Scott Harrison | |
---|---|
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | September 7, 1975
Nationality | American |
Education | New York University |
Spouse | Viktoria Harrison (née Alexeeva) |
Website | www |
Scott Harrison (born September 7, 1975) [1] is the founder and current CEO of the non-profit charity: water. [2] Harrison is the author of Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World. [3]
Scott Harrison was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. [4] His father was a businessman, and his mother had been suffering almost constantly from a number of debilitating illnesses since he was four. The family adhered to Christian values. At the age of 18, Harrison left to study design and communication at New York University. Soon, he became involved in organizing parties and eventually worked as a promoter in Manhattan. [5] [2] He spent the next 10 years organizing parties for the likes of MTV, VH1, Bacardi and Elle . [6]
In 2004, Harrison took a trip to Uruguay. During his visit, he had a "life-changing experience" (a shooting at a nightclub) and suddenly realized that he needed a "change in life." [5] [7] [8] He was inspired to do so by his father’s gift of A.W. Tozer’s book, The Pursuit of God. [9]
Soon, Harrison quit his job and started volunteering as a photojournalist for the Christian charity Mercy Ships, which operates a fleet of hospital ships offering free healthcare to the developing world. He had to pay around $500 a month to cover living expenses. Despite having a high salary in the past, Harrison was almost broke at that stage. According to him, 'Nightclub promoters are terrible at saving money, but great at spending it.' Some of his friends financially supported him during this period. [5]
During the time spent at Mercy Ships, Harrison shipped to Benin and Liberia. He was exposed to the conditions of the impoverished in Liberia. During his volunteering time, Harrison realized that he could leverage his social networks and connections in New York to raise money for local communities deprived of access to fresh water. In 2006, Harrison organized a party in one of Manhattan's clubs, charging $20 (£12) for entry, with the promise that all the money raised would go toward drilling wells in Africa. The event successfully raised $15,000. [5] That marked the official beginning of Charity: water, a non-profit organization with the mission of providing clean water to people in developing nations through public donations. These donations directly fund water projects, including the construction of wells and sanitation facilities. [10] [11]
Charity: water quickly gained popularity among the New York elite, both due to Harrison's personal connections and its use of social networks and digital tools. The organization ensured transparency by directly linking donations to specific projects and adopted innovative data-driven approaches to effectively engage donors, showcasing impressive design and branding. [5] Charity: water claims to spend 100% of its funding on program costs. At the same time, to support the work of the charity's staff, Harrison established a separate fund for donations. In 2017 alone, he received $325,278 as compensation for his work. [11] As of 2023, funded over 138,000 projects in 29 countries. [12]
Harrison is married to Viktoria Harrison, who was previously involved in design and branding for charity: water. [13] They have two children: a son named Jackson and a daughter named Emma. Harrison is a Christian. [14] [15]
After Harrison exited his job as a club promoter, he also returned to Christianity. At the same time, he claims that the work of his organization does not adhere to any religious or ideological principles. [5]
As of 2013, Scott was recognized in Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 list, the Forbes Magazine Impact 30 list and was recently #10 in Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business Issue. [16]
In 2018, Harrison published a memoir titled 'Thirst.' [17] [18] The book became a New York Times bestseller. [19]
Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Founding members of the company were Terry Donovan, Gary Foreman, Dan and Sam Houser, and Jamie King, who worked for Take-Two at the time, and of which the Houser brothers were previously executives at BMG Interactive. Sam Houser heads the studio as president.
Sir Michael Jonathan Moritz is a Welsh-born American billionaire venture capitalist, philanthropist, author, and former journalist. Moritz works for Sequoia Capital, wrote the first history of Apple Inc., The Little Kingdom, and authored Going for Broke: Lee Iacocca's Battle to Save Chrysler. Previously, Moritz was a staff writer at Time magazine and a member of the board of directors of Google. He studied at the University of Oxford and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and went on to found Technologic Partners before becoming a venture capitalist in the 1980s. Moritz was named as the No. 1 venture capitalist on the Forbes Midas List in 2006 and 2007.
Bernard "Bernie" Marcus is an American billionaire businessman. He co-founded The Home Depot, was the company's first CEO, and its first chairman, until retiring in 2002.
Latter-day Saint Charities is a branch of the welfare department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The organization's stated mission is to relieve suffering, to foster self-reliance for people of all nationalities and religions, and to provide opportunities for service.
Sean Parker is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, most notable for co-founding the file-sharing computer service Napster, and serving as the first president of the social networking website Facebook. He also co-founded Plaxo, Causes, Airtime.com, and Brigade, an online platform for civic engagement. He is the founder and chairman of the Parker Foundation, which focuses on life sciences, global public health, and civic engagement. On the Forbes 2022 list of the world's billionaires, he was ranked No. 1,096 with a net worth of US$2.8 billion.
Eric Frederick Trump is an American businessman, activist, and former reality television presenter. He is the third child and second son of Donald Trump, and his first wife, Ivana Trump.
The practice of charity, which is the voluntary provision of assistance to those in need, serves as a humanitarian act, and is unmotivated by self-interest. Various philosophies about charity exist, with frequent associations with religion.
Ethos Water is an American brand of bottled water with a social mission of "helping children get clean water." A Starbucks subsidiary, Ethos began in 2001 when Peter Thum had the idea after working in communities in South Africa that lacked access to clean water. Thum, who was working as consultant for McKinsey & Company at the time, realized the potential to create a bottled water brand to raise awareness and funding for safe water programs. The idea became an obsession for Thum, and he wrote the business plan for Ethos, left McKinsey, and moved to New York in early 2002 to start the venture.
Dustin Aaron Moskovitz is an American billionaire internet entrepreneur who co-founded Facebook, Inc. with Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum and Chris Hughes. In 2008, he left Facebook to co-found Asana with Justin Rosenstein. In March 2011, Forbes reported Moskovitz to be the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, on the basis of his then 2.34% share in Facebook. As of October 2023, his net worth is estimated at US$18.0 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Toms is a for-profit company based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie, an entrepreneur from Arlington, Texas, the company designs and markets shoes as well as eyewear, coffee, apparel and handbags.
Charity: water is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 that provides drinking water to people in developing nations. As of 2019, the organization has raised $370 million. According to the organization, it has funded 111,000 water projects in 29 countries though it does not know how many of the projects are still functional.
MacKenzie Scott is an American novelist and philanthropist. As of January 2024, she has a net worth of US$40.6 billion, owning a 4% stake in Amazon, the company her ex-husband, Jeff Bezos founded. As such, Scott is the third-wealthiest woman in the United States and the 47th-wealthiest individual in the world. Scott was named the world's most powerful woman by Forbes in 2021 and one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2020.
Hayes Barnard is an American entrepreneur. He is currently the founder, chairman, and CEO of GoodLeap, a technology-based finance company. Barnard is also the founder, chairman, and CEO of GivePower, a nonprofit that facilitates solar powered projects to provide clean water and energy systems to underserved communities.
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the beginning of 2020, over $9 billion has been raised on the platform, with contributions from over 120 million donors.
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) is a donor-advised community foundation serving the Silicon Valley region. It is the largest charitable foundation in Silicon Valley.
Ryan Graves is an American billionaire, a former CEO and member of the board of directors of Uber, and a current member of the board of directors of Charity: Water, Pachama, and Metromile. He is also the CEO of Saltwater, his family office.
Joseph Gebbia Jr. is an American billionaire designer and a co-founder of Airbnb. Gebbia is the 286th richest person in the world according to Forbes, with a net worth of $7.9 billion, mostly due to his ownership of 53 million shares of Airbnb.
Founders Pledge is a London-based charitable initiative, where entrepreneurs commit to donate a portion of their personal proceeds to charity when they sell their business. Inspired by effective altruism, the mission of Founders Pledge is to "empower entrepreneurs to do immense good".
Chen Yidan, also known as Charles Chen, is a Chinese internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Tencent, founder of the Chen Yidan Charity Foundation, and founder of the Yidan Prize Foundation.