Crowdrise: a Revolutionary Way to Fundraise from Edward Norton

A celebrity endorsement can have huge financial benefits for a non-profit — but most Causes find it hard to turn that potential into significant financial leverage. In the past, celebrities too have found it frustrating that the tools weren’t available to help them spread the message and get their fans more involved. That’s the challenge actor Edward Norton faced when trying to raise money to help fund projects he was working on in Africa. Instead of complaining about it, he developed a solution: a new fundraising tool Crowdrise.

While there are other tools (Firstgiving, Kickstarter, Facebook Causes, DonorsChoose, ChipIn and StayClassy) that allow individuals to coordinate donations for specific projects, Crowdrise is different. First, it encourages you to form teams with others raising money for the same cause. You can join with your favorite celebrity to raise money for a national cancer non-profit, or you can join with your neighbor down the street to support a local animal shelter. Teams raising the most money are highlighted on a leaderboard, which encourages competition and more fund raising. Additionally, friends and family who might not be able to make a financial donation can pledge to volunteer for the organization, which also earns a team points. The Crowdrise team also recognizes the power of fun, using self deprecating humor throughout the site to build rapport with visitors.

A competitive, game playing backend builds on the popularity of Foursquare and other social games. Leaderboards are posted on individual events and also on Crowdrise’s home page. Participants are encouraged to become the “hero” of the Cause they are raising money for and to push their favorite celebrity’s cause to the top.

Crowdrise has only been live for a couple of months but has already had several successes.

Crowdrise members running the NYC Marathon have raised over $5 million as of early October. Their goal is to have $26 million raised by race day on November 7, 2010.
Several celebrities have joined the site to coordinate fundraising for their favorite cause – actress Sophia Bush is raising funds for the Run for the Gulf and Global Green USA, Mary McCormack is helping build a hospice for the Closer to Home Capital Campaign, and Jonah Hill is encouraging his fans to donate $10 each to buy nets to combat malaria in the developing world.

Anyone can join the site and start a fundraising campaign or join a campaign that has already been created. For large athletic events, you can join with the crowd.

“This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time”… so go checkout Crowdrise.

Photo credit: Thanks to jurvetson via Flickr

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

11:12PM PDT on Oct 18, 2010

Thank you.

send a green star

Victoria H.

7:32AM PDT on Oct 17, 2010

Love Ed Norton. great job!!
Living in a small community (2,400 people) I need to support local needs. I own a small business and every week someone needs a donation for a fun raiser, (this week a fun raiser for a head stone for a young man killed in a car accident). I co-chair an organizition called Christmas For Kids. Last year we helped 57 families with clothes, food, toys, and books for Christmas. We answer letters from Santa. We have 10 Santas that deliver the gifts.
If more people would help others what a great world it would be!!

Patti V.

6:35AM PDT on Oct 17, 2010

this is wonderful to see people making a difference in the world

Dana W.

12:13PM PDT on Oct 16, 2010

It is encouraging and inspiring to know that celebrities are willing to lend their fame for good causes.

gerlinde p.

11:55PM PDT on Oct 15, 2010

the more celebreties get involved the better, thanks for the article

Marta W.

12:37PM PDT on Oct 15, 2010

I love him the role in 'American History X'.

Deborah L.

8:25AM PDT on Oct 15, 2010

I've always loved Edward Norton thank god he's one of the good guys

Erin H.

5:38PM PDT on Oct 14, 2010

Interesting article, but it is only for US charities :(

Past Member .

4:41PM PDT on Oct 14, 2010

Absolutely not interested. Having worked in many non-profits, the problem with "celebrity" endorsements, besides their uselessness, is that it's hard to sell to the everyday working mom or dad that they should give money when they perceive the rich celebrity as giving little or none. It's a major problem in fund raising. Every celebrity should be able to support a cause, but maybe they should do more than just lend their publicity photo to the cause.

Katherine B.

9:39PM PDT on Oct 13, 2010

Interesting solutions...