Scott Harrison: Founder and CEO, charity: water

Founder Background & Early Life

• Scott Harrison grew up in a middle-class Philadelphia family before his father, a businessperson, and mother, a writer, moved to a home with an undetected carbon monoxide leak.
• At age four, Harrison became a caregiver after his mother suffered severe carbon monoxide poisoning, resulting in permanent immune system damage and invalidism.
• This event halted family planning and created a strict, rules-based household where Harrison played piano and served as his mother's primary support.
• At 18, Harrison sought rebellion against this environment, growing his hair and joining a rock band with plans to play sold-out amphitheaters, though the band disbanded after two months.
• He transitioned to nightclub promotion in New York City, operating 40 venues over a decade while working for Peter Gatien at Limelight and The Tunnel.
• Harrison accumulated significant vices over 10 years, including smoking two packs of Marlboro Reds daily (20 pack-years), gambling, pornography addiction, and using drugs like coke, MDMA, and ecstasy.
• Despite acquiring markers of success (BMW, Rolex, Tribeca loft), Harrison experienced a "rotting on the inside" realization at age 28 while hosting a luxury compound in Punta del Este.
• He committed to a 180-degree life change, quitting all vices and attempting to transition into humanitarian work.
• Major organizations (Red Cross, Oxfam, Save the Children) rejected his application due to his lack of humanitarian experience, forcing him to pay a $500 monthly "volunteer fee" to join a mission in Liberia.

Catalyst for Charity Water

• Harrison arrived in post-war Liberia in the fall of 2004 to document medical work on a hospital ship, encountering extreme poverty and a breakdown in infrastructure.
• His role shifted from photojournalist to identifying the water crisis after observing children drinking from swamps infested with parasites and worms.
• He noted that 50% of Liberia's population was drinking contaminated water, a stark contrast to his previous life selling expensive Voss water in nightclubs.
• Doctors advised him to focus on water, citing that 52% of global diseases were waterborne and half of hospital beds worldwide were filled with water-related illnesses.
• Harrison identified water as a multi-sector issue impacting health, education, and the local economy, rather than a standalone health issue.

Impact of Water Scarcity

• Water scarcity directly impacts girls' education, as one in three schools globally lacks clean water and a toilet, causing menstruating girls to miss 4-5 days of school monthly.
• Women and girls waste an estimated 40 billion hours annually in Africa just walking for water, often spending 6-8 hours daily on this task.
• These walks carry significant physical risks, including exposure to animal attacks (hyenas, lions, crocodiles) and sexual violence.
• Economic data from the UN indicates that every $1 invested in water and sanitation generates $4 to $8 in community wealth, with extreme environments seeing a 20x return on investment.

Charity Water Business Model & Strategy

• Facing a 70% public distrust of charities regarding wasted funds, Harrison designed a model where 100% of public donations fund water projects directly.
• Operational overhead (salaries, office, flights) is funded through a separately audited bank account via private donors, ensuring public funds are untouched.
• The organization refunds credit card processing fees to donors to ensure the full intended donation reaches the field.
• Technology is used for hyper-transparency by plotting every water project on Google Earth/Maps, allowing donors to verify completion via satellite imagery.
• Charity Water employs design-centric branding and hires top-tier talent from tech and luxury sectors to elevate the organization's aesthetic and messaging.
• The organization prioritizes local leadership, funding local partners to execute projects rather than deploying Westerners to perform physical labor.

Innovative Equity & Compensation

• To maintain the 100% funding model while competing for top tech talent (engineers, designers) against firms like Twitter and Facebook, Harrison introduced an employee stock option program.
• The program allows employees, particularly entry-level staff, to earn equity bonuses that can supplement salaries up to 50%, with a weighted structure favoring lower-paid employees.
• Executive compensation is capped to prevent founders from profiting from the equity pool; Harrison explicitly stated he can never benefit financially from the shares he raises.
• The equity vests over a period of up to 10 years to encourage retention, aiming to allow employees to fund personal family goals rather than become millionaires.
• The model addresses the tension between maintaining a cash reserve for operating costs and the goal of keeping public donations 100% dedicated to the field.

Current Scale & Goals

• Charity Water now employs over 100 staff members, growing from a three-person startup.
• The organization aims to reduce the number of people without access to clean water from the current 663 million to zero.
• Harrison cites the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework, noting that clean water is a standalone goal intersecting with four to five other global development goals.