PHILANTHROPY
thenasthe founderofhisownorganiza-
tion,which, in2006,hedubbedCharity:
Water.Hismissionwastobringclean
watertosomeof the800millionpeople
intheworldwhodon’thaveaccessto iton
adailybasis.Atthesametime,Harrison
wantedtoreinventhowcharitiesoperate
bybuildingan“epicbrand”thatwould
makecleveruseofsocialmedia, tellstories
withInternetvideosandembracegreat
designtobetterengagewithdonors.
EIGHTYEARSLATER,
Charity:Water
cancertainlyclaimtobeepic.Theorgani-
zationhasraisedmorethan$150million
from500,000dierentdonors, includ-
ingcelebrities likeWillandJadaPinkett
Smith,SophiaBush,JessicaBiel,Adrian
GrenierandMaggieGrace,aswellasbusi-
nessstars likeBebo founderMichaelBirch,
andAngelaAhrendts, the formerBurberry
CEOwho isnowheadofApple’sretailand
onlinestores.ThemoneyCharity:Water
hasraisedsupportsmorethan13,000
waterprojectsthatserve4.4millionpeople
in22dierentcountries.Thathasmade
Charity:WatertheUnitedStates’ largest
water-relatedcharity.
It’salsooneof theworld’smostuniquely
managedcharities.Fromthebeginning,
HarrisoncommittedCharity:Watertoa
“100percent” fundingmodel,whereevery
dollardonated forwaterprojectsgoesdi-
rectlytowaterprojects,whilestasalaries
andotheroperationalexpensesare funded
separatelybyabout100donors, including
Charity,
tomeand to
my friends,
hadbecome
broken
.
Todonate, joinor learnmoreaboutCharity:Water,
visit
comedianJeFoxworthy, skateboarder
TonyHawkandTwitterco-founderJack
Dorsey—people“whothinkoverhead isa
cool thingtosupport,”Harrisonsays.
“Charity, tomeandtomy friends,had
becomebroken,”Harrisonsays. “You
wereaskedtogivetothesebig,opaque
organizations,whereyouhadno ideawhere
yourmoneywasgoing.Sowewantedto
createanorganizationthatwashyper-
transparentaboutwheredonatedmoney
went.”For instance,everySeptember, to
markbothHarrison’sbirthdayand its
ownanniversary,Charity:Watercalls for
FIGHTINGTOSURVIVE:
InNiger,womenandgirls spendup to four hours aday collectingwater. The countryhasnearly2billion
cubicmetersof drinkablewater under its surface—butwith59.5percent ofNiger’spopulation livingbelow
thepoverty level, few canafford tobuild the systemsneeded tobring thewater to the top.
WINTER
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING
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