Birthdays for Water
Donate your birthday to the cause of clean water!
Turn your birthday into a special day for hundreds of people in need of clean water.
We started the Birthdays for Water campaign to help fund the most challenging community water projects around the world. When water solutions are too difficult to deliver, the communities that need them get passed over. These communities often go decades without receiving any help – until now. Every dollar raised through the Birthdays for Water campaign will be invested in these long overdue community water projects. Learn more about how you can get involved:
How to Donate Your Birthday
By ‘donating’ your birthday to the cause of clean water, you can ask friends and family to skip the gifts and instead directly fund a clean water project to help celebrate your special day.
Step 1
Set Up Your Personal Fundraising Page: Birthdays for Water uses a web-based peer-to-peer fundraising tool that lets you watch in real-time as your friends and family donate to your personal fundraising page. All donations made through your page will be processed and delivered directly to Water Ambassadors Canada.
Step 2
Set a Goal and a Timeline: Decide how much money you would like to raise by your birthday and how long you want to give yourself to work towards that goal. You should make your goal and your timeline challenging but achievable.
Step 3
Make Your Pitch: People want to give to causes you care about because they trust your judgment and want to support you. Keep your friends and family in mind as you write out why you’re donating your birthday to fund water projects. Get personal – let them know why this cause matters so much to you and how they can help you make a real difference.
Step 4
Promote Your Campaign: Post your campaign details on all of your social media profiles and make sure to send it to your friends and family by email. Your posts and emails should include your pitch about why you’re fundraising for clean water, some background information about Water Ambassadors Canada, and how they can contribute to your campaign.
Step 5
Share Progress Updates: Raising money can take time and requires follow-up so update your friends and families as you work towards your goal. Make sure to identify and celebrate milestones you achieve along the way. The peer-to-peer fundraising tool also allows you to post updates directly to your fundraising page so make sure to keep posting.
Step 6
Thank Your Supporters: After your campaign wraps up, make sure to thank those who helped make it a success. We’ll share our thanks with your generous supporters, too!
Other Tips and Ideas
Make Your Timeline a Deadline: Turn your fundraising timeline into a countdown to your birthday. This helps build momentum leading up to your birthday and provides an opportunity to reach out to your contacts again as time ticks down.
Make Your Ask Meaningful: Tie your fundraising drive to a number that’s personal to you. For example, if you’re raising money on your 16th birthday, consider asking for a minimum donation of $16 or making your total fundraising goal $1,600.
Match Donations: If you’re able, consider committing to personally matching donations that friends and family make to your campaign. Matching campaigns instantly double the amount of money raised and can help inspire more people to give. You can either match donations as you go along or make one bigger donation at the end of your campaign.
Raise the Bar: Sometimes we receive an overwhelming amount of support when we put our hearts into raising money for important causes. That can lead to meeting our fundraising targets ahead of schedule. If that happens, thank those who have chipped in already. Then consider increasing your target. Every dollar helps deliver more clean water!
Form a Team: If you know someone with the same the birthday or birth month, ask them to join you in setting up a Birthdays for Water campaign. By combining your networks of friends and families, you can raise even more money for clean water projects. You can create a team or join an existing team through your dashboard on the peer-to-peer fundraising tool.
