First published on January 14, 2013
I first heard of Charity:Water when a student sent me a Mother’s Day
card representing a $20 donation in my name. I responded with a $20
donation of my own and was intrigued by the young organization’s use of
email and video--and the very personal involvement of founder Scott
Harrison--to cement donor relationships. This was about 2007, well
before most other charities understood the power of digital media.
The
business model of Charity:Water is also exemplary. They call it the
100% model; 100% of what they raise from public donations goes directly
to water well projects. There are few non-profits with the kind of
charismatic leader who can raise all the funds necessary to run the
charity. The Clinton Global Initiative is one other that I know of and
it makes the point about a well-placed leader. In recent years
Charity:Water has been using GPS to locate projects
on Google maps and to provide proof of successful completion to donors.
Overall, it is a model of how to run a charitable organization in the
Internet age. One thing you quickly notice is that they encourage
supporters to raise money for them and that’s where a lot of social
media comes in.
This is why we featured them as an Internet marketing “best practices” case study in the first chapter of the Internet marketing text.
The organization has lessons, not just for other non-profits, but also
for commercial organizations that wish to remain close to their
customers.
GPS
is useful but Charity:Water has just taken another big step. According
to an article by the AP, “Harrison, a former New York promoter for
nightclubs and fashion events, didn’t want to guess at how many water
projects were actually working. He wanted to give donors more assurance,
knowing as many as a third of hand pumps built by various governments
or groups stop functioning later. His solution: why not create sensors
to monitor the water flow at each well? But raising millions for a new
innovation could prove impossible.” That, perhaps, is the drawback of
the 100% model; if a large operational investment is needed it could
strain the fund-raising ability of even a charismatic leader.
Enter Google. In December it announced a new charitable grants program
to fund organizations that are using technology in innovative ways.
It’s first 7 grants are fascinating—from DNA barcoding of endangered
species to educational programs for under-represented students and for
math and science education. All have a major technology component.
Matt Bannick, managing partner of the (Pierre) Omidyar Network says this represents a new approach to philanthropy. He describes the new approach:
“Seeking out ideas to fund, rather than existing projects, turns traditional notions of philanthropy on its head,” Bannick said.
“Rather
than looking for organizations that could do this specific work that
we’re hoping to get accomplished, let’s look for fabulous entrepreneurs …
that have a new and innovative idea that we can get behind,” he said.
These
are two developments to follow with interest. Charity:Water continues
to innovate in ways that bond with its donors. Entrepreneurial high tech
firms like Google are looking for ways to use technology for social
good. The approach of taking a risk by funding innovative uses of
technology by leading-edge non-profits is the idea behind “venture
technology.” Will we see more—and even more effective—ways to use
technology in the future? Hopefully we will!
Charity:Water currently has a video annual report for 2013 on its home page, continuing its leadership in both transparency and media use.
The home page of the Google Impact program shows projects it has funded. It says the awards are "Scaling Impact Through Tech."
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