VOTE

Name: charity: water

Nominated category: Organization

URL: http://www.charitywater.org

“Bringing clean drinking water to people in areas without”

Area: Non-profit, fundraising, advocacy

About:

charity: water is a non-profit bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Description:

Through multiple projects, charity: water fundraises to build freshwater wells, provide rainwater catchments and sand filters, and other initiatives to provide clean drinking water for the 1.1 billion people around world who go without. For its “Born in September” campaign — inspired by charity: water’s founder, Scott Harrison asking friends on his September birthday to donate money, which in turn went to a refugee camp to build wells — the organization is asking that people give up their birthday, wedding and anniversary gifts and have friends donate money to charity: water instead. The organization has created a mycharity: water part of the web site, where those interested can create their own fundraising pages and raise money, any time of the year.

How does it all work? Charity: water doesn’t actually dig the wells, or procure rainwater catchments. Instead, through the site’s donation pages and rather straight-forward-ly-named donation campaigns like “Water For Schools,” charity: water passes on donations to its partner organizations, who then buy the necessary supplies to build wells. As the umbrella organization, charity: water also sends photographers along with charity: water staffers to document the projects in order to share them with the community of folks who donated.

charity: water shows visitors to the Web site “why water?” through video, photos and other media the reasons behind the cause. And the proof? They also uses photos, video and GPS coordinate plotted in Google Earth to show each well built as a result of the organization’s efforts. There’s also space on the Web site that charts the progress of ongoing projects in easily digestible shorthand (using little symbols for water towers and wells).

Since charity: water was founded in three years ago, it’s completed 1,247 water projects and aided roughly 650,000 people in places ranging from Cote D’Ivoire to Bangladesh to Haiti. According to the mycharity: water main page, there is currently 7760 members of the online community, 88 projects, and roughly $443,000 raised to date.

The Basics:

WHO: charity: water

WHAT: This non-profit fundraises to provide clean drinking water to people worldwide who go without.

WHERE: All over the world. charity: water, through donations funneled to partner organizations, have built wells and provided water purification devices in Bangladesh, Haiti, Cote D’Ivoire and elsewhere.

HOW to get involved: Via donation pages on charitywater.org and volunteer opportunities; stay tuned via Twitter and Facebook.

What other people are saying:

New York Times column by Nick Kristof

Plus various write ups by CNN, Vanity Fair, New York magazine, USA Today, all accessible via:

http://www.charitywater.org/media/press.php

VOTE

Name: charity: water

Nominated category: Organization

URL: http://www.charitywater.org

“Bringing clean drinking water to people in areas without”

Area: Non-profit, fundraising, advocacy

About:

charity: water is a non-profit bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Description:

Through multiple projects, charity: water fundraises to build freshwater wells, provide rainwater catchments and sand filters, and other initiatives to provide clean drinking water for the 1.1 billion people around world who go without. For its “Born in September” campaign — inspired by charity: water’s founder, Scott Harrison asking friends on his September birthday to donate money, which in turn went to a refugee camp to build wells — the organization is asking that people give up their birthday, wedding and anniversary gifts and have friends donate money to charity: water instead. The organization has created a mycharity: water part of the web site, where those interested can create their own fundraising pages and raise money, any time of the year.

How does it all work? Charity: water doesn’t actually dig the wells, or procure rainwater catchments. Instead, through the site’s donation pages and rather straight-forward-ly-named donation campaigns like “Water For Schools,” charity: water passes on donations to its partner organizations, who then buy the necessary supplies to build wells. As the umbrella organization, charity: water also sends photographers along with charity: water staffers to document the projects in order to share them with the community of folks who donated.

charity: water shows visitors to the Web site why water? through video, photos and other media the reasons behind the cause. And the proof? They also uses photos, video and GPS coordinate plotted in Google Earth to show each well built as a result of the organization’s efforts. There’s also space on the Web site that charts the progress of ongoing projects in easily digestible shorthand (using little symbols for water towers and wells).

Since charity: water was founded in three years ago, it’s completed 1,247 water projects and aided roughly 650,000 people in places ranging from Cote D’Ivoire to Bangladesh to Haiti. According to the mycharity: water main page, there is currently 7760 members of the online community, 88 projects, and roughly $443,000 raised to date.

The Basics:

WHO: charity: water

WHAT: This non-profit fundraises to provide clean drinking water to people worldwide who go without.

WHERE: All over the world. charity: water, through donations funneled to partner organizations, have built wells and provided water purification devices in Bangladesh, Haiti, Cote D’Ivoire and elsewhere.

HOW to get involved: Via donation pages on charitywater.org and volunteer opportunities; stay tuned via Twitter and Facebook.

What other people are saying:

New York Times column by Nick Kristof

Plus various write ups by CNN, Vanity Fair, New York magazine, USA Today, all accessible via:

http://www.charitywater.org/media/press.php

VOTE

Name: Causecast

Nominated category: Organization/Initiative & Campaign

About:

Got a cause or two? Or are you looking for one? Causecast, dubbed “a one stop philanthropy shop” by TechCrunch, is a platform where media, philanthropy, social networking, entertainment and education converge to serve a greater purpose. Think of it as a social network for charities and their supporters and potential supporters.

Description:

Non-profit organizations must apply to join Causecast, but any who wants to link up with a cause can join. Members of the network can you can learn about different leaders and organizations, donate directly to them, check out multimedia (and upload and share your own) and find volunteer opportunities. Causes include youth, environment and arts-related; organizations include Robert F. Kennedy Jr. s environmentally-inclined Waterkeeper Alliance, the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, WITNESS, and Jewish World Watch.

In tune with its mission that doing good should also be fun, Causecast issues something called kudos sort of like the currency of this social good network. It’s basically a thank you, earned by being active on Causecast in blogging, uploading media, inviting friends to join Causecast, and other actions. Causecast plans to create a Kudos marketplace where community members can exchange Kudos for free music, carbon offsets and other things, or donate them to a cause because, after all, the causes are what it’s all about.

And to keep of all its members up to speed on Causecast news, the organization keeps a regular blog, plus Facebook and Twitter accounts, and sends out a Causeconnect e-newsletter. So far, Causecast has been mentioned in the TechCrunch Conference 50 and featured as a Twitter Chat participant for All Day Buffet, among other things.

The Basics:

WHO: Causecast

WHAT: Social networking for social do-gooders. Causecast is the medium through which one finds organizations to donate to or volunteer for.

WHERE: Everywhere, mostly United States.

HOW to get involved: Non-profit organizations must apply to join Causecast, but any who wants to link up with a cause can join. Via the site, you can learn about different leaders and organizations, donate directly to them, check out multimedia (and upload and share your own) and find volunteer opportunities.

Follow up on the latest news with the Causecast blog and Causeconnect e-newsletter, through Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and the YouTube channel.

What other people are saying:

bub.blicio.us interview

blog post

blog post

Kitsune Noir blog

TechCrunch

VOTE

Name: Causecast

Nominated category: Organization/Initiative & Campaign

About:

Got a cause or two? Or are you looking for one? Causecast, dubbed “a one stop philanthropy shop” by TechCrunch, is a platform where media, philanthropy, social networking, entertainment and education converge to serve a greater purpose. Think of it as a social network for charities and their supporters and potential supporters.

Description:

Non-profit organizations must apply to join Causecast, but any who wants to link up with a cause can join. Members of the network can you can learn about different leaders and organizations, donate directly to them, check out multimedia (and upload and share your own) and find volunteer opportunities. Causes include youth, environment and arts-related; organizations include Robert F. Kennedy Jr. s environmentally-inclined Waterkeeper Alliance, the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, WITNESS, and Jewish World Watch.

In tune with its mission that doing good should also be fun, Causecast issues something called kudos sort of like the currency of this social good network. It’s basically a thank you, earned by being active on Causecast in blogging, uploading media, inviting friends to join Causecast, and other actions. Causecast plans to create a Kudos marketplace where community members can exchange Kudos for free music, carbon offsets and other things, or donate them to a cause because, after all, the causes are what it’s all about.

And to keep of all its members up to speed on Causecast news, the organization keeps a regular blog, plus Facebook and Twitter accounts, and sends out a Causeconnect e-newsletter. So far, Causecast has been mentioned in the TechCrunch Conference 50 and featured as a Twitter Chat participant for All Day Buffet, among other things.

The Basics:

WHO: Causecast

WHAT: Social networking for social do-gooders. Causecast is the medium through which one finds organizations to donate to or volunteer for.

WHERE: Everywhere, mostly United States.

HOW to get involved: Non-profit organizations must apply to join Causecast, but any who wants to link up with a cause can join. Via the site, you can learn about different leaders and organizations, donate directly to them, check out multimedia (and upload and share your own) and find volunteer opportunities.

Follow up on the latest news with the Causecast blog and Causeconnect e-newsletter, through Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and the YouTube channel.

What other people are saying:

bub.blicio.us interview

blog post

blog post

Kitsune Noir blog

TechCrunch

charity:water’s recent campaign video is a prime example of how important engaging, informative, and succinct story-telling is when looking to social media to communicate your message.

The story of charity: water – The 2009 September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.

In this video, Scott Harrison, Founder and President of the organization, focuses on clearly articulating their story, starting with where they came from, what they have achieved to date and the goals they are working towards- 1 million people with access to clean water. Their call to action is straightforward and simple. Rather than simply asking for your money, they ask that you give up your birthday for the cause instead.

This video and their ongoing strategy exemplifies how important the message is- not the medium by which you choose to distribute that message. Social media shouldn’t be thought of as just a way to ask for money, but rather a way of inspiring people into action.

What other examples of great storytelling have you come across that we should feature here? Which initiatives have you come across that combine both a powerful message and an excellent use of the medium?

*For disclosure, I am a long time supporter of charity: water and was privileged to work with their incredible team on Twestival back in February of this year.

Project name:

charity: water

Project URL:

http://www.charitywater.org/

Primary individual, group or organization behind project:

Founder and President, Scott Harrison.

Describe the initiative in brief:

charity: water is a non-profit bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. One billion people are without access to clean water. The charity commits to donating 100% of public donations to water projects and connects donors with the people they’ve helped using an integrated mix of GPS technology, photography, video and the Internet.

What were the primary goals of the initiative:

To raise awareness of the water crisis through events, fund-raising exhibitions and other public awareness campaigns.

Who is the target audience?

Consumers, Schools, Corporations, Sponsors, Foundations

What were the main achievements of the initiative?

In approximately two and a half years charity: water has raised $9.7 million and been able to fund 1,341 clean water projects that serve 727,110 people. The group’s use of vivid photography and video capture the lives and stories of the people it is trying to help and combined with its smart use of many different social media platforms charity: water has reached and touched a broad base of people who have helped fund its projects and/or increased its overall awareness.

In what ways did the  project use, or leverage social media to achieve its goals?

• Use of photos, video and GPS coordinates plotted in GoogleEarth to prove every well built.  Using multimedia and Internet tools existing and interested donors are able to read up and get stories behind each well/project, helping to connect them to the cause (http://www.charitywater.org/projects/map.htm) and to experience a complete story when the wells are drilled and in place. This sort of deep engagement with donors helps them see where their money is going and what differences it makes.
• Partnering with Twestival to host a virtual multi-city fundraising campaign using Twitter to raise $250,000 and which brought worldwide public awareness to the global water crisis.
• Creation of the online September campaign, asking people born in the month of September to give up birthday presents and ask for donations instead. This campaign was housed online and featured videos and photos of the areas in need of wells as well as the ability to donate and match funds online. The campaign raised $1+ million, funding over 200 water projects in communities in need.
• Leveraging microdonations and gift-giving opportunities using Facebook fan and causes page, as well as sites like SocialVibe.com and Birthday Alarm to appeal to consumers around birthdays and special celebrations etc.

References and links:

http://charitywater.org

Project name:

Epic Change

Project URL:

http://www.epicchange.org

Describe the Project in Brief:

Epic Change believes that people’s stories are assets that can be used as resources to improve their lives. We help people in need share their “epic” true stories in innovative, creative and profitable ways to help them acquire the financial resources they need to create positive “change” in their communities.

Projects Primary Goal:

Epic Change uses donations to provide interest-free loans to local partners to finance their community improvement efforts. They then facilitate loan repayment by collaborating with their partners to share their stories through projects that generate income. Finally, they employ a “pay it forward” system by recycling repaid loans to help fund Epic Change in other communities. They encourage local leadership, self-sufficiency, incremental success, sustainability, focus and repeatability.

Who is the Target Audience:

Consumers, Schools, Corporations, Sponsors, Foundations, Students

What were the Main Achievements of the Project?

Most recently Epic Change sought to rebuild and expand Shepherds Junior, a small primary school in Arusha, Tanzania at which Monk and Patel volunteered in during their 2007 trip to Africa.

Mama Lucy Kamptoni, a local woman founded the school in 2003 on land she rented land next door to her home using the income from her poultry business. The school nearly closed in 2007 when a developer bought the rented land, and Kamptoni had no access to the capital required to relocate.

The primary goal of the school is to ensure that all children in the Kimandolu area are provided access to a high quality education at an affordable price. The school charges tuition to most students, and uses its income to subsidize the costs of orphans and lower income children who attend the school.

Expansion plans for the school include a computer lab, library, cafeteria, playground, classrooms to accommodate grades 1 through 7, restrooms with flushable toilets and the installation of solar panels for power. It’s estimated that the new school will cost $175,000 to build, and will take 3-5 years for construction and loan payback.

Progress to Date:

• Epic Change made its initial loan of $35,000 in December 2007. Using these funds, the school was able to purchase new land and complete construction of 4 new classrooms within 100 days. Students started classes at the new site on March 3, 2008.
• In late 2008, Epic Change made additional loans of over $30,000. These funds were used toward the construction of an additional classroom and the purchase of a refurbished school bus that provides safe, reliable transportation.
• In November 2008, Epic Change launched a line of cards and gifts including candles by West Hollywood designer Timothy Jay as well as stationery and holiday greeting cards by GreenerPrinter that feature artwork by the children at the school and photos by award-winning photographer Tim Llewellyn. Each product shares the story of the child(ren) that inspired or assisted in the creation of the design. Through the sales of these products, the school has been able to repay over 15% of their initial $35,000 loan in just over a year.
• Since our initial investment, the student body has more than doubled in size, from ~115 students to over 300. There are currently 154 boys and 156 girls attending Shepherds Junior.
• In November 2008, Shepherds Junior participated in national exams for the first time. The school ranked #1 out of 117 participating schools in the Arusha district.

In What Ways Did the Project Use, or Leverage Social Media to Achieve Its Goals?

• Epic Change created a TweetsGiving 2008, a 48 hour online fundraiser that would raise $10,000, which was based on the idea that everyone would tweet one thing that were thankful for to their twitter followers and then include the #TweetsGiving tag and a link to donate to Epic Change: http://tinyurl.com/4thanks. They were successful in their mission and highlighted top donors by providing a widget showing top turkey donors and their twitter handles.
• They used YouTube videos to record student Q&A between children in the States and their Tanzanian counterparts in the Arusha school to create a dialogue between schools and to provide a dynamic story of the recipients from the Epic Change donations. In addition, videos were created by young children that had created their own fundraisers to inspire and promote grassroots techniques in raising money for the school.
• Using an interactive blog on their site, they’ve posted up sound clips, videos, business submissions and contest entries to track progress of their efforts in Tanzania. This has created a multimedia effort to illustrate the ongoing efforts and work going towards the school and creates a narrative for the epic stories that they wish to tell and raise sustainable financing for.
• Galvanizing on the Thanksgiving idea, Epic Change used microblogging, facebook and websites to get people to donate to Epic Change for America’s National Teacher Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in lieu of gifts.