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Scott Harrison        

Founder & CEO of Charity: Water

Scott Harrison is the founder and CEO of the non-profit, charity: water, which works to bring clean water to everyone without access. Harrison is the author of Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World.

Harrison 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.

Harrison 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."

Harrison and his wife Viktoria have two children, Jackson and Emma.

Speech Topics


The Story of charity: water

Seven years ago Scott Harrison started charity: water with a mission to bring clean drinking water to every person on the planet living without it. Learn from Scott's personal journey from New York City nightlife, to a hospital ship in Liberia, to building an organization that has currently funded over 10,000 water projects in 20 countries.

Re-think the Way You Do Business

Take a moment to think about the way you work. Is it the same as how those around you do it? Why? Because that's the way it's always been done? It's time for a re-think.

Scott Harrison will inspire you with his story of how he took a well-known cause, the worldwide water crisis, and founded charity:water using the innovative marketing techniques he honed as an event promoter in New York City to build it into a successful fundraising enterprise. His secret? Looking at his non-profit as a business, re-thinking the way things are done, and doing it all with a level of transparency.

Scott has single-handedly up-ended the business of fundraising and will inspire you to make the same bold changes in the way you do business.

News


How Scott Harrison Wins Over a Crowd
The charity: water founder offers his tips for connecting, affecting, and bringing people around to your cause.
Charity: Water Founder Scott Harrison's Testimony: Back to Jesus ...
Raised in a conservative, loving, Christian home in New Jersey, Scott Harrison, the founder of charity: water, has travelled from complete self-indulgence to truly  ...
Scott Harrison found meaning in life by starting charity: water ...
By building freshwater wells, rainwater catchments, or providing sand filters, charity: water finds simple solutions to help solve the world's water crisis: Roughly 1 ...
Scott Harrison: How He Started charity: water And What He Learned ...
Scott Harrison I recently spoke to Scott Harrison, who is the Founder and CEO of charity: water, a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to ...

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