Q: What is charity:?
A: A New York City based non-profit organization committed to addressing issues surrounding global poverty. Our official name is Charity Global, and we're a 501c3 tax exempt organization.

Q: What’s with the colon after charity?
A: charity: is the root organization from which various initiatives flow.  For example, if the next area of focus were education, the next iteration would be charity: education. If hunger, charity: hunger.

Q: What does charity: do?
A: charity: is a nonprofit organization that stimulates greater global awareness about extreme poverty, educates the public, and provokes compassionate and intelligent giving. charity: creates global initiatives and campaigns around specific issues such as the world’s water crisis. These actions not only educate the public and build communities of concern, but use that concern and knowledge to raise money. That money is then directly used to help the poor.

Q: How did charity: start?
A: charity: started when founder, event planner turned photojournalist Scott Harrison, returned home from two years of volunteering with a humanitarian aid organization in West Africa.  Seeing the needs of the poor, he came home to start charity: with the idea of using photography and video to connect resources at home with those needs.  charity: water is the first initiative.

Q: What is charity: water?
A: It’s the first initiative of charity: focused on the global water crisis. Its aim is to educate the public and create greater awareness of the world’s 1.1 billion without access to clean water and basic sanitation. And raise money to fund efficient and effective projects that do something about the crisis. The goal of charity: water is to give everyone on the planet access to clean and safe water.

Q: What’s this bottle and why is it $20?
A: True, it may be the most expensive bottle of water you’ll ever buy, but there’s nothing special about the water or the packaging. It’s what the money does that’s special. 100 percent of the proceeds directly fund clean water well projects in Africa. Just one bottle of water can give someone clean water for 20 years.

Q: How can charity: water give away 100% of the money raised?
A: charity: is underwritten by private donors and board members who support the exhibitions, educational efforts and administrative costs of the organization. We also work with sponsors and solicit in-kind gifts.  For example, the water that charity: sells costs 45 cents but all $20 is used for the water projects.  Other donors have donated the printing of photographs for exhibitions, trucks, storage space, printing and more.

Q: What does charity: water do with the money it raises?
A: charity: water uses 100 percent of the money it raises to directly fund freshwater well and sanitation projects in some of the poorest communities in Africa. It currently supports well operations in Liberia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Central African Republic, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.

Q: How many people can a well serve?
A: Most wells will give between 500 - 1000 people clean water for 15 - 20 years. Some serve communities as large as 3000. The wells are between 30- 300 feet deep, and tap into the clean groundwater aquifers. Hand pumps that require no electricity or gas are installed in most cases, and can pump more than 1 million gallons of clean water a year.

Q: Do the wells always find water?
A: Using hydrologists and water experts, our drilling partners usually find water 90-95% of the time. It differs from area to area how far they need to dig for water. But they almost always find the underground aquifer.

Q: Is there a sufficient water table in the countries you are working in?
A: Yes. Surprisingly, some countries in Africa have a better water table than the United States or Europe. However, most communities don’t have the money or equipment to realize the underground resource.

Q: Do you just dig the well and leave? What if it breaks?
A: Sustainability is key to the work of charity: and the partners we fund. We don’t just dig and leave. We strive hard to build long lasting relationships and work with local community leaders to ensure that there is responsibility for communicating any faults with the wells we build. The pumps have only a few inexpensive moving parts and can be maintained. Trained water committees are essential to sustainable projects.

Q: How can people be certain that the money goes where it’s supposed to?
A: charity: water has a hands-on approach to its projects, working closely with its partners across the globe.  Finding efficient and effective non-profit partners on the ground is an important first step. Then, projects are monitored through field reports and frequent site visits. Additionally, charity: enlists the help of volunteers who pay their own way to the field and “prove” with photographs and videos, that the wells have been constructed and function correctly. Through these reports and site visits, we are able to provide GPS coordinates and photo proof of all projects sites.

Q:  How long has charity: been going and has it achieved anything yet?
A: charity: is less than two years old. So far, it's raised over $1.5 million to run the organization, launch its educational campaign, and most importantly, fund its water projects. charity: water currently has 268 well projects in development. 96 of which are complete.  It also produced and toured a 10-day educational outdoor exhibition in New York City which reached more than 20,000 people and raised $19,000. It did the same at the Sundance Festival, educating more than 1500 and raising $23,000. At the Rwanda Evening in New York City, $105,000 was raised towards water and sanitation projects. Charity: has been featured on CBS News, USA Today, New York Post, New York Observer, FORBES.COM, Current TV and more.

Q: Aren’t there already loads of people doing this? Why do we need another charity?
A: That’s true, there are other people operating in Africa (and other impoverished nations) doing water-based projects. However, one out of every six people in the world lack access to clean water and basic sanitation, so clearly, much more needs to be done.  Additionally, the smaller and most effective charities very often have difficulty fundraising to continue their work in the field. charity: wants to support the local experts so they can keep drilling and serving communities in need.