Tap Project

DESCRIPTION

One of Unicef’s many projects is to bring clean water and sanitation to the 900million people worldwide who lack access to these amenities that the rest of us take for granted. The charity had created World Water Day back in 1992 in an attempt to create a global focus for the water crisis in the developing world.

The Tap Project started in 2007, in New York, where Unicef and Droga5 asked local restaurant owners to collect a $1 donation from diners who each time they ordered tap water. The scheme proved extremely popular and easy to implement, and resulted in 300 outlets taking part.

In 2008, the project went national, with each city placing its own identity on the Tap Project, and several major advertising agencies volunteering their services for free. This big creative push, underpinned by the engagingly simple premise that $1 provided 40 days of a child’s clean drinking water, helped the Tap Project spread across 49 states with the help of 2,200 volunteers. Corporate sponsors, including Google, Esquire and American Express also lent support.

The Tap Project was able to attract celebrity support, and the gained airtime on primetime television. Commentators in the New York Times called the project “the biggest idea of the decade”, and said it “re-invents charity for the 21st century”. In 2009, Unicef took the concept global, to coincide with World Water Week in March.
 

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