Safeguarding
- Every staff member and volunteer is trained and checked before they travel.
About Wellspring
A foundation that stays.
Wellspring is a charity foundation working with mountain villages a day's walk from the nearest road. We bring solar light, clean water and schooling, and we keep coming back until the village runs them without us.
- Founded 2011
- 2,140 homes lit
- 91¢ of every dollar to the field
Tashing, Khaling valleyOur story
From eleven lamps to thirty-eight villages.
Scroll, or pick a year
2011How we work
Three rules we don't break.
- 01
We walk in
Every village we work with is at least a day from the road. If a mule can't carry it, we don't specify it.
- 02
The village owns it
Each lamp, tap and classroom is handed to a village committee with a trained keeper and a repair fund.
- 03
We stay
We come back every spring for ten years. Most of what goes wrong goes wrong in year three.
Governance
Who checks the work.
Wellspring Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit · EIN 00-0000000
- Board
- Seven unpaid trustees, three of them from the valleys. Minutes are published within a month.
- Accounts
- Independently audited every year. 91¢ of every dollar reaches the field.
- Safeguarding
- Every staff member and volunteer is trained and checked before they travel.
In numbers
Fourteen years. One village at a time.
Wellspring is a charity foundation that works with mountain villages a day's walk from the nearest road. We bring solar light, clean water and schooling, and we stay until the village runs them without us.
- 2,140homes lit since 2011Counted house by house, 2025
- 38villages on clean waterTested every spring
- 11schools kept openTeachers paid through winter
- 91¢of every dollar to the fieldAudited accounts, 2025
In numbers
Fourteen years. One village at a time.
Wellspring is a charity foundation that works with mountain villages a day's walk from the nearest road. We bring solar light, clean water and schooling, and we stay until the village runs them without us.
- 2,140homes lit since 2011Counted house by house, 2025
- 38villages on clean waterTested every spring
- 11schools kept openTeachers paid through winter
- 91¢of every dollar to the fieldAudited accounts, 2025
In numbers
Fourteen years. One village at a time.
Wellspring is a charity foundation that works with mountain villages a day's walk from the nearest road. We bring solar light, clean water and schooling, and we stay until the village runs them without us.
- 2,140homes lit since 2011Counted house by house, 2025
- 38villages on clean waterTested every spring
- 11schools kept openTeachers paid through winter
- 91¢of every dollar to the fieldAudited accounts, 2025
Voices
Donors, partners, neighbours.
01 of 05I gave twenty-five dollars. Four months later they sent a photo of the exact house, with the lamp on. Nobody had ever shown me where my money went.I gave twenty-five dollars. Four months later they sent a photo of the exact house, with the lamp on. Nobody had ever shown me where my money went.
Hannah ReyesMonthly donor since 2019
Working with
All partners- FunderHalden Family TrustCore funding since 2013
- FunderNorthlight FundPays for every water test
- FunderThe Marlowe FoundationThree-year schools grant
- Field partnerKhaling Water Union38 village water committees
- Field partnerSarma Teachers' CircleRecruits and mentors teachers
- Field partnerHighpass MuleteersCarry every kit the last two days
- Field partnerValley Health NetworkTrains our health workers
- CorporateBrightcellPanels at cost
- CorporateOrrin & ValeMatches staff donations
- CorporateTern OutdoorBlankets and boots each winter
Wellspring Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit · EIN 00-0000000
Voices
Donors, partners, neighbours.
01 of 05I gave twenty-five dollars. Four months later they sent a photo of the exact house, with the lamp on. Nobody had ever shown me where my money went.I gave twenty-five dollars. Four months later they sent a photo of the exact house, with the lamp on. Nobody had ever shown me where my money went.
Hannah ReyesMonthly donor since 2019
Working with
All partners- FunderHalden Family TrustCore funding since 2013
- FunderNorthlight FundPays for every water test
- FunderThe Marlowe FoundationThree-year schools grant
- Field partnerKhaling Water Union38 village water committees
- Field partnerSarma Teachers' CircleRecruits and mentors teachers
- Field partnerHighpass MuleteersCarry every kit the last two days
- Field partnerValley Health NetworkTrains our health workers
- CorporateBrightcellPanels at cost
- CorporateOrrin & ValeMatches staff donations
- CorporateTern OutdoorBlankets and boots each winter
Wellspring Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit · EIN 00-0000000
Voices
Donors, partners, neighbours.
01 of 05I gave twenty-five dollars. Four months later they sent a photo of the exact house, with the lamp on. Nobody had ever shown me where my money went.I gave twenty-five dollars. Four months later they sent a photo of the exact house, with the lamp on. Nobody had ever shown me where my money went.
Hannah ReyesMonthly donor since 2019
Working with
All partners- FunderHalden Family TrustCore funding since 2013
- FunderNorthlight FundPays for every water test
- FunderThe Marlowe FoundationThree-year schools grant
- Field partnerKhaling Water Union38 village water committees
- Field partnerSarma Teachers' CircleRecruits and mentors teachers
- Field partnerHighpass MuleteersCarry every kit the last two days
- Field partnerValley Health NetworkTrains our health workers
- CorporateBrightcellPanels at cost
- CorporateOrrin & ValeMatches staff donations
- CorporateTern OutdoorBlankets and boots each winter
Wellspring Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit · EIN 00-0000000
Give
Turn one light on.
Choose your gift
$25 lights 3 homes for a year
2,140 homes lit since 2011 · 91¢ of every dollar goes to the field
Give
Turn one light on.
Choose your gift
$25 lights 3 homes for a year
2,140 homes lit since 2011 · 91¢ of every dollar goes to the field
Give
Turn one light on.
Choose your gift
$25 lights 3 homes for a year
2,140 homes lit since 2011 · 91¢ of every dollar goes to the field