Scott Harrison, Founder of Charity: Water on Leadership, Vision Casting, and Fundraising

The L3 Leadership Podcast with Doug Smith

Episode Summary: In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Scott Harrison discusses how he went from a nightclub promoter to the founder of Charity: Water, a successful charity that has funded several thousand water projects throughout 29 countries.
6 Key Takeaways:

1. Scott recounts his journey from being a nightclub promoter to founding Charity: Water.
2. He discusses how his model for fundraising sets Charity: Water apart from other nonprofits.
3. He shares the 3 things he believes are crucial for fundraising.
4. Scott gives advice to other organizations for how crucial visual marketing can be to share their missions.
5. He talks about how a subscription program leveled up his nonprofit.
6. Scott shares insight into hosting a successful fundraising event.

About Scott: Scott spent almost ten years as a nightclub promoter in NYC before leaving to volunteer on a hospital ship off of the coast of Liberia, West Africa as a volunteer photojournalist. Returning home to NYC two years later, he founded the nonprofit organization Charity: Water in 2006. Turning his full attention to the global water crisis and the world's 785 million people without clean water to drink, he created public installations and innovative online fundraising platforms to spread international awareness about the issue. In 15 years, and with the help of one million donors worldwide, Charity: Water has raised over 598 million dollars and funded 79,136 water projects in 29 countries. When completed, these projects will provide 13.2 million people with clean, safe drinking water. Scott has been recognized on Fortune Magazines list of 40 under 40, Forbes Impact 30 and Fast Company's 100 most creative people in business, where he earned the number ten 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.
Quotes From the Episode:

“Early days I would say ‘show, don’t tell’, now it’s ‘show and tell’.”

“You can’t imagine 771 million anything… let alone people without water.”

“Integrity is the most important thing.”

“It’s action that births movements.”

Guest Resources Mentioned:

Thirst by Scott Harrison

https://charitywater.org/l3

Connect with Scott:
Charity: Water Website | Instagram | Linkedin | Twitter | Facebook