The international community (i.e. the United Nations, UNICEF, WHO) has made considerable efforts to provide relief to communities, regions and countries who need clean and accessible water resources. Over the past decade, vast amounts of time, energy and money have been spent on this noble cause, and the effects of these initiatives have improved countless lives around the world. In addition to these government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and charities have also played a significant role. Despite drastically fewer resources, both political and monetary, some NGOs and charities have been able to achieve incredible results. What fundamental difference exists between the efforts of the United Nations and the international community and those of smaller NGOs? It's the difference between "top-down" and "bottom-up" operating models. The United Nations (UN) and its subsidiaries, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), have presented a concerted effort over the last decade with the aim of ending to this global problem. Through initiatives such as the United Nations Decade of Water for Life and programs such as UNICEF's TAP Project, the international community appears to be taking the issue to heart. The United Nations has led several initiatives aimed at improving access to water around the world, specifically in developing countries. It achieves its goals through the formation of committees and funds, as well as the passing of resolutions that shape international law. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of 8 goals that the United Nations set itself in 2000, covering a wide range of global issues. Each individual OSM is again divided into several subsections. Millennium Development Goal… middle of the paper… political capital, these three groups in particular are incredible examples of what can be done globally, without any government support. Ready access to clean water is growing globally. As more than 700 million people around the world continue to struggle with the problem, the future seems to be getting brighter. The United Nations and its partners deserve incredible credit for all the progress made over the past twenty years in trying to solve a problem of this scale. However, the incredible effectiveness of the aforementioned NGOs demonstrates that the dichotomy between these two fundamentally different methodologies shows that the international community needs to take a step back to re-examine its strategy. The United Nations could benefit greatly from adopting more community-focused bottom-up initiatives to deliver more effective and immediate results.