charity: water Reinvents its Gala as a Tribute
Since its founding, charity: water has been re-inventing philanthropy while working to bring clean and safe drinking water to every person on the planet. The organization enlists private donors to fund the operational costs, allowing 100% of public donations to go directly to the field, local partners to implement the work on the ground, and volunteers who donate everything from time to money, campaigning to raise the funds for clean water. This year, charity: water wanted to celebrate and honor these individuals directly, so they created "Tribute".
The invite-only Tribute brought together over 800 people who have helped make their work possible. The raw, construction-like aesthetic of 23 Wall Street provided the perfect backdrop to highlight the inner workings of the organization’s success. Displayed throughout the space were installations celebrating the various constituents: Well Members, Pipeline Members and Campaigners. Juxtaposed over awe-inspiring images captured in the field, lenticular-like installations celebrated the benefits that clean water has on health, safety, time and energy.
The program began as Scott Harrison, charity: water’s Founder/CEO, took the stage to give an in-depth look at some of the great contributions made by the guests. He told moving tales of the trials faced in the field, coupled with the inspiring stories of the changes effected. Finishing the program, guests were invited to help amplify their impact through a custom donation site ran on Valet.io’s online fundraising platform. In just over 5 minutes, over $1.5 million dollars was raised from more than 500 donors, which will give charity: water the ability to serve over 52,000 people clean water.
A big shout out to Pinch Food Design who creatively catered the occasion once again, along with Anthem, Hurst Communications, EventFarm, MB Productions, AVS, 4Wall, Rainbow, The Factory, Taylor Creative, and AFR for their continued production support.
To learn more about their work or to get involved, please visit http://www.charitywater.org/
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
