What it sells
The Human Utility seeks to eliminate water service disconnections for…
Business model breakdown
Buyer: who owns the budget?
Individual donors (crowdfunding) pay the bills on behalf of families.
Trigger: what makes them buy now?
Water shutoffs for unaffordable bills.
Workflow: what inputs become what output?
Families apply for help; donors fund; The Human Utility pays the bills and publishes payment data weekly.
Economics: what it saves and how it charges
Non-profit crowdfunding: donors paid $90,666 in water bills in 2026; over 4,500 donors have helped over 2,000 families since July 2014.
Distribution: how it reaches customers
Donation site (Classy), blog, partnerships with utilities and policy action.
Funding history and coverage
| Round date | Stage | Amount | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Y Combinator Winter 2015 | — | Y Combinator | ycombinator.com |
Profiles summarize public reporting and company websites. Business-model notes are MaxBC's reading of that material, not confirmed facts; unknowns are left blank rather than guessed. Updated 2026-10-12.