It was part of the Running the Sahara expedition and documentary project undertaken by Damon, James Moll, LivePlanet, and the Independent Producers Alliance.

Matt Damon, along with his producing partners Marc Joubert, Larry Tanz, and Keith Quinn, envisioned the foundation as a way to tie the project to a meaningful cause.

[2] The foundation was officially named H2O Africa when film financier Independent Producers Alliance (IPA) joined the project.

[4][5] In July 2009, H2O Africa merged with WaterPartners, a U.S.-based organization focused on clean water and sanitation projects.

The new organization leverages innovative financing tools, such as microloans, to create sustainable water and sanitation solutions for communities in need around the world.