This year I'm celebrating my birthday differently. I don't want presents or drinks. I want clean water.

I recently had the opportunity to learn more about charity: water, a nonprofit that operates with staggering accountability, transparency, and impact. They also produce excellent content to document their work--and clearly, I love all of that.

In short, 100% of the money they raise goes directly to fund water projects around the world, like digging wells. Proof: donate and you'll get photos and links to the GPS coordinates to track the action. And why should clean water matter to you? In the most impoverished parts of the world, it's women and children who walk hours every day to collect water for their families, and often the water they collect is from bacteria-filled sources. In the short term, they get very sick; in the long term, their efforts to find water keep them from school and more valuable employment that can enrich them and their families, pulling them from poverty.

So, for keeping girls in school, letting women develop home businesses, and preventing horrible diseases, throw a few bucks toward charity: water this year. In return, you'll get to see the exact impact of your money--and due to their local partnerships, it doesn't take much to dig a well. I can't think of a better birthday gift. Please donate to my campaign, and make this the best birthday ever!