Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/419349
photography by DaviD becker (flyer); tom Donohue (Dancer); yanick Dery (lalibertÉ anD bachanD) Few attendees of the first One Night for One Drop performance, in 2013, knew quite what to expect. What they'd been told: All seven Cirque du Soleil shows i n L a s Vega s wou ld go da rk, w it h 23 0 per for mers coming toget her for a one-t ime- only blockbuster show whose proceeds would support Cirque founder Guy Laliberté's foundation, One Drop, in its quest to provide clean water to crisis zones a round t he world. Now, Las Vegas loves a spectacle, but could a one-night circus really have a major i mpact on a fou ndat ion's bot tom l i ne? The short answer is yes: In its first two years, the event raked in $11.3 million and generated 6.4 bil- lion media impressions. When Laliberté launched One Drop in 2007, he says, "One st at ist ic h it me st ra ight i n t he hea r t : One person dies ever y 20 seconds for not having access to sa fe water. T hat wa s enough for me to imagine One Drop." This year, One Drop is greatly ex pa nd i ng it s reach, a n nou nci ng a pa r t nersh ip with Rotary International's Water and Sanitation Action Group. The first program financed by the new f und is expected to reach 75,0 0 0 people in Mali. The two organizations, whose joint effort is ca lled t he 2 02 0 Water Pa r t nership, w ill work to raise $5 million each and $10 million jointly, deliv- ering benefits in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Another partnership is under way with Water for People, a nd by 2 018 it 's a nt icipated to a id more t ha n 650,0 0 0 people in I ndia's Sheoha r dist r ict. Between the two partnerships, that's $36 million in One Drop's bucket. What distinguishes the foundation's methodol- ogy from those of other nongovernmental agencies, says One Drop CEO Cat her ine Bacha nd, "is our ABC approach. We focus on A: access to safe water for consumption and agriculture, and then bring in B: behavior change through education initiatives, and C: capital. How do you give people a little bit of money"—usually through microfinance loans—"to create sust a i nabi l it y? It 's a l it t le bit of mag ica l thinking to believe that now that they have the well, they will have the wealth to sustain it." The strategy has yielded solid results. "Probably The 2020 WaTer ParTnershiP is Working To raise $20 million for WaTer ProjecTs in crisis zones. Water Works two important new partnerships help Cirque du soleil founder Guy LaLibertÉ's one drop foundation provide Clean water—and a better life—to those in need. by andrea bennett Guy Laliberté and Catherine Bachand celebrate the second One Night for One Drop performance this past March. 72 vegasmagazine.com people Spirit of Generosity