Founder and CEO, Charity: Water; New York Times Best-Selling Author: Thirst
Scott Harrison is the founder and CEO of Charity: Water. Through radical transparency and innovative digital practices, Charity: Water has mobilized 1M+ supporters from 105 countries, raised over $400M, and funded clean water projects in 28 countries for over 10M people. Scott was recently named #10 in Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, and has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and by Forbes, Fortune and INC Magazines.
The Spring - The charity: water story
Charity: Water Founder Scott Harrison On Building A Digital-First Charity | Forbes
The Secret Formula to Finding Your Passion | Scott Harrison on Impact Theory
Charity: water believes in inspiring generosity. They focus on the positive, tell stories about opportunity and always emphasize the hope more than the need. They work with incredible local partners around the globe to implement the water projects they fund, and their Water Programs team spends about 30% of their time in the field managing projects, building relationships with local teams and reporting back results to donors. Every time a project is completed, charity: water proves it using photos and GPS coordinates on Google Maps.
Through the use of innovative technology, charity: water has also developed remote sensors to monitor the functionality of their water projects. With the help of local leaders and trained mechanics, charity: water is not only working to bring clean water to communities in need, but is making sure it keeps flowing at projects around the world for years to come. This is all made possible by a small group of private donors who pay charity: water’s operating costs, allowing 100% of donations made to clean water to fund water projects for people in need.
Scott spent almost 10 years as a nightclub promoter in New York City before leaving to volunteer on a hospital ship off the coast of Liberia, West Africa as a volunteer photojournalist.
Returning home to New York City two years later, he founded the non-profit organization charity: water in 2006. Turning his full attention to the global water crisis and the world’s (then) 1.1 billion people without clean water to drink, he created public installations and innovative online fundraising platforms to spread international awareness of the issue.
In 16 years, with the help of more than 1 million donors worldwide, charity: water has raised more than $750 million and funded 111,796 water projects in 29 countries. When completed, those projects will provide 15.5 million people with clean, safe drinking water.
Scott has been recognized on Fortune magazine’s list of 40 Under 40, Forbes’ Impact 30, and Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, where he earned the #10 spot. He is currently a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and author of the New York Times Bestselling book Thirst.
Scott and his wife Viktoria have two children, Jackson and Emma.
The WWSG team are super responsive and flexible. I will definitely work with them again to find speakers for my next event.
Ernst & Young LLP
I hope to work again and again with Worldwide Speakers Group on the selection of our keynote and endnote speakers for our annual conference and other events. Our representative and her associate were terrific from my first communication to them until our speaking-event concluded... It is easy to see why many of the top speakers in the country work with Worldwide Speakers Group.
The National Recreation and Park Association
“After 20 years in the lecture series business, WWSG has become a valued partner. We produce over 24 speaking events a year and have worked with dozens of agencies. We appreciate WWSG’s unparalleled professionalism, integrity, and creativity in suggesting speakers that are unique to the speaker circuit."
The Distinguished Speaker Series of Southern California
Thanks again for all your help. Your entire team there is truly stellar.
American Property Casualty Insurance Association
The consistent professionalism and quality for the way Worldwide Speakers Group handles events shows that they think of each detail and every contingency beforehand.
Newt Gingrich, Distinguished Leader, Visionary, & Political Vanguard; 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate; Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1995-1999); Best-Selling Author
We always enjoy working with WWSG, and we thank you and your team for your diligence, thoroughness, and professionalism. Planning is already underway for next year's event (no rest for the weary). We hope to have every opportunity to work with you again in the near future.
Texas American Resources Company
The team at WWSG is certainly at the top of the scale. Building a long-term relationship with the client has really set WWSG apart and we clearly saw that with our partnership. WWSG found creative ways to build the partnership which results in a win-win for all.
Erik Qualman, Top Technology and Motivational Speaker, #1 Bestselling Author & Futurist
All timing and logistics were seamless, and the client was super engaged and thankful. I’m happy to report that we have another WIN for WWSG! Let’s build on the momentum together!
Josh Linkner, Tech Entrepreneur, Hyper-Growth CEO, NYT Best-Selling Author, Venture Capitalist, and Keynote Speaker
They provide us well-prepared and informed speakers who understand our expectations and unique format. With WWSG, we know that the speaker fees are fair and trust that the event will be a success.
The Distinguished Speaker Series of Southern California
Everything was buttoned up, from the initial outreach to the event execution and post follow-up. I have a great team of representatives from WWSG to work with, first class experience.
American Century Investments
