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iDE’s excellence in combating poverty through building markets is recognized by the global community


While the bottom line for iDE is improving the lives of the farmers and poor families we work with, we appreciate it when our efforts are singled out by those who evaluate effectiveness and impact. The following timeline highlights some of the awards that iDE, either globally or for a particular program, has won in recent years.

  1. 2023

    GuideStar

    GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency  

    The GuideStar database contains a profile for every tax-exempt nonprofit registered with the IRS. GuideStar encourages every nonprofit to claim and update its profile at no cost to the organization. Updating allows nonprofits to share a wealth of up-to-date information with more than 8 million people who visit GuideStar to learn more about nonprofit organizations each year. To reach the Platinum level, which iDE has done since 2017, iDE provides extensive information to its Nonprofit Profile on GuideStar, demonstrating our commitment to transparency and to giving donors and funders meaningful data to evaluate our work.

    thedotgood (fka NGO Advisor)

    2023 thedotgood Top 200 SGO (#20)   

    thedotgood (formerly known as NGO Advisor) publishes a list of the Top 500 World SGOs annually. iDE first appeared on the list in 2012 at #75 for our work in India. Since then, we’ve appeared on the list each year for our work across the globe in 2013 (#30), 2014 (#36),  2015 (#36), 2016 (#33), 2017 (#31), 2018 (#27), 2019 (#24), 2020 (#22), and 2022 (#21). thedotgood uses a journalistic approach to research and reporting on SGOs, uncovering the full range of the human aspects of SGO activity that goes beyond simply reviewing financial statements.

  2. 2021

    1% for the Planet

    Nonprofit Partner
    iDE is a proud member of 1% for the Planet, a global network of businesses, individuals, and nonprofits committed to ensuring our planet and future generations thrive. EcoVessel, who sponsored iDE's membership, commits 1% of its gross sales to directly support participating nonprofit members.

    Fast Company's 2021 World Changing Ideas

    Finalist, Impact Investing
    The Cambodia Rural Sanitation Development Impact Bond (DIB) was named a finalist in the Impact Investing category of Fast Company's 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards. The awards, announced on May 4, 2021, honor businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation when it comes to solving health and climate crises, social injustice, or economic inequality.

  3. 2020

    Million Lives Club 

    iDE has been selected as an official Vanguard member of the Million Lives Club, an initiative that celebrates innovators and social entrepreneurs who are scaling impact in improving the lives of those living on less than $5 a day. The Vanguard distinction celebrates those who have directly impacted 1,000,000+ clients with their innovations. The Million Lives Club is an initiative inspired by members of the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA) and supported by a growing partnership of leading development organizations.

    Canadian Council for International Cooperation

    Innovation and Impact Award 2020 (organization)
    The CCIC recognized iDE’s groundbreaking work in northern Ghana that has already helped over 50,000 people gain access to safe, effective sanitation through Sama Sama, iDE's social enterprise. With the support of Canadian donors and Global Affairs Canada, the Sama Sama team has worked with local manufacturers, banks, and salespeople to deliver and install durable, locally-made and affordable toilets and stimulate demand for the life-saving product through compelling marketing and door-to-door sales. The CCIC award committee highlighted iDE’s novel use of tablet-based credit tests and a human-centered design process to fit financing to income levels and customize toilets for local needs.

  4. 2019

    ImpactMatters

    Top Poverty Nonprofits in 2020
    ImpactMatters gave iDE its highest rating, 5-stars. They evaluated the cost-effectiveness of one of our agriculture programs in Zambia, one of the most challenging contexts for building networks of Farm Business Advisors within our portfolio.

  5. 2018

    Business in the Community

    Unilever Global Development Award (small company)
    iDE's social enterprise, Hydrologic, won the Unilever Global Development Award for small businesses at Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Awards 2018. Hydrologic was recognized for giving people access to clean water in even the most remote parts of Cambodia – and doing it in a sustainable way. As of the award date, Hydrologic had sold 500,000 water filters that had been responsible for effectively reducing diarrheal diseases in the homes that purchased a filter by 46% and achieving over 460,000 tonnes of CO2 reduction. (Want to help reduce more CO2? Consider buying carbon credits from Hydrologic through Gold Standard.)

  6. 2017

    P3 Impact Award Partnership

    P3 Impact Award

    The award recognizes and honors best practices of public-private partnerships (P3s) that are improving communities and the world in the most impactful ways. For this award, a P3 refers to any cross-sector collaboration that features public, private, nonprofit, or non-governmental organizations and addresses societal problems. The winning program was funded by the Embassy of Switzerlandand, UNICEF, and implemented by Bangladesh’s public health ministry, iDE, Rangpur Foundry Ltd. (RFL), and hundreds of local entrepreneurs. Created by a partnership of US Department of State Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships, the University of Virginia Darden School Institute for Business in Society, and Concordia, the award was presented at the 2017 Concordia Annual Summit.

  7. 2015

    Philanthropedia

    16 Top High-Impact Nonprofits Working in International Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene
    Philanthropedia, a division of Guidestar, surveyed 82 experts working in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector. The experts were asked to identify those organizations that were making the biggest positive impact in international WASH efforts. The expert reviews included the following comments about iDE:


    “iDE has done a tremendous amount in Cambodia (where I am most familiar with their work) to use a markets/private sector based approach. I believe this is the key to achieving scale and more organizations would do well to learn from them.”


    “Although their WASH activities are limited in scope and geography, the quality of their work is high, and approach to community development is well developed.”


    “They have a strong sanitation marketing approach and ability to scale. They also have a focus on results.”

  8. 2014

    The Mining Association of Canada

    IAMGOLD
    The Mining Association of Canada recognizes excellence in community engagement in areas where their constituent members are involved in mining activities. IAMGOLD won in 2014 for their work in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, home to IAMGOLD’s Essakane gold mine. IAMGOLD partnered with iDE to improve security and combat poverty in the region by helping to develop alternate revenue sources for communities living near the mine site.

  9. 2013

    IEEE

    Global Humanitarian Engineering Award: Engineering Project of the Year
    iDE was recognized for product development of low-cost agricultural products. IEEE is an engineering society whose members select annual awards to recognize outstanding achievements in humanitarian engineering; showcase and celebrate humanitarian engineering progress; provide role models in the field; demonstrate less popularly known roles of engineering in society; and provide incentives for excellence.

    Energy Globe

    2013 National Energy Globe Award, Cambodia
    iDE Cambodia’s social enterprise, Hydrologic, manufactures ceramic water filters which provide clean water to rural households, reduce the amount of wood burnt to boil water, improve health, create local jobs and bolster economic development. The Energy Globe National Award is one of today’s most prestigious environmental awards that recognize best practices in sustainable solutions from around the world. 

    Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 

    Health & Dignity: Clean Water and Sanitation for All
    In 2013, iDE committed to impact one million lives over three years by implementing cost-effective market development strategies to improve the access of the rural poor to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). iDE created functional markets for sanitary latrines, water filters, and hand washing devices by designing affordable, accessible, and aspirational products to meet those needs; strengthened the capacity of local enterprises to supply the products; and conducted social marketing campaigns to generate demand and encourage positive 

  10. 2012

    Dubai

    Dubai International Award for Best Practices 2012
    iDE’s initiative, RevoLooTionizing Rural Markets for Sanitation, received the award for Best Practices which represent outstanding contributions to improving the living environment. Best Practices are defined by the United Nations and the international community at large as successful initiatives which have a demonstrable and tangible impact on improving people’s quality of life; are the result of effective partnerships between the public, private and civic sectors of society; and are socially, culturally, economically and environmentally sustainable.

    Government of Ethiopia

    2012 Civil Society Best Practice Award
    The award recognizes the value and virtue of humanitarian and development activities in saving lives and creating livelihood opportunities. It also highlights the contribution of these programs to the national development process. iDE was selected for its solution-focused, market-driven new thinking that frees smallholder farmers from a poverty-destined mental trap and unleashes the potential to improve livelihoods. 

    Barry & Marie Lipman Family

    2012 Honoree: Barry & Marie Lipman Family Prize
    The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced the three winners of its inaugural Barry & Marie Lipman Family Prize. iDE was chosen from hundreds of organizations worldwide devoted to social impact and building sustainable solutions for social and economic challenges. iDE has pioneered innovative, market-based approaches to safe water and sanitation access.

    Ashden

    2012 Ashden International Award for Deforestation
    iDE and Hydrologic were joint winners of a 2012 Ashden Award for their success in commercializing ceramic filters that produce clean water without using wood to boil it—saving lives and saving forests. This award for avoided deforestation was supported by the Waterloo Foundation.

    Skoll Foundation

    2012 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship
    Proximity Designs—previously iDE Myanmar—creates and delivers the products and services used by thousands of low-income families in rural Myanmar to dramatically improve their lives. Their foot-operated irrigation pumps, water storage tanks, drip irrigation systems, and farm advisory services significantly increase farm productivity. All of Proximity’s products are designed for affordability and they use the power and reach of markets to make them available to more than 100,000 rural households who use the products to increase their incomes.

  11. 2010

    Nestlé

    Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value
    iDE Cambodia was awarded the first Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value for a rural development project which aims to improve the living standards of the Cambodian rural population by increasing agricultural productivity and income. Nestlé encourages and rewards the most innovative examples of Creating Shared Value in action through the Nestlé Prize, which is awarded to an outstanding innovation or programme for improving access to and management of water; improving the lives of farmers and rural communities; or delivering high nutritional value to populations suffering from nutritional deficits. The Prize was awarded to iDE Cambodia to scale their Farm Business Advisor Programme, one of the most innovative rural development project in Asia.