Good Life Project’s interview with Scott Harrison, charity: water Founder, on Hedonism, Redemption and Service
I recently listened to an episode of the Good Life Project podcast titled “Scott Harrison: charity: water Founder on Hedonism, Redemption and Service.” In the episode, host Jonathan Fields interviews charity: water founder Scott Harrison, who quite literally rose out of the darkness of a life as a nightclub promoter to found the nonprofit, which to date has brought clean water to over eight million people in 26 countries, according to their website.
Scott, raised in a fundamentalist Christian household, told Jonathan after reaching adulthood, he rebelled and spent a decade as a nightclub promoter, doing exactly what you’d imagine a nightclub promoter does—drinking and doing drugs to excess, hanging out with models, and partying until all hours in New York City. However, ten years in, he was “desperately unhappy and morally bankrupt,” as he describes it in his bio on the charity: water website.
Where to go next? A volunteer gig as a floating hospital’s resident photojournalist, obviously
Ready for a change, Scott asked himself, “What would the exact opposite of my life look like?” Shortly after, he found himself volunteering as a photojournalist for 16 months on a hospital ship in West Africa. His job: document the radical before and after depictions of the individuals who received often life-saving surgeries and treatments from the doctors on the ship. When he spent time on the ground, he quickly discovered the likely cause of much of the illness, death, and suffering: the dirty, contaminated water those living in the communities he visited were often forced to walk for hours a day to obtain.
After returning to the United States, he was fired up, ready to get started in this little thing we call ‘making a difference.’ He founded charity: water, an organization that invests in “organizations with years of experience to build sustainable, community-owned water projects around the world,” according to their website.
A drastically different philanthropic giving model
When Scott founded charity: water, he promised donors 100 percent of public donations would directly fund clean water projects. In doing so, he turned philanthropic giving on its head. Private donors and brand partners cover all of the organization’s overhead, from credit card processing fees to office rent. With this giving model, more than one million public donors from 100+ countries have contributed, many of whom gave their first-ever philanthropic donation to charity: water, according to Scott. As someone who thinks about engaging potential donors every workday, I thought this fun fact of charity: water’s was incredibly cool.
Want to learn more?
If you’re interested in learning more about Scott and charity: water, check out the podcast interview—it’s worth the listen. If you’re ready to dive deeper into his and charity: water’s story, check out Scott’s new book, Thirst. 100 percent of the book’s proceeds go directly to charity: water projects around the world.
Think it can’t get any better than that? I did too, but if you forward your receipt to unlock@charitywater.org, a $30 charity: water donation will be made in your honor (while funds remain), giving one person clean water. And for every photo you post of your book on Instagram or Twitter using #ThirstBook before 12am EST on Tuesday, October 9, you’ll unlock an additional $30 donation. Alright charity: water, you’ve convinced me. Amazon here I come.