Uptime Catalyst Facility
Charity Number: 1192062
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Quick Stats
- Annual Giving: £2,592,614 (2024)
- Success Rate: Not publicly available
- Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
- Grant Range: Results-based payments calculated on performance metrics
- Geographic Focus: International - 19+ countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Contact Details
Address: Critchleys LLP, 23-38 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford OX1 2EP
Phone: 01865 261100
Email: trustees@uptimecatalyst.org
Website: https://www.uptimecatalyst.org/
Administrative Partner: Uptime Global (https://www.uptimewater.org/)
Overview
The Uptime Catalyst Facility (UCF) is a UK registered charity (1192062) established to pool and disburse results-based grant funding to contracted rural water service providers in developing countries. Founded as an innovative funding mechanism, the UCF currently contracts with 17-21 service providers across 14-19 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, supporting drinking water services for approximately 5 million rural people. The charity is governed by four trustees who serve pro-bono and convene monthly to review performance and strategy. Between 2020-2022, UCF disbursed over $1 million supporting services for 1.5 million people at a cost of less than $1 per person annually. The facility represents an innovative approach to development funding, linking grant disbursements directly to verified service delivery outcomes rather than traditional input-based funding models.
Funding Priorities
Grant Programs
Results-Based Funding for Rural Water Service Providers
The UCF operates a specialized results-based funding model that supplements user payments to rural water service providers. Grant disbursements are not fixed amounts but are calculated using a standardized payment formula based on performance against three key metrics (the “Uptime Framework”):
- Reliability: Number of waterpoints with quarterly uptime >96%
- Water Volume: Amount of water consumed/delivered
- Local Revenue: Amount paid by users and institutions
Grants are designed to match a portion of local revenue and supplement user payments, conditional on achieving performance standards. Contracts between the UCF and service providers are administered by Uptime Global, an affiliated non-profit social enterprise.
Application Method: Invitation only / No public application process. Service providers are contracted through Uptime Global's assessment and selection process.
Priority Areas
- Rural drinking water service delivery in developing countries
- Sustainable water service models where users pay a share of costs
- Performance-based service provision
- Water infrastructure maintenance and reliability
- Service providers operating in challenging conditions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America
- Countries mentioned in partnerships include Mali, Burkina Faso, Nicaragua, Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya
What They Don't Fund
- Organizations or projects outside the rural water services sector
- Service providers not meeting performance verification requirements
- Urban water infrastructure
- One-off infrastructure projects without ongoing service delivery models
- Organizations not willing to report against standardized metrics
- Projects without local revenue generation/user payment components
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Governance and Leadership
The Uptime Catalyst Facility is governed by four Trustees who perform their duties on a pro-bono basis with no remuneration. The Trustees have extensive experience in the water and development sectors and convene monthly to review performance, strategy, and outlook.
The charity operates with no employees and minimal administrative overhead, relying on Uptime Global to perform administrative and data management functions for results-based contracts.
Relationship with Uptime Global: Contracts between UCF and service providers are administered by Uptime Global, a UK Company Limited by Guarantee and non-profit social enterprise. Uptime Global handles contract development with service providers and verification of service performance data to facilitate UCF's funding disbursements.
Application Process and Timeline
How to Apply
This funder does not have a public application process.
The Uptime Catalyst Facility does not accept unsolicited applications from organizations. Grant funding is distributed exclusively to rural water service providers that have been contracted through Uptime Global's selection and assessment process. Service providers are required to report against standardized metrics to qualify for results-based payments, and all data is subject to independent verification arranged by Uptime Global.
Organizations interested in results-based funding for rural water services should contact Uptime Global directly through their website (uptimewater.org) or email trustees@uptimecatalyst.org to inquire about potential partnership opportunities.
Decision Timeline
Not publicly disclosed. Decisions are made by the four-person Board of Trustees who meet monthly to review performance, strategy, and outlook. Grant disbursements are made quarterly based on verified performance data from contracted service providers.
Success Rates
Not publicly available. The facility expanded from partnerships with 4 service providers in 2020 to 17-21 service providers by 2023, suggesting selective but growing partnership development.
Application Success Factors
Since the UCF operates through contracted partnerships rather than open applications, success factors relate to the requirements for becoming a contracted service provider:
Performance Requirements:
- Ability to report against the three Uptime Framework metrics (reliability, water volume, local revenue)
- Quarterly waterpoint uptime >96% for reliability metric
- Willingness to submit to independent data verification
- Operating sustainable service models where users contribute financially
- Capacity to work in challenging rural conditions
Service Provider Profile:
- Established rural water service providers in developing countries
- Organizations operating in Africa, Asia, or Latin America
- Providers with existing infrastructure and service delivery operations
- Ability to demonstrate measurable service outcomes
- Commitment to standardized data collection and reporting
Strategic Alignment:
The UCF explicitly states their approach as “empirical” and “data-intensive,” suggesting they value evidence-based service delivery and transparent reporting. Their model supports services “where users pay a share of costs” rather than fully subsidized models, indicating preference for financially sustainable service approaches.
Key Takeaways for Grant Writers
- Not a traditional grant-maker: UCF operates a specialized results-based funding facility for contracted rural water service providers - it does not fund general development projects or UK-based organizations
- No public application process: Funding is distributed only through pre-existing contracts administered by Uptime Global
- International WASH sector only: Exclusively focused on rural drinking water services in developing countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America
- Performance-driven model: Grant disbursements are conditional on verified performance against the Uptime Framework metrics - this is not traditional grant funding
- Contact Uptime Global first: Organizations interested in this funding model should approach Uptime Global (uptimewater.org) rather than the UCF directly
- Efficient operation: With £2.6M annual expenditure and no employees, UCF operates as a funding conduit rather than a program-managing foundation
- Innovative but niche: While UCF represents an innovative approach to development funding, it serves a very specific niche and is not relevant to most grant seekers
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References
- Charity Commission Register: “UPTIME CATALYST FACILITY - 1192062,” Charity Commission for England and Wales, https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5165628/charity-overview
- Aqua for All: “Uptime Catalyst Facility: results-based funding for rural water maintenance services,” https://aquaforall.org/project/uptime-catalyst-facility-results-based-funding-for-rural-water-maintenance-services/
- Business Wire: “Uptime Expands Results-based Funding to Sustain Drinking Water for Over 4 Million Rural People Globally,” January 30, 2023, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230130005055/en/
- Stone Family Foundation: “Uptime Catalyst Facility,” https://www.thesff.com/portfolios/uptime-catalyst-facility/
- Uptime Global website: https://www.uptimewater.org/
- Uptime Catalyst Facility website: https://www.uptimecatalyst.org/