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Charity: Water AI simulator
(@Charity: Water_simulator)
Hub AI
Charity: Water AI simulator
(@Charity: Water_simulator)
Charity: Water
Charity: water (stylized as charity: water) is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 that provides drinking water to people in developing nations. As of 2025, the organization has raised over $1 billion and provided clean water to over 20 million people. The charity operates a 100 percent model to maximize donations, providing every public dollar donated to funding the organization's water projects. According to the organization, by October 2024, it has funded more than 171,000 projects in 29 countries though it does not know how many of the projects are still functional.
The charity was founded in 2006 by a former New York City club promoter Scott Harrison. In 2004, he quit his job to help the poor and marginalized through volunteer service in Liberia with Mercy Ships. Harrison recognized that problems surrounding education, safety, and health may trace back to a lack of clean water and basic sanitation systems.
The aim of the organization was to educate the public about the developing world, and fund projects on the ground that could ease the access to fresh water for the local populations. At the same time, the core of the project is the principle of transparency, so people can freely track and witness how the projects to which they contributed are maintained.
Charity: water's primary fundraising strategy involves persuading donors to give their birthdays to fund wells in Africa (peer-to-peer fundraising), a concept initiated by Harrison in 2006 and repeated in Uganda in 2007. Donors may create a fundraising page, encouraging friends and family to contribute a dollar per birthday year of age instead of gifts. Real-time tracking shows the donated amount, and upon project completion, the charity shares with the donor images, videos, and GPS coordinates of the wells built with their donation. Though expanded to other activities, the birthday initiative remains the most popular fundraiser, with over 120,000 participants.
In its initial 18 months, the charity raised $2.7 million for 481 water projects. On February 9, 2008, Harrison emailed the founders of various social networks, to propose a findraising collaborative effort. His idea involved convincing members born in September to join him in raising funds for the latest project, providing water to people in Ethiopia. The appeal leveraged social networks' knowledge of their members' birthdays. Among others, Harrison contacted Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, MySpace’s Tom Anderson and Bebo’s Michael Birch. Birch was the first to respond with monetary, technical assistance, and introductions to influential leaders in Silicon Valley's technology industry. Birch redesigned the charity's website and personally donated $1 million.
Later, the leadership of charity: water recognized the challenge of sustaining their peer-to-peer fundraising, as few birthday fundraisers repeated their efforts. Beginning in 2016, the group shifted its focus to recruiting and retaining sustaining supporters—individuals committing to monthly recurring gifts. In return, these supporters receive continuous updates on the organization's achievements.
The organization has drilled some 38,000 wells for villagers in Ethiopia, Rwanda and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. It has no idea how many of the wells are still functioning, despite initial claims that the wells would provide water for decades. It is sure that some are not working. In 2020, the charity claimed that it provided clean water to more than 10 million people through 44,000 projects in over 28 countries. According to the organization, by the beginning of 2024, it has funded more than 138,000 projects in 29 countries
Charity: water collaborates with local partners to identify optimal locations for water projects. Working closely with committees, they consider factors like community involvement, geography, sustainability, and necessity. Local partners play a crucial role in promoting sanitation and hygiene practices and deciding on the most suitable water project, be it rainwater harvesting, a piped system, a well, or a BioSand Filter. The establishment of these committees not only advances water access but also stimulates local economies by encouraging workforce engagement and community participation.
Charity: Water
Charity: water (stylized as charity: water) is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 that provides drinking water to people in developing nations. As of 2025, the organization has raised over $1 billion and provided clean water to over 20 million people. The charity operates a 100 percent model to maximize donations, providing every public dollar donated to funding the organization's water projects. According to the organization, by October 2024, it has funded more than 171,000 projects in 29 countries though it does not know how many of the projects are still functional.
The charity was founded in 2006 by a former New York City club promoter Scott Harrison. In 2004, he quit his job to help the poor and marginalized through volunteer service in Liberia with Mercy Ships. Harrison recognized that problems surrounding education, safety, and health may trace back to a lack of clean water and basic sanitation systems.
The aim of the organization was to educate the public about the developing world, and fund projects on the ground that could ease the access to fresh water for the local populations. At the same time, the core of the project is the principle of transparency, so people can freely track and witness how the projects to which they contributed are maintained.
Charity: water's primary fundraising strategy involves persuading donors to give their birthdays to fund wells in Africa (peer-to-peer fundraising), a concept initiated by Harrison in 2006 and repeated in Uganda in 2007. Donors may create a fundraising page, encouraging friends and family to contribute a dollar per birthday year of age instead of gifts. Real-time tracking shows the donated amount, and upon project completion, the charity shares with the donor images, videos, and GPS coordinates of the wells built with their donation. Though expanded to other activities, the birthday initiative remains the most popular fundraiser, with over 120,000 participants.
In its initial 18 months, the charity raised $2.7 million for 481 water projects. On February 9, 2008, Harrison emailed the founders of various social networks, to propose a findraising collaborative effort. His idea involved convincing members born in September to join him in raising funds for the latest project, providing water to people in Ethiopia. The appeal leveraged social networks' knowledge of their members' birthdays. Among others, Harrison contacted Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, MySpace’s Tom Anderson and Bebo’s Michael Birch. Birch was the first to respond with monetary, technical assistance, and introductions to influential leaders in Silicon Valley's technology industry. Birch redesigned the charity's website and personally donated $1 million.
Later, the leadership of charity: water recognized the challenge of sustaining their peer-to-peer fundraising, as few birthday fundraisers repeated their efforts. Beginning in 2016, the group shifted its focus to recruiting and retaining sustaining supporters—individuals committing to monthly recurring gifts. In return, these supporters receive continuous updates on the organization's achievements.
The organization has drilled some 38,000 wells for villagers in Ethiopia, Rwanda and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. It has no idea how many of the wells are still functioning, despite initial claims that the wells would provide water for decades. It is sure that some are not working. In 2020, the charity claimed that it provided clean water to more than 10 million people through 44,000 projects in over 28 countries. According to the organization, by the beginning of 2024, it has funded more than 138,000 projects in 29 countries
Charity: water collaborates with local partners to identify optimal locations for water projects. Working closely with committees, they consider factors like community involvement, geography, sustainability, and necessity. Local partners play a crucial role in promoting sanitation and hygiene practices and deciding on the most suitable water project, be it rainwater harvesting, a piped system, a well, or a BioSand Filter. The establishment of these committees not only advances water access but also stimulates local economies by encouraging workforce engagement and community participation.