Select an object from the charity: water archive to discover the full story behind it
take a trip down memory lane and learn what makes us who we are
01
01
charity: water launches at an NYC nightclub in 2006
Among the celebrity guests were Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Modine, Angie Everhart, Lauren Bush and David Lauren.
Charity: water launched on Scott's 31st birthday, in a hot new nightclub called Tenjune in NYC. As a retired nightclub promoter, Scott knew how to throw a great party. To enter, everyone dropped a $20 donation in a glass box at the door. That night, we raised $15,000 immediately took that money to Northern Uganda to build charity: water's first 6 wells.
02
02
“Former nightclub promoter starts a charity from a friend’s apartment.”
For six months, we worked huddled around a kitchen table in a Soho apartment that belonged to Scott’s former club partner. It started with Scott, Lani and Vik... and quickly grew to two more interns. When space became tight, Scott took calls on the fire escape, and interns spilled out into the living room. That kitchen table on Spring Street will always have a special place in our hearts.
03
03
We've been proving every water project with GPS coordinates from day one.
Our first six wells were in Bobi Refugee Camp in Northern Uganda.
After charity: water's first six wells were complete in Uganda, Scott flew to see them in person, and took along a yellow Garmin GPS device. He photographed each well with the GPS coordinates as proof, and emailed everyone who came to the nightclub launch party, that their money was indeed put to work. A lot of people didn't remember giving that night, but they were very impressed that we followed up and reported on the exact location of each project. We have done that for every water project since day one.
04
04
The first charity: water wells are completed in Bobi, Uganda.
charity: water’s very first projects were three new wells, and three rehabilitated wells in Bobi refugee camp in Northern Uganda.
05
05
In September, 2007, we launched the first "September Campaign" in Kenya.
$159,000 raised
700 donors gave up their birthdays
Scott turns on the tap, and mud comes out. He's following Dominic Mosa, a slender, soft-spoken man with a slight frame and an off-white lab coat. They're in the laundry of a rural health clinic outside of Nairobi, Kenya, watching brown water flow from two taps into a stone basin.
“This is your water?” Scott asks. “You’ve got to be kidding. You must be.”
Stopping in the overflow room with two beds, Mr. Mosa draws Scott's attention to the beige bed sheets. “They all used to be white,” he says.
All the water for the Mogiato Health Clinic was piped up from a muddy river about half a mile away and that's the water they used to treat HIV patients and mothers giving birth.
Together with our amazing charity: water community, we launched our first September Campaign, asking people to give up their birthday gifts to raise money for a well in Mogotio Clinic.
In a remarkable four weeks, $159,000 was raised through people sacrificing their birthday gifts to help those in need.
06
06
When we almost ran out of money, an angel donor came to the rescue.
About a year and a half in, charity: water was quickly running out of operations money, yet we had more than $800,000 in the water account for water projects. Faced with a difficult decision to borrow money he promised to send to the field or go close shop, Scott decided - on his integrity - that he would rather go under than betray the donor promise charity: water was established on. Late one night, he cold-emailed a young entrepreneur named Michael Birch to pitch him the story of charity: water. About a week after they met, Scott received an email from Michael at 1:30am: "Scott, I just wired $1M into your account." This was the first big gift and changed the game - giving us about 13 months of operating runway to build the organization.
07
07
We launch our first disaster response campaign after the Haiti earthquake.
Our local partner organization in Haiti was Partners in Health
After the devastating earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, people were afraid to sleep indoors, and set up sprawling tent cities which quickly led to poor sanitation conditions and cholera outbreaks. charity: water launched our first ever disaster response camapaign, called UNSHAKEN, to provide sustainable water projects and serve 40,000 people in Haiti.
08
08
Riley ate Rice and Beans for a Month to raise money for clean water
While in college, Riley was an intern on Capitol Hill.
Riley has never been afraid to go big for clean water. Once, after learning that (at the time) 5,000 kids were dying every day due to lack of clean water, Riley wrote out 5,000 tallies to visualize the crisis and asked for donations to fund a well. Next came The Riley Project, when she convinced her family to eat rice and beans every night for a month and donate the grocery savings to clean water. Then came birthday campaigns, speaking engagements, and a second iteration of The Riley Project (this time with sandwiches).
09
09
The Macallan and Lalique embark on a world tour to bring clean water
The Macallan’s 64 Years Old in Lalique, Cire Perdue sold at auction for $460,000, a then Guiness World Record for the 'most expensive whisky sold at auction'.
The Macallen and Lalique came together in 2010 to create a one-of-a-kind objet d'art to benefit charity: water - The Macallan 64 Years Old in Lalique: Cire Perdue, the oldest and rarest single malt whisky released by the distillery at the time.
Water is fundamental to both The Macallan and Lalique in the creation of their products. Borehole water from The Macallan estate is one of the three natural ingredients of The Macallan, and Lalique uses water for the final handcrafting and detailing on each crystal piece.
The whisky and decanter set off on a twelve-city “Tour du Monde," culminating at an auction with Sotheby's in New York. The tour raised over $600,000 to serve more than 23,000 people with clean, safe drinking water.
10
10
Sarah Peck swam to Alcatraz and back to raise money for water.
In the state of California, it's not technically illegal to swim in the nude.
Even the charity: water staff who’ve never met Sarah Peck know her name. She’s famous in our office.
In 2012, She set a $29,000 goal (for her 29th birthday) and announced her terms “If enough people donate a crazy amount of money, I promise to swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco in the murky, cold waters — in nothing but my birthday suit. With the help of 460 donations, Sarah didn’t just reach her $29,000 goal, she surpassed it. Her final tally: $32,398. “I’ve found that the more I give, the bigger my world gets.” When she met her campaign goal, Sarah Peck kept her promise: she swam 1.5 miles in freezing cold water, wearing only a swim cap.
11
11
We developed a sensor to tell us when wells broke anywhere in the world.
On average, our four generations of sensors collect data on more than 25 million liters (6.6 million gallons) of water per month.
In 2012, we launched a $5 million pilot project with Google to develop remote sensor technology that could tell us whether water is flowing at any of our projects, at any given time, anywhere in the world. Google funded this entire initiative through their Global Impact Awards, helping charity: water further advance transparency and sustainability in the water sector.
12
12
9-year-old Rachel Beckwith left a legacy that inspired the world.
$1.2 million raised
37,770 people served
Rachel's blue teddy bear will always remind us of the power children have to change the world
On July 23, 2011, nine-year-old Rachel Beckwith was killed in a tragic car accident. After her death, thousands of people all around the world donated to her mycharity: water fundraising page, and over the course of a month, raised over $1.2 million in Rachel’s honor. That money is now helping 37,770 people get access to clean water. In honor of the anniversary of Rachel's death, Rachel’s mom, Samantha, and her grandparents, Richard and Roseanne, visited Ethiopia with charity: water to meet some of the people Rachel helped. On the last day of that trip, Rachel's mom Samantha gave us her favorite stuffed toy - a blue teddy bear. She asked us to treasure it as a memory of Rachel. We have kept it ever since.
13
13
Smile Generation brings clean water to 290,000+ people.
254 dental offices rallied together to bring clean water to 41,000 people in need.
In 2013, Smile Generation set out on their most ambitious goal yet–to fund 100 wells in Ethiopia. They mobilized their network of dental offices, running campaigns across the country and inviting their patients to join them in supporting clean water. Far surpassing their initial goal, 254 Smile Generation trusted dental offices and PDS Health team members raised $1.3M and brought clean water to more than 41,000 people. This unique style of fundraising left a lasting impression on the charity: water team, changing the way we thought about fundraising and inspiring the development of our group fundraising platform, mycharity: water.
Partner Since: 2009-Current
14
14
Jesse listened to Nickelback for 168 hours straight to raise money.
For his efforts, Jesse was able to raise $36,390.90 to help 1,213 people get clean water.
Jesse, an editor at RELEVANT Magazine, asked his audience to curate crazy ideas around how they could raise money for clean water. After a number of submissions, they received an instant-favorite: let’s have Jesse listen to 168 straight hours of the Canadian rock band Nickelback in an effort to raise $10,000 and bring clean water to an entire community in need.
15
15
Kalahari Resorts pledge to bring clean water to one million people.
Kalahari's location in The Poconos, PA ias America’s largest indoor water park, covering 220,000 square feet!
In a groundbreaking commitment in 2023, Kalahari Resorts & Conventions became charity: water’s first brand partner to pledge $50 million to bring clean water to one million people in Africa. Known for its award-winning waterpark resorts, Kalahari Resorts is authentically African-themed, inspired by a transformative trip over 20 years ago by its owners and founders, the Nelson family. Beyond raising funds, Kalahari is also raising awareness of the global water crisis, inspiring their guests to take action and be part of the solution.
16
16
We partnered with Aveda to create purpose-driven hair care.
Aveda has raised $6.8M to help over 152,000 people in India, Nepal, Madagascar, and Ethiopia.
Aveda's mission is to care for the world we live in, from the products they make to how they give back to society, and water has been a part of their story since the beginning.
For Earth Month in 2019, we launched the first of a limited-edition line of products with Aveda. 100% of the profits funded clean water in countries where Aveda sources ingredients -- including a community in Nepal.
Since then, we've not only collaborated on a limited edition Aveda x charity: water product each April, but have been deeply inspired by the Aveda community. Through Walks for Water, hair shows, and conversations in salons around the world, they have raised over $6.8M to bring clean and safe drinking water to over 152,000 people in India, Nepal, Madagascar, and Ethiopia.
17
17
We partnered with travel brand Away to create a limited edition suitcase
From this partnership alone, Away was able to raise enough to fund an entire water project for one community.
On World Water Day in 2017, we partnered with the travel brand Away to create a limited-edition charity: water suitcase. The special edition suitcases were black with a bright charity: water-yellow zipper, co-branded handles, and a custom interior lining inspired by prints from Niger. $30 from each purchase was donated to charity: water projects around the world.
18
18
Our Ethiopia program becomes the biggest charity: water investment
Ethiopian coffee ceremonies are often performed three times a day and can often last for hours!
We've worked in Ethiopia since the very beginning of charity: water, and over the years our program there grew to be the biggest of all 22 countries where we work.
We've hosted dozens of donor trips there and practically kept Ethiopian airlines in business. Since the early days, we've always found something very special about the pride, dignity and strength of the Ehiopian people.
Being the birthplace of coffee, the Ethiopian coffee ceremony is a unique and sensory experience that we hold near and dear to our hearts.
19
19
We launch a mobile mechanics program in India
In his first year working with charity: water, of the total requests for hand-pump repairs given to Asharfi's team, 93% were successfully addressed within 24 hours.
When a well breaks in a rural village in India, Asharfi's team is the fist one to respond. They hop on motorbikes with tools in hand, and aim to get wells up and running in 24 hours or less. They're not part of any nonprofit - they're a team of entrepreneurs; people who take a stand and start a business to change the water crisis in India.
20
20
Our donor and mentor, Ross Garber raced a charity: water branded Ferrari
Ross and his team actually won that race!
Ross Garber has always surprised us with his new and interesting hobbies. From woodworking to Skiing to Formula 1 racing. When he announced that he was going to race his Ferrari and do it for charity: water, naturally we had to create an impressive branded car wrap for him.
21
21
6-year old Nora Jackson mailed in $8.15 and inspired hundreds of people.
If Nora would've given $8.15 online, we may never have known her story. But mailing in the money, down to the nickel, is what really stood out and got our attention. Talk about a lucky ~~penny~~ nickel.
When Nora first learned about the water crisis, she thought, “I should do something about this. This is a problem that needs to be fixed.” She decided to mail in $8.15 As the star of our 2018 World Water Day campaign, Nora’s generosity inspired 3,797 other people to give.
22
22
Birthday + Fundraising campaigns raise over $50,000,000
Justin Bieber. Adam Lambert. And Kendall Jenner. Just a few of the thousands of people who have used their birthday's to fundraise for charity: water through the years.
What’s so special about birthdays? Well besides charity: water getting its start with one, we've had thousands of people give up their birthday's to fundraise for charity: water and clean water. We mean it. Literally thousands. Almost 1 million people have supported charity: water through a birthday or fundraiser. Now that's something to celebrate.
23
23
In 2021 We launch the Bitcoin Water Trust
Early backers of the Bitcoin Water Trust include Gemini co-founders Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss, legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk, professor & media personality Scott Galloway, and Billionaire investor Michael Novogratz.
In 2021, We launched the Bitcoin Water Trust, a first-of-its-kind cryptocurrency fund that allows us to engage a brand new audience of supporters. Bitcoin donations, worth roughly $9.7 million at the end of 2024, will be held until at least 2025, when we believe the trust will have appreciated in value and will enable us to bring clean water to millions more people.