Charity Water

🔗 Connections

Sector

Region

Guideline Year

Language

Tags

Official Websites

Brand Guidelines

2016

Brand Summary

Mission

To bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.

Core Values

Integrity
Respect
Excellence
Innovation
Generosity
Passion

Target Audience

Supporters, donors, campaigners, and people interested in solving the global water crisis, including both adults and children, with a focus on engaging a broad, optimistic community.

Personality Traits

Helpful
Optimistic
Honest
Adventurous
Generous
Grateful
Creative
Respectful

Visual Identity Overview

The visual identity is built around hope, dignity, and inspiration, using bright primary colors (yellow and blue), clean and spacious layouts, iconic imagery like the Jerry Can, and consistent typography. Photography and illustration focus on positive, real-life stories and opportunities, with a preference for simplicity and clarity in all visual elements.

Categories

Brand Voice

Above all, we want our brand to be inspirational. Whether we’re talking to our biggest donors or a ten-year-old campaigner, our goal is that every interaction with charity: water feels exciting and filled with possibility.
We also want our brand to feel clear, in both message and design. We believe in transparency, and that applies to more than financials. It means we work hard to make sure language is understandable and visuals feel spacious. We love simplicity.
How do you write for charity: water? Our brand voice is friendly, smart, and simple. Instead of thinking like a company, think like a person. Everything we write is written by a person, for a person. It’s good when it feels that way.
At the same time, we keep things professional. If charity: water was a person, we’d be a knowledgable, friendly one. When talking about the water crisis, we’re downright experts. So though we like to keep things casual, we steer clear of LOLs and emojis.
As you write in the charity: water voice, here are a few simple ground rules to help you start off strong.
1. Be casual, but not too casual. Do we use words like “totally” and “super”? Absolutely. Do we like exclamation marks and short, personal emails? Yes. Do we refer to our campaigners as “Bro” or drop an LOL at the end of a sentence? No. We’re a pretty chill organization, but a smart, professional one.
1. Be accurate. Being casual doesn’t mean we’re careless. We proofread everything. Check stats. Then check them again. We’re a recognized authority on the water crisis, so especially when talking about the water crisis, or finances, or our programs, or reporting, triple check everything.
1. Be friendly. We generally treat everyone like friends. Anytime you write something, think: “How would I phrase this if this were going to my best friend?” We love it when communications feel personal and real (while still being clear that we’re a reputable organization).
1. Be positive. The water crisis is tragic. Talking about it can really put a damper on things. But we never want our supporters or audience to feel unhappy after interacting with us, so we always try to end communications on a positive note. While being honest about harsh realities, we also talk about what we can do to change things and how much better life is once people get clean water.
1. Be inspirational. We ask a lot of our supporters. So whenever possible, try to inspire people. Think about how you’d describe what we do to your mom or dad—then write that down. Our goal is that every little interaction with charity: water will make people feel happy and hopeful.
1. Be clear. Transparency is a big part of our brand. Of course, it refers to our reporting and our promise to prove every project we build. But it’s bigger than that, too. Always make your language simple and easy to understand. Never send people somewhere else for information when you can just give it to them. Don’t complicate things unnecessarily. Just be as clear as possible.
1. Be brief. People are busy. Respect their time. Say what you need to say, then stop writing. A great resource on brevity can be found here—it provides ideal lengths for just about anything you’ll ever write: Tweets, emails, subject lines, blog posts, etc.
1. Use 100% carefully. Whenever you talk about our 100% model, always use 100% (not “one hundred percent,” or “every dollar,” or “everything”). Whenever you’re talking about something else, don’t use 100%. For example, in discussing a match, use “double” or “dollar for dollar” or “every dollar,” instead of “matched 100%.”
1. Use can, not will. When talking about the water crisis, and the impact a donation to clean water can make, never guarantee results. We don’t know in advance exactly how many people a given project can help, or how much life will change once clean water arrives. Instead, talk about the amazing things clean water can achieve.
1. Talk about real people. We like to connect our donors with the real people they help. We tell stories about real people, with names and families. We tie dollars to real communities clean water has helped. When you’re talking about a community, talk about them as “people in Ethiopia” not “Ethiopians”—that will help your audience feel connected to the people they’re helping, even when they’re strangers.
1. Use Pipeline, not the Pipeline. Our monthly giving program, Pipeline, is a proper noun. Don’t refer to it as The Pipeline. Think of it like Starbucks, which isn’t called The Starbucks. Or Trevor, not The Trevor.
1. Use The Well, not the Well. When talking about The Well, on the other hand, always capitalize The.
1. They’re not our Well members. The members of The Well are not ours. They’re a separate group of people. Though of course we wouldn’t exist without them, we treat them with respect and autonomy. In print, refer to The Well members as “members of The Well” or “The Well members” instead of “our Well members.”
1. Clean comes before safe. When using the phrase “clean, safe drinking water” always put clean before safe. To help you remember, it’s in alphabetical order. This helps our mission statement stay consistent.
1. Be careful with the word crazy. “The craziest thing we can do is nothing” is a phrase you’ll hear around here a lot. But use it judiciously. We love talking about the crazy, inspiring things our campaigners have done, but we never use the word crazy to describe our work, our partners in the field, or the people we help.
1. You are a who. When talking about the water crisis, it’s helpful to remember that people should always be refered to with “who” not “that.” As in, “There are 663 million people in the world who don’t have access to clean water.”
1. Don’t call us a company. When talking about our organization, talk about us like you’d talk about your family. Don’t refer to us as “the company,” just use “we.” If you do need to talk about our organization as a whole, use “charity: water,” or occasionally “our organization.”
STYLE TIPS Avoid big words. Keep sentences simple. Stay positive. Don’t be too casual. Focus on real people.
While we still keep things pretty professional, we think of social media as a place where we can demonstrate personality, have fun, and relate to supporters.
Much like our brand voice, our social voice is written in a human tone. Our posts are typically full of optimism, celebration, and gratitude. More than anything, we try to create daily connections both to our work in the field and the people who make our work possible.

Brand Imagery

Photography is an enormous part of the charity: water brand. You’ll see beautiful photos of smiling people in just about everything we do. We like it that way. Our photographic style is built on one simple thing: possibility.
We never guilt people into giving. Instead, we portray the people we help with dignity. And anytime we show photos of harsh reality, we pair it with explanations of what you can do to help. We want everyone who interacts with our brand to feel inspired, hopeful, and motivated to take action. Our imagery is about opportunity.
Images for Pipeline should feel real, relevant, and raw.
To get updates out rapidly, Pipeline photos and videos don’t always need to be edited before being shared.

Color Palette

CMYK 0, 22, 100, 0
RGB 255, 201, 7
HEX #FFC907
Pantone 114 U
Yellow is the color of our Jerry Can icon. Blue represents water. We use these colors a lot.
CMYK 69, 29, 0, 0
RGB 46, 157, 237
HEX #2E9DF7
Pantone 2925 U
Our secondary brand colors are bright, just like our optimistic attitude.
CMYK 44, 0, 24, 0 RGB 138, 211, 204 HEX #8BD1CB
CMYK 65, 0, 91, 0 RGB 79, 203, 83 HEX #4FCB53
CMYK 84, 14, 100, 2 RGB 23, 155, 73 HEX #159A48
CMYK 0, 53, 91, 0 RGB 255, 144, 42 HEX #FF902A
CMYK 0, 90, 92, 0 RGB 245, 64, 44 HEX #F5402C
CMYK 0, 78, 57, 0 RGB 254, 95, 94 HEX #F16061
Our Pipeline colors are bright and inviting, to match the upbeat, forward-looking brand.
CMYK 0, 84, 54, 0 RGB 249, 79, 94 HEX #F94F5E
CMYK 1, 12, 83, 0 RGB 255, 218, 72 HEX #FFDA48
CMYK 67, 0, 32, 0 RGB 63, 191, 187 HEX #3FBFBB
CMYK 33, 0, 12, 0 RGB 165, 220, 224 HEX #A5DCE0
CMYK 80, 56, 62, 49 RGB 40, 64, 63 HEX #28403F
CMYK 3, 20, 44, 0 RGB 243, 204, 152 HEX #F3CC98
CMYK 0, 21, 99, 0
RGB 255 201, 10
CMYK 30, 36, 76, 3
RGB 181, 153, 89
HEX #B49859
CMYK 16, 26, 46, 0
RGB 215, 185, 145
HEX #D7B992
CMYK 2, 1, 13, 0
RGB 250, 248, 224
HEX #F8F6DF
CMYK 17, 9, 22, 0
RGB 212, 216, 199
HEX #D4D6C5
CMYK 33, 0, 15, 0
RGB 166, 219, 218
HEX #A6DBDA
CMYK 28, 0, 38, 0
RGB 187, 221, 177
HEX #BBDEB2
CMYK 79, 44, 53, 21 p. 63 RGB 57, 103, 103
HEX #3A6766

Typography

Our primary brand font is Proxima Nova. We use it in print and on the web. When Proxima Nova isn’t available, we use Avenir. We don’t use serif fonts often, but sometimes we use Georgia for body copy, especially on the web.
Use the font that works best with your design, and always be consistent throughout whatever you’re working on.
PROXIMA NOVA Proxima Nova Thin Proxima Nova Thin Italic Proxima Nova Light Proxima Nova Light Italic Proxima Nova Regular Proxima Nova Regular Italic Proxima Nova Semibold Proxima Nova Semibold Italic Proxima Nova Bold Proxima Nova Bold Italic Proxima Nova Extra Bold Proxima Nova Black
AVENIR Avenir Light Avenir Light Oblique Avenir Book Avenir Book Oblique Avenir Roman Avenir Oblique Avenir Medium Avenir Medium Oblique Avenir Heavy Avenir Heavy Oblique Avenir Black Avenir Black Oblique
GEORGIA Georgia Regular Georgia Italic Georgia Bold Georgia Bold Italic
BRAND MOMENTS SNAG BOLD HEADLINES Domaine Display Bold Italic SUBHEADS Domaine Text Regular Italic SUPPORTING UNITED SANS CONDENSED TEXT PROXIMA NOVA

Logo Usage

Our logo is made up of two elements: our Jerry Can icon and our “charity: water” wordmark set in Baskerville regular at 140 tracking.
Our icon and wordmark can be set horizontally or vertically, whichever works best with your design. The wordmark can be black or white, whichever is most clear on your background color or design. The Jerry Can icon can be yellow, black, or white. Download our logo ›
1. Don’t capitalize our name.
1. Don’t remove the space after the colon.
1. Don’t remove the colon.
1. Don’t change the font.
1. Don’t make the Jerry Can too small for our name.
1. Don’t squish or skew our logo.
1. Don’t place our logo on a cluttered background.
We like our logo to be easy to read. Keep the size legible and always give it breathing room. How much space does the logo need, exactly? Half the height of the Jerry Can icon, on every side.
SCREEN 145 pixels PRINT 1,375 inches MINIMUM SCREEN 15 pixels LOGO a PRINT 0.15 inches WIDTHS a SCREEN 95 pixels PRINT 0.9 inches charity: water X X X charity: water X X MINIMUM CLEAR X X SPACE X 2 charity: water X X
You can also use the Jerry Can alone.
In fact, we do it all the time.

Tone And Messaging

Above all, we want our brand to be inspirational. Whether we’re talking to our biggest donors or a ten-year-old campaigner, our goal is that every interaction with charity: water feels exciting and filled with possibility.
We also want our brand to feel clear, in both message and design. We believe in transparency, and that applies to more than financials. It means we work hard to make sure language is understandable and visuals feel spacious. We love simplicity.
How do you write for charity: water? Our brand voice is friendly, smart, and simple. Instead of thinking like a company, think like a person. Everything we write is written by a person, for a person. It’s good when it feels that way.
At the same time, we keep things professional. If charity: water was a person, we’d be a knowledgable, friendly one. When talking about the water crisis, we’re downright experts. So though we like to keep things casual, we steer clear of LOLs and emojis.
Be casual, but not too casual. Do we use words like “totally” and “super”? Absolutely. Do we like exclamation marks and short, personal emails? Yes. Do we refer to our campaigners as “Bro” or drop an LOL at the end of a sentence? No. We’re a pretty chill organization, but a smart, professional one.
Be accurate. Being casual doesn’t mean we’re careless. We proofread everything. Check stats. Then check them again. We’re a recognized authority on the water crisis, so especially when talking about the water crisis, or finances, or our programs, or reporting, triple check everything.
Be friendly. We generally treat everyone like friends. Anytime you write something, think: “How would I phrase this if this were going to my best friend?” We love it when communications feel personal and real (while still being clear that we’re a reputable organization).
Be positive. The water crisis is tragic. Talking about it can really put a damper on things. But we never want our supporters or audience to feel unhappy after interacting with us, so we always try to end communications on a positive note. While being honest about harsh realities, we also talk about what we can do to change things and how much better life is once people get clean water.
Be inspirational. We ask a lot of our supporters. So whenever possible, try to inspire people. Think about how you’d describe what we do to your mom or dad—then write that down. Our goal is that every little interaction with charity: water will make people feel happy and hopeful.
Be clear. Transparency is a big part of our brand. Of course, it refers to our reporting and our promise to prove every project we build. But it’s bigger than that, too. Always make your language simple and easy to understand. Never send people somewhere else for information when you can just give it to them. Don’t complicate things unnecessarily. Just be as clear as possible.
Be brief. People are busy. Respect their time. Say what you need to say, then stop writing. A great resource on brevity can be found here—it provides ideal lengths for just about anything you’ll ever write: Tweets, emails, subject lines, blog posts, etc.
Use 100% carefully. Whenever you talk about our 100% model, always use 100% (not “one hundred percent,” or “every dollar,” or “everything”). Whenever you’re talking about something else, don’t use 100%. For example, in discussing a match, use “double” or “dollar for dollar” or “every dollar,” instead of “matched 100%.”
Use can, not will. When talking about the water crisis, and the impact a donation to clean water can make, never guarantee results. We don’t know in advance exactly how many people a given project can help, or how much life will change once clean water arrives. Instead, talk about the amazing things clean water can achieve.
Talk about real people. We like to connect our donors with the real people they help. We tell stories about real people, with names and families. We tie dollars to real communities clean water has helped. When you’re talking about a community, talk about them as “people in Ethiopia” not “Ethiopians”—that will help your audience feel connected to the people they’re helping, even when they’re strangers.
Use Pipeline, not the Pipeline. Our monthly giving program, Pipeline, is a proper noun. Don’t refer to it as The Pipeline. Think of it like Starbucks, which isn’t called The Starbucks. Or Trevor, not The Trevor.
Use The Well, not the Well. When talking about The Well, on the other hand, always capitalize The.
They’re not our Well members. The members of The Well are not ours. They’re a separate group of people. Though of course we wouldn’t exist without them, we treat them with respect and autonomy. In print, refer to The Well members as “members of The Well” or “The Well members” instead of “our Well members.”
Clean comes before safe. When using the phrase “clean, safe drinking water” always put clean before safe. To help you remember, it’s in alphabetical order. This helps our mission statement stay consistent.
Be careful with the word crazy. “The craziest thing we can do is nothing” is a phrase you’ll hear around here a lot. But use it judiciously. We love talking about the crazy, inspiring things our campaigners have done, but we never use the word crazy to describe our work, our partners in the field, or the people we help.
You are a who. When talking about the water crisis, it’s helpful to remember that people should always be refered to with “who” not “that.” As in, “There are 663 million people in the world who don’t have access to clean water.”
Don’t call us a company. When talking about our organization, talk about us like you’d talk about your family. Don’t refer to us as “the company,” just use “we.” If you do need to talk about our organization as a whole, use “charity: water,” or occasionally “our organization.”
Avoid big words.
Keep sentences simple.
Stay positive.
Don’t be too casual.
Focus on real people.
While we still keep things pretty professional, we think of social media as a place where we can demonstrate personality, have fun, and relate to supporters.
Much like our brand voice, our social voice is written in a human tone. Our posts are typically full of optimism, celebration, and gratitude. More than anything, we try to create daily connections both to our work in the field and the people who make our work possible.
Be “likable.” This is a space that people invite us into, and they can just as easily kick us out. Don’t think of social media as an opportunity to advertise or promote; think of it as a place to provide memorable moments that inspire and delight.
Be a storyteller. Our work and our progress is really about people. From volunteers and supporters to our partners and the people we serve, there’s a world of stories out there waiting to be told.
Be a cheerleader. It’s not just our story. We’ve had people jump out of airplanes, walk across America, swim naked, and run marathons to raise money for clean water. We want to use their stories to inspire even more by celebrating them well.
Be thankful. Social media offers a wonderful, public “thank you” space, and we have much to be thankful for. From CEOs donating stock shares and little kids hosting lemonade stands to dedicated volunteers and discounted goods for our office… we always practice gratitude.
Be direct. You don’t have to use all 140 characters to get your point across. And go easy on the asks. Keep it simple; focus on one call to action or message per post.
We use a handful of hashtags pretty regularly so we can compile collections by theme. Just so you know: #waterchangeseverything represents impact, #nothingiscrazy is a badge for our most dedicated supporters, #663million is how we talk about the water crisis, and #CWCampaignsWeLove allows us to celebrate current campaigners).
Pipeline is about the real work happening on the ground, so the Pipeline brand is fast-paced, genuine, personal, and a little more raw than the rest of the charity: water brand.
Copy for Pipeline should feel relevant, recent, and personal. Our Pipeline monthly members are some of our most loyal, long-standing supporters. Anytime we communicate with them, it should feel like one good friend talking to another.
Pipeline is a proper noun (like Starbucks, or Scott), and should not be referred to as “the Pipeline.”
Emails should always come from real people at charity: water (not “the charity: water staff”).
Stories should feel like they’re coming straight from the field.
Images for Pipeline should feel real, relevant, and raw.
To get updates out rapidly, Pipeline photos and videos don’t always need to be edited before being shared.
The Well brand speaks to generous, essential individuals who keep our organization running. The tone is refined, yet familiar. We treat members of The Well like family, but like our most respected family members. In short, The Well brand is the most mature version of the charity: water brand.
The brand tone for The Well is friendly, welcoming, and intelligent. The Well is a private membership club, so the look and feel is upscale and exclusive. But the copy isn’t snobby. It’s genuine. It’s inspiring. It’s heartfelt. Since the members of The Well make all our work possible, we always speak to and about them with gratitude, affection, and respect.

Brand Values

OUR VALUES Integrity, Respect, Excellence, Innovation, Generosity, Passion
OUR PERSONALITY Helpful, Optimistic, Honest, Adventurous, Generous, Grateful, Creative, Respectful

Visual Style

Our logo is made up of two elements: our Jerry Can icon and our “charity: water” wordmark set in Baskerville regular at 140 tracking.
Our icon and wordmark can be set horizontally or vertically, whichever works best with your design. The wordmark can be black or white, whichever is most clear on your background color or design. The Jerry Can icon can be yellow, black, or white.
Don’t capitalize our name.
Don’t remove the space after the colon.
Don’t remove the colon.
Don’t change the font.
Don’t make the Jerry Can too small for our name.
Don’t squish or skew our logo.
Don’t place our logo on a cluttered background.
Keep the size legible and always give it breathing room. How much space does the logo need, exactly? Half the height of the Jerry Can icon, on every side.
SCREEN 145 pixels PRINT 1,375 inches MINIMUM SCREEN 15 pixels LOGO a PRINT 0.15 inches WIDTHS a SCREEN 95 pixels PRINT 0.9 inches charity: water X X X charity: water X X MINIMUM CLEAR X X SPACE X 2 charity: water X X
You can also use the Jerry Can alone.
Yellow is the color of our Jerry Can icon. Blue represents water. We use these colors a lot.
CMYK 0, 22, 100, 0 RGB 255, 201, 7 HEX #FFC907 Pantone 114 U
CMYK 69, 29, 0, 0 RGB 46, 157, 237 HEX #2E9DF7 Pantone 2925 U
Our secondary brand colors are bright, just like our optimistic attitude.
CMYK 44, 0, 24, 0 RGB 138, 211, 204 HEX #8BD1CB CMYK 65, 0, 91, 0 RGB 79, 203, 83 HEX #4FCB53 CMYK 84, 14, 100, 2 RGB 23, 155, 73 HEX #159A48 CMYK 0, 53, 91, 0 RGB 255, 144, 42 HEX #FF902A CMYK 0, 90, 92, 0 RGB 245, 64, 44 HEX #F5402C CMYK 0, 78, 57, 0 RGB 254, 95, 94 HEX #F16061
Our primary brand font is Proxima Nova. We use it in print and on the web. When Proxima Nova isn’t available, we use Avenir. We don’t use serif fonts often, but sometimes we use Georgia for body copy, especially on the web.
Use the font that works best with your design, and always be consistent throughout whatever you’re working on.
Proxima Nova Thin Proxima Nova Thin Italic Proxima Nova Light Proxima Nova Light Italic Proxima Nova Regular Proxima Nova Regular Italic Proxima Nova Semibold Proxima Nova Semibold Italic Proxima Nova Bold Proxima Nova Bold Italic Proxima Nova Extra Bold Proxima Nova Black AVENIR Avenir Light Avenir Light Oblique Avenir Book Avenir Book Oblique Avenir Roman Avenir Oblique Avenir Medium Avenir Medium Oblique Avenir Heavy Avenir Heavy Oblique Avenir Black Avenir Black Oblique GEORGIA Georgia Regular Georgia Italic Georgia Bold Georgia Bold Italic
Photography is an enormous part of the charity: water brand. You’ll see beautiful photos of smiling people in just about everything we do. We like it that way. Our photographic style is built on one simple thing: possibility.
We never guilt people into giving. Instead, we portray the people we help with dignity. And anytime we show photos of harsh reality, we pair it with explanations of what you can do to help. We want everyone who interacts with our brand to feel inspired, hopeful, and motivated to take action. Our imagery is about opportunity.
For the most part, we keep our icons and illustrations flat, without gradients or shadows to add a false sense of depth.
Make sure your illustration matches your audience. When talking about campaigners, we use playful, imperfect illustrations. When talking about the water crisis, we lean toward simple icons in solid colors instead. Whether simple, fun, or elegant, our icons should always be easy to identify at a glance.

Iconography

For us, the Jerry Can is a reminder of both hardship and hope. That’s why we made the bright, iconic yellow symbol our logo: it’s a constant reminder of what we’re working toward—and how much more work we still have to do. We use this icon often, but we also use it with care. The following guidelines will show you how to use our logo.
Our logo is made up of two elements: our Jerry Can icon and our “charity: water” wordmark set in Baskerville regular at 140 tracking.
Our icon and wordmark can be set horizontally or vertically, whichever works best with your design. The wordmark can be black or white, whichever is most clear on your background color or design. The Jerry Can icon can be yellow, black, or white.
Don’t make the Jerry Can too small for our name.
Don’t squish or skew our logo.
Keep the size legible and always give it breathing room. How much space does the logo need, exactly? Half the height of the Jerry Can icon, on every side.
SCREEN 145 pixels PRINT 1,375 inches MINIMUM SCREEN 15 pixels LOGO a PRINT 0.15 inches WIDTHS a SCREEN 95 pixels PRINT 0.9 inches charity: water X X X charity: water X X MINIMUM CLEAR X X SPACE X 2 charity: water X X
You can also use the Jerry Can alone. In fact, we do it all the time.
Yellow is the color of our Jerry Can icon.
CMYK 0, 22, 100, 0 RGB 255, 201, 7 HEX #FFC907 Pantone 114 U
For the most part, we keep our icons and illustrations flat, without gradients or shadows to add a false sense of depth.
When talking about campaigners, we use playful, imperfect illustrations. When talking about the water crisis, we lean toward simple icons in solid colors instead. Whether simple, fun, or elegant, our icons should always be easy to identify at a glance.

Layout And Composition

The composition should have a vertical orientation, with the boy positioned to the right, and a cascade or stream of water falling from above in the center. The top left corner should contain small text that reads ‘charity: water’ in lowercase, and below it, the words ‘BRAND BOOK’ in larger, uppercase and lowercase letters, aligned to the left, with a thin horizontal line separating ‘BRAND’ and ‘BOOK’. The year ‘2016’ appears near the bottom left corner, and there is a small yellow icon with the letter ‘A’ near the bottom left.
Our icon and wordmark can be set horizontally or vertically, whichever works best with your design. The wordmark can be black or white, whichever is most clear on your background color or design. The Jerry Can icon can be yellow, black, or white.
Don’t squish or skew our logo.
Don’t place our logo on a cluttered background.
Keep the size legible and always give it breathing room. How much space does the logo need, exactly? Half the height of the Jerry Can icon, on every side.
SCREEN 145 pixels PRINT 1,375 inches MINIMUM SCREEN 15 pixels LOGO a PRINT 0.15 inches WIDTHS a SCREEN 95 pixels PRINT 0.9 inches charity: water X X X charity: water X X MINIMUM CLEAR X X SPACE X 2 charity: water X X

Video Guidelines

Video is one of the most powerful ways that we can share the impact of our work and introduce the people that we serve.
It’s as close as we can come to taking our supporters to the field to see it for themselves. From Snapchat to virtual reality, these authentic moments are how we bring our work to life.
1. Form relationships first.
It’s tempting to whip out cameras right away. Everything is new! Time is limited! Don’t do it. Be respectful, greet the community, explain your purpose. All of the time you take getting to know people up front will provide better footage in the end.
1. Stock up on good b-roll.
Emphasis on “good.” Again, we want to focus on hope, not guilt. If you’re going to show footage that’s bleak or hard to watch, be sure you’re pairing it with footage that’s hopeful and highlights the opportunity for a better future.
1. Be a good listener.
It’s not an interview; it’s a conversation. And it will go a lot better if you’re actively listening and asking relevant follow up questions than it will if you’re just trying to cross off all the questions on your list.
1. Embrace the silence.
Some of the most magical moments in an interview happen in the long silences. If you’re interviewing someone about a difficult topic and your interviewee gets emotional or pauses, give them time to reflect or gather the courage to speak before you jump back in.
1. Put fewer people in the room.
You want the person you’re interviewing to feel as comfortable as possible. Show respect by offering privacy and getting rid of spectators. That goes for curious community members and anyone on your team who doesn’t need to be there.
1. Consider gender.
Although it’s not always always possible, we try to use a female translator when we’re interviewing women. Not only does it provide comfort for the interviewee, it also brings better answers.
Video is one of the most powerful ways that we can share the impact of our work and introduce the people that we serve. Whether you create your own co-branded media or share one of our videos, it’s an incredibly effective way to inspire, encourage, and bring people together online.

Editorial Guidelines

Our Editorial Guidelines A crash course in writing for charity: water. These guidelines are designed to help you write in the charity: water voice. The info here will help you understand the basics of our work and the language and tone we use when talking about what we do. This guide also has some great boilerplate language that you’re welcome to use and share. PLEASE NOTE: Especially when talking about the water crisis, numbers change often. Always check with our Programs Team before sending numbers to print.
The most common waterborne diseases are arsenicosis, cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, fluorosis, intestinal worms (worm), schistosomiasis and typhoid. Malaria, E. coli, trachoma and HIV/AIDS are also affected by lack of safe water sources. Common diseases can usually be lowercase: arthritis, leukemia, bilharzia, diarrhea. When the disease is known by the name of a person identified with it, capitalize only that individual’s name: Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease. To be sure about a particular disease, look it up in this guide ›
Guinea worm A parasitic disease that causes debilitating ulcers. It’s usually contracted through dirty water. Guinea worm has almost been completely eradicated—it is no longer a threat or major health focus in developing countries.
intestinal worms, worms There are hundreds of varying intestinal worms that can be contracted through contaminated drinking water or food; the most prevalent are roundworm, whipworm, and hookworms, but any of them are referred to commonly as just “worms.” About 10% of people in developing countries suffer from intestinal worms at any given time; worms cause malnutrition, anemia and stunt growth. Use simply “worms” for informal copy but identify the particular worm if your writing is formal or focused on a specific infection.
HIV, HIV-positive, HIV/AIDS Always abbreviate to HIV, without periods. Preferably use HIV/AIDS or HIV rather than just AIDS (more are infected with the HIV virus than are inflicted with full-blown AIDS).
malaria A parasitic disease contracted through infected mosquitoes. Standing water (in uncovered water tanks, poor drainage areas, swamps, etc.) is a huge factor in malaria prevention, since that’s where mosquitoes lay eggs.
schistosomiasis A parasitic (worm) waterborne disease, also known as bilharzia, usually caused by bathing, washing, or swimming in contaminated water.
trachoma An eye infection spread mainly through poor hygiene (often due to lack of safe water). Much more common in women than men.
typhoid A bacterial infection that causes a fever, contracted through contaminated water sources.
We are on a mission to bring clean, safe drinking water to every single person on the planet. As a fundraising organization, we raise money for lots of types of water projects, from wells, to rainwater harvestings, to piped water systems, to BioSand Filters. Then we work with local partners to build sustainable water projects in developing countries. All the while, we’re also taking an entirely new approach to charity. We believe charity should be exciting. We work to inspire our supporters through stories of global change that get hearts racing. Then, we use the latest technology to create authentic, innovative giving experiences that inspire people to action.
We’ve worked in 24 developing countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Bangladesh Bolivia Burkina Faso Cambodia Central African Republic (C.A.R.)* Cote d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast)** Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.)† Ethiopia Guatemala Haiti Honduras India Kenya Liberia Malawi Mali Mozambique Nepal Niger Pakistan Rwanda Sierra Leone Tanzania Uganda *Use full name with C.A.R. in parentheses on first reference; use just C.A.R. thereafter. Don’t use “the” at the beginning. **Use Cote d’Ivoire. May follow with (the Ivory Coast) to clarify, but don’t use the Ivory Coast alone. †Use Democratic Republic of the Congo on first reference, D.R.C. thereafter.
We fund water projects. To do the dirty work of actually building projects, we depend on incredible, local implementing partners around the world. We call these wonderful teams “our partners,” “local partners,” or “partners on the ground.”
We fund many different types of water projects. Our solutions vary depending on geography, climate, and local economy. BioSand Filter This water project filters dirty water through a microorganism-eating layer, then through a layer of sand, and finally dispenses it into a clean container. Each BioSand Filter usually provides clean water for a family, and families often help build their own filters. drilled well This is a well drilled when the water table can’t be reached by a hand-dug well. They’re more expensive, take 3-4 days to drill and require a professional drill team. The term “borehole” is another technical term for this type of well, but we generally just use the term “drilled well.” hand-dug well This type of well is possible in areas with a high water table. Local communities usually contribute the labor. Refer to any shallow wells dug by hand as simply “hand-dug wells.” improved sanitation, sanitation Improved sanitation promotes proper disposal of human waste and prevents open defecation; clean toilets that are safe and comfortable for the user. Where possible, specify that we invest in “improved sanitation” since it’s possible to have sanitation that isn’t healthy or safe to use (i.e. old, dirty latrines). latrines, double block latrines When referring to sanitation projects we’ve funded, use the term “latrines.” Use “toilet” when telling a specific story or captioning a photo of one toilet. To avoid redundancy, you may use “latrines” and “toilets” interchangeably. “Double block latrines” are toilets with separate areas for boys and girls. manually-drilled well This is a type of well that is drilled by human-powered low-tech equipment like hand augering. They’re quick and cheap to sink, require minimal maintenance, and can only be constructed in areas with soft ground, such as tubewells in India and Bangladesh. piped system This is a network of pipes that supplies water from a clean source (well, spring protection, etc.) to a varitey of community tap stands. This includes gravity-fed systems, where the force of gravity feeds water into a community from an elevated source. This type of system is often considered more than just one water project. rainwater harvesting Gutters on rooftops direct the flow of rainfall into a sanitary holding tank. This water project collects rainwater and safely stores it for drinking. spring protection This water project captures and safely stores freshwater from natural springs before its contaminated, then pipes the water to communities for use. water purification systems Installed treatment systems that remove contaminants from existing water supplies. This includes UF/UV filtration systems and filters, which remove bacteria, viruses and pathogens from groundwater.
Brand Terminology From our colon-punctuated name to our approach to charity, we refuse to be strictly conventional. Before you write in our voice, get to know some of the terms we use frequently. 100% model Our fundraising model that allows 100% of public funds to go directly to the field. When describing our 100% model, always use “100%” (not “a hundred percent” or “every dollar”). 501(c)(3) Our tax-exempt status. charity: water is a 501(c) (3) organization; therefore, all donations made straight to charity: water within the US are tax-deductible. charity: ball Never capitalize, always put a space after colon, add yyyy for date: charity: ball 2009. charity: water Never capitalize, always put a space after the colon. Don’t be shy about telling people how to format our name. Charity Global, Inc. Our official corporate name, filed with the IRS. If someone asks how to look up our information, give them that, but we’re charity: water everywhere else. completion report The final report on water projects that includes details of each water project funded by charity: water from a particular grant. We use this info to generate a donor completion report (either for individual donors who gave $10,000 or through Dollars to Projects). Dollars to Projects A mycharity: water feature that ties every dollar raised to the project it funded in the field. May be referred to internally as D2P. Jerry Can Jerry Cans were first brought to Africa during WWII as containers for gasoline; they’re now used all over the continent for collecting and carrying water. The Jerry Can is our icon and it’s a major part of our brand. For more info, see logo guidelines › grants For internal use only. “Grant” refers to the pool of funds granted at one particular time to a partner in the field. Live Auction Refers to the one at charity: ball. money terms “water” = amount raised for water projects “operations” or “ops” = amount raised for operational costs “gross” = total raised for water and operations mid-term report A report sent to donors halfway through the water project implementation process. Midterm is usually used for academic or political terms; mid-term refers to specified arbitrary or indeterminate terms (like ours). mycharity: water Italicize “my” and put a space after the colon.
Words Not to Use Word choice is important. To respect the people we serve, we’re careful to use appropriate terms when we talk about them. Here’s a quick list of words not to use and some options to use instead. aim Avoid. Use “hope” or “plan” instead. bush, the bush Acceptable only occasionally. Generally use “rural” or “remote” instead. coup d’etat Use just “coup” and make sure it’s accurate for your use by checking country background on UNICEF’s website › fetch Never use when talking about water collection. Say “collect” or “gather” water instead. the Ivory Coast Use Cote d’Ivoire instead. If you’re writing to a broad audience unfamiliar with international issues, you can use “also known as the Ivory Coast” in parentheses after Cote d’Ivoire on first reference. mankind Use “humanity” or “people” instead. Third World, third-world countries Use “developing nations” or “developing countries” instead. villagers Use “locals” or “people” instead.
Some Boilerplate Language We’re a nonprofit on a mission to bring clean, safe drinking water to every single person on the planet. Here at charity: water, there are a few things that make us different: 100% of public donations fund clean water projects, we prove every project we build, and we work with strong local partners to build and maintain projects. 100% of every public donation goes straight to the field. When someone makes a donation to build water projects, we don’t take a single penny for overhead. Generous private donors fund our operating costs. With the help of the members of The Well, we even pay back credit card fees, which are inevitably incurred when donors support us online. When we say 100%, we really mean 100%. We prove every project we build. We believe in showing people exactly where their money goes. Every time we complete a water project, we post GPS coordinates, photos, and a brief description of the project on Google Maps. It’s just one of the ways we’re changing charity—holding ourselves accountable to the highest level of transparency. Right now, 663 million people on the planet don’t have access clean and safe drinking water. That’s one in ten of us. Water changes everything. When you take a good look at all the challenges facing the global poor, one thing stands out. There’s one basic human need that, when met, sparks prosperity and productivity faster than any other single fix: access to clean, safe water. Clean water can prevent unnecessary deaths, save time, and improve health. It enables people to be energetic members of society and to escape the cycle of poverty. Our goal at charity: water is simple. We want everyone to have access to clean, safe water in our lifetime. Why did we chose to focus on water? Because we’re on a mission to change everything. And we believe, now more than ever, that changing everything starts with clean water. You can do just about anything to raise money for clean water. The craziest thing we can do is nothing. When we first started charity: water, some people called us crazy. It was crazy to believe that we could solve the water crisis in our lifetime. It was crazy to give 100% of public donations to the field. And it was crazy to show people where every single donated dollar went. But we’ve met real people living without clean water. And we think standing by and letting them live without this basic need would be the craziest thing of all.
Style Guide We believe in good grammar. We proofread everything. If you’re not confident in your grammar, check with our Creative Department (or the Chicago Manual of Style). You might also take a look at this article for some great basic writing guidance. addresses Always write out Road, Drive, Court, Square, Lane, Alley and Terrace. Abbreviate Boulevard (Blvd.), Avenue (Ave.) and Street (St.) only with exact numbered address: She lives at 101 Maple St. She lives on Maple Street. Abbreviate directions on exact numbered address: She lives at 101 N. Maple St. Always use numbers in address, even if it’s less than 10: She lives at 1 Maple St. amounts / comparisons Use “more than” when referring to amounts; never use “over” unless something is physically located above something else or to avoid redundancy. ampersands (&) Don’t use them. Always write “and.” Sometimes we use ampersands to conserve space (especially online). but they should not be used in body copy. apostrophe (‘) Used in contractions or to show possession. For plural nouns ending in s, add only an apostrophe at end (not an extra s): the residents’ well. For singular common nouns ending in s, add ‘s: that glass’s water is dirty. For singular proper names ending in s, add only apostrophe at end: Chris’ website. For singular proper names ending in s sounds (x, ce, z), use ‘s: Max’s well. For plurals of a single letter, add ‘s: Village A’s water point. Don’t use ‘s for plurals of numbers or multiple letter combos: 1980s, IMs. area Use square inches, square feet, square yards and square miles if possible; spell out terms. 1 square inch = 6.452 square centimeters 1 square foot = 929 square centimeters 1 square yard = about .8361 square meters 1 square mile = about 2.590 square kilometers capitalization Capitalize staff titles and department names, unless otherwise advised: Vik, our VP of Creative, oversees our Creative Department. coed Don’t hyphenate. co-finance Hyphenate.
Style Guide continued colon (:) Used after a phrase that can stand by itself for a list or explanation. Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it’s a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence: We promise this: We will send you GPS coordinates of your well after it has been built. Colons go outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quoted material: It’s the “issue of our generation”: the water crisis. comma (,) Use varies. Err on the side of using less commas as long as your sentence makes sense without them. At charity: water, we do not use the Oxford Comma (also called a serial comma). Format lists as follows: red, white and blue. complete, completed Use either “has been completed” or “is complete,” never “is completed.” We report back to you when the project is complete. contaminate, is contaminated, contaminant Use “contaminate” as a verb, “contaminant” as a noun. contractions Use them often. dashes When describing length of time, use a dash instead of “to”: You’ll receive information about your well in the next 12-18 months. The event is from 7-9 p.m. dates Always use numerals without st, nd, rd or th: January 4, 2010 When a month is used with a specific date, you may abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.: Jan. 4, 2010 When a month is used only with a year, don’t use a comma: January 2010 If a date includes year and is in a sentence, use a comma after the year: Jan. 4, 2010, was a productive day at charity: water. directions Lowercase, unless referring to a specific global region such as West Africa or the Caribbean. distance Use inches, feet, yards and miles when possible; spell out terms. 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters 1 foot = 30.48 centimeters 1 yard = 3 feet = .9144 meters 1 mile = 1,760 yards = 5,280 feet Doctor, Dr. Always use “Dr.” instead of Mr./Mrs./Ms. if the person is a doctor. Don’t include titles at the end of the name such as M.D. or Ph.D. dollar amounts Use $ and numerals (instead of writing out “dollars”): $30 can provide clean, safe water for one person. For millions or billions, write out “million” or “billions” and use up to two decimal places: We raised $3.63 billion in one night. drilling rig Not “drill rig.” In informal copy, use “drilling rig” on first reference and just “rig” thereafter. Earth, earth Capitalize when referring to our planet, don’t capitalize when using as synonym for “ground.”
Style Guide continued email Don’t hyphenate. em dash (—) Used to break in with an abrupt thought, show an example or set off a series of comma-separated items within a comma. Create using option+shift+hyphen. Note: In print, use an em dash without spaces on either side: We fund many types of water projects—drilled wells, hand-dug wells, BioSand Filters, spring protections, etc. For emails and the web, use an en dash (see below). en dash (–) Used to separate numbers: From 7–9 pm. Create using option+hyphen. Note: For emails and web, use an en dash with a space on either side to set apart lists or to break in with an abrupt thought: We fund many types of water projects – drilled wells, hand-dug wells, BioSand Filters, spring protections, etc. For print, use an em dash (see above). Fahrenheit (F) Even though many countries we work in use Celsius, convert temperatures to Fahrenheit when writing for donors and supporters, since they’re mostly US-based. F = ((9/5) x C ) + 32 for-profit As in businesses, corporations. Avoid using as an adjective for businesses or corporations because it’s redundant (most businesses and corporations are for-profit), but use alone to reference the business sector: We’re a nonprofit that markets like a for-profit. fractions Spell them out with a hyphen: One-third of Haitians did not have access to clean, safe drinking water before the earthquake. fresh water Use when describing water. freshwater well Use when describing a freshwater well. handheld, hand-held Use “handheld” (without a hyphen) for the noun and “hand-held” for the adjective. handwashing Don’t hyphenate. hyphen (-) Used to combine compound adjectives before a noun: well-known community, 10-year partnership Don’t use a hyphen when the compound adjectives come after the verb: The community was well known. It was a partnership of 10 years. info, information In general, use “info” (especially online): For more info, email creative@charitywater.org. Kolkata Not Calcutta. Koran Not Qu’ran or Quran. links Embed links simply by linking out on “here” without including “go” or “click:” Learn more about our partners here. (Instead of To learn more about our partners, click here. or To learn more about our partners, go here.)
Style Guide continued microbial Not “microbacterial.” microfinance Don’t hyphenate. microorganism Don’t hyphenate. might vs. may In informal copy, use “might.” miles per gallon (mpg) Use “miles per gallon” on first reference, “mpg” thereafter. miles per hour (mph) Just use “mph.” names In general, refer to people by their full name on first reference. Only use middle initials by request, or if someone commonly uses it. Use Mr./Ms. in formal writing, but first names are generally sufficient for charity: water materials. nondenominational Don’t hyphenate. non-governmental organization (NGO) Use “NGO” (no periods) unless writing formally to someone unfamiliar with the term. nonprofit Don’t hyphenate. numbers Write out numbers one through nine. Use numerals for 10 or more: I stole four apples off Robin’s desk. Lane stole 13 apples. When a number comes at the beginning of a sentence, always spell it out, even if it’s more than 10: Forty people helped at Volunteer Night. Spell out first through ninth. Use numerals with “nd,” “rd,” or “th” after that: This is Mike’s first year at charity: water, his 26th year of life. For millions and billions, write out numbers one through nine and use numerals for 10 or more: We want to serve 10 million people. Let’s start by serving three million. When describing length of time, use an en dash instead of “to.” When writing dates, don’t use “nd,” “rd,” or “th”; just write the date.
Style Guide continued quotation marks (“”) Start a new paragraph if quoting a new person: “I hate coffee,” said Bill. “I love it,” said Vik. Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks: “Get out of here,” said Erica. “Just go.” Dashes, semicolons, question marks and exclamation points go inside quotation marks when they’re a part of the quoted material, outside when they apply to the whole sentence: Tyler asked me, “Have you tried the Waterwalk?” Tyler asked me, had I “walked for water”? Use single quote marks within quotes: “Our partners said, ‘We love working with you,’” Scott told us at the meeting. ranges When describing length of time, use a dash instead of “to”: You’ll receive information about your well in the next 12-18 months. rig Use “drilling rig” on first reference and just “rig” thereafter. RSVP, RSVP’d Uppercase, no periods. Saint (St.) Use “St.” in most cases (including country names: St. Lucia). seasons Lowercase spring, summer, fall, and winter unless part of a formal name. socioeconomic Don’t hyphenate. SoHo Capitalize only the S and the H. SOS Distress call (literally means “save our ship”); use without periods. staff positions Generally capitalize staff titles: Robin Jones, Senior Accountant states Spell out names in text when they appear alone: We love our donors in California. Abbreviate with conjunction with a city, town, village, county or military base: Buffalo, NY.; Mecosta County, Mich. Sudan Not “the Sudan.” SUV Never use “sport utility vehicle,” just SUV. tax-deductible Hyphenate. tax-exempt Hyphenate. tax receipt Our 501(c)(3) certificate cannot be used by donors as a tax receipt; we send them a tax receipt after they donate directly to us. Offline donors receive a formal tax receipt within four weeks of making a donation. Online donors get a tax receipt within 12 hours of making a donation.
Style Guide continued technologies Another word for water projects. charity: water funds BioSand filters, drilled wells, hand-dug wells, manually drilled wells, piped water systems, rainwater harvestings, spring protections and water purification systems. time Use figures except for noon and midnight, always use a.m. or p.m. (not o’clock). Separate hours from minutes with a colon: 2:30 a.m. toward Not “towards.” toilets When talking about projects we’ve funded, use “latrines.” Use “toilets” when telling a specific story or captioning a photo of a specific toilet. URLs Omit “http://www.” when referring to a website in copy: Visit charitywater.org for more information. If a link is longer or more complicated than just charitywater.org/blah, use an embedded link instead of writing it out. volumes Use ounces, cups, quarts, and gallons when possible; abbreviate ounce to “oz.” and spell out other terms. 1 fluid oz. = about 30 milliliters 1 cup = 8 fluid oz. = .2366 liters 1 quart = 4 cups = 29.57 milliliters 1 gallon = 16 cups = 4 quarts = 3.785 liters water crisis Use “the water crisis,” “the world water crisis” or “the global water crisis”; not “the world’s water crisis.” weights use ounces, pounds, and tons if possible; abbreviate ounce to “oz.” and spell out other terms. 1 oz. = about 28 grams 1 pound = 16 oz. = about .45 kilograms 1 ton = 2,000 pounds = about 907 kilograms = about .91 metric tons which vs. that Use “that” only where it’s essential to the meaning of the sentence (essential clauses); use without commas: I remember the time that Paull said “Hunky dorey,” on national news. Use “which” where the pronoun is less necessary (nonessential clauses) and include commas: The show, which was on a Thursday, was really awesome. TIP: if you can drop the clause and not lose the meaning of the sentence, you need to use “which;” otherwise, use “that.”