Doge4Water was the Dogecoin Foundation’s March 2014 clean-water drive: raise 40 million DOGE by World Water Day (22 March) for charity: water to fund two hand-dug wells, with local partner Action Against Hunger, in the Tana River area of eastern Kenya. They hit the coin target a week early. An anonymous Twitter account, @savethemhood, tipped 14 million DOGE in one go — the “$10,000 tweet” in some prints, $11,000 or $17,500 in others, depending on that hour’s rate. charity: water’s own community page still lists the campaign closed 31 March 2014 at $31,996.70, with a line item “DogeCoin donated $30,439.41.” That is the clerk’s dollar book. The DOGE book is 40 million.
What it was
After the sled, the Foundation wanted a drive that was not a movie sequel. Eric Nakagawa — co-founder of I Can Has Cheezburger, Foundation member — proposed water. charity: water’s model, explained in-thread by Paul Young, their director of digital, on his first Reddit post: they close the quarter, 100% of public gifts go to projects, a private group covers overhead, and they try to prove each well with photos and GPS. The Q1 2014 close was 31 March. That calendar is why Doge4Water sprinted at World Water Day.
IBTimes, 12 March: 16.6 million DOGE in eight days, target 40 million, then about $32,000 if the rate held. Official Dogecoin history still says over 40 million DOGE, around $30,000, for clean-water wells in Kenya. David Gerard’s later roundup used $32,000. This page keeps both the coin count and the charity: water dollar close, and will not pretend they are the same tick.
What people confuse
| Misconception | Record |
|---|---|
| Palmer dug the wells | Nakagawa initiated. charity: water and Action Against Hunger were the implementers named in the PR. Palmer praised the community for not hoarding. |
| The 14 million tip was Palmer | The Foundation’s own wrap named The Hood, @savethemhood. Amount: 14 million DOGE. Dollar prints disagree because the rate moved. |
| We can name two GPS wells from this page | charity: water promises GPS on completed work. This encyclopedia has the campaign totals and the named region. It does not invent coordinates it has not opened. |
| This is Doge4Kids | Doge4Kids is February, 4 Paws for Ability, service dogs. Water is March. Do not merge the hats. |
The 14 million-coin tweet
Twitter tipping was already a Dogecoin trick. @savethemhood made it a press release. The Foundation’s 16 March wrap: a “record tip” of 14 million DOGE, estimated $17,500 in that draft. IT News Africa, later: more than $11,000, a $10,000 tweet that “set a new standard for the impact of 140 characters.” Jackson Palmer: “The first ever $10,000 tweet demonstrates the power of digital currency and social media to make the world a better place.” Paul Young called it one of the more inventive campaigns they had seen: started with a tweet, harnessed Reddit, finished with a tweet. 100% of converted funds, he said, would go to Kenya through Action Against Hunger.
When the 40 million DOGE goal cleared a week before World Water Day, the Foundation stopped the coin hat. Further DOGE to that address would go to a general fund — including, they joked, a novelty-sized cheque for charity: water. Dollars could still go to my.charitywater.org/doge4water. That split is why the surviving charity: water page shows mixed line items: a DogeCoin gift of $30,439.41, small dollar tips, Eric Nakagawa paying out “the remaining 0.02 from BTC conversion.”
I’m really proud of the Dogecoin community for using the money they’ve made to change the lives of others instead of hoarding it.Jackson Palmer, Doge4Water period quotes
What the books still say
As of this review, charity: water’s Dogecoin Foundation community page still lists Doge4Water ended 31 March 2014, raised $31,996.70. That is a primary the recaps flatten into “$30,000.” Official dogecoin.com history uses “over 40 million Dogecoin (worth around USD $30,000.00 at the time).” Both can be true: the coin target was counted in DOGE; the implementer booked dollars after conversion. Anyone citing a well count should say two wells were the named goal in Tana River, with Action Against Hunger as the local partner in the Foundation PR — and should not photoshop a GPS pin this site has not verified.
Place in the 2014 winter
Doernberg told The Verge in April that the projects with Dogecoin had been some of the most fun of his life, and that he and Nakagawa were trying to make giving more structured and transparent. The sled had been zany on purpose. Water was the attempt to be serious without dropping the Shiba. The Dogecar was already in the garage. Moolah was still the friendly bank. By October the friendly bank would be a crime scene. The wells were funded before that door slammed. Sequence matters.
Questions
How much did Doge4Water raise?
40 million DOGE, the Foundation’s coin goal, hit a week before World Water Day 2014. charity: water booked the campaign at $31,996.70 as of 31 March 2014, including $30,439.41 attributed to DogeCoin.
Who sent the giant tweet?
The Foundation named @savethemhood / The Hood, 14 million DOGE. Dollar conversions in the press that week do not agree because the market did not sit still.
Sources
Primary texts for this chapter. The full index lives on Doginals sources.
- History of Dogecoin — Dogecoin
- Join Dogecoin Foundation — Doge4Water — charity: water
- Doge4Water — we did it, 40 million DOGE — r/dogecoin
- Dogecoin PR — for immediate release — r/dogecoin
- Doge4Water looks to raise 40 million for Kenyan water charity — IBTimes
- $10,000 Dogecoin tweet builds water well in Kenya — IT News Africa
- Dogecoin has its day — The Verge