Responsive Lab Podcast EP 60: The charity: water Experience Lab: Our Bet on In-Person, Immersive Storytelling with Viktoria Harrison
Oct 14, 2025
Viktoria Harrison, co-founder of charity: water, shares her vision for the Experience Lab in Franklin, Tennessee, a unique space blending immersive storytelling and technology to deepen donor connections. She discusses the power of innovative, in-person experiences to inspire generosity in a post-COVID world. Viktoria highlights the significance of leading with a compelling hook and how small towns can rival major cities for community-building, all while sharing insights from the lab's early fundraising success of $2 million.
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Zag When Others Zig
- Charity: Water intentionally “zags” by building a physical, immersive lab instead of another online campaign.
- That counter-cultural bet aims to cut through digital saturation and create lasting visibility.
Make The Donor The Hero
- Get into the head of your donor and make them the hero of your story.
- Earn the right to tell your mission by leading with what the donor cares about first.
Small Town, Big Opportunity
- Viktoria and Scott chose Franklin, Tennessee, over major cities to build the Experience Lab after moving there.
- They found lower costs and an enthusiastic local community that made the project feasible.
