Edward Norton's Crowdrise Web Site Goes the Distance

June 26, 2010 — -- Crowdrise.com is not your typical charity site.

Its slogan is "If you don't give back, no one will like you." Dollars raised earn donors such titles as Doctor, Tsar, Sir and Dame.

And donating $17 toward scholarships for cancer survivors earns you a bottle of Will Ferrell's "Sexy Hot Tan" sunscreen, emblazoned with the likeness of his Speedo-clad body.

Created by actor and activist Edward Norton, producer Shauna Robertson ("Superbad," "Knocked Up") and Robert and Jeffrey Wolfe (founders of the quirky online retailer Moosejaw), Crowdrise is harnessing the appeal of social networking to make giving go viral.

It's "about getting people who are not sure their little bit makes a difference to feel persuaded that they can make a difference," Norton says, and this "micro-giving" is the backbone of Crowdrise. The charity, which has been operating unpublicized since February, officially launched in May.

Users build a profile (called a "Charitable Life"), create project pages linked to their favorite registered non-profit organizations, encourage their social networks to donate and get other users to join them and raise money of their own, amplifying small amounts into bigger checks that Crowdrise cuts to the charities each month.

The site also gives those with little money to donate the chance to get others to sponsor their volunteer work — much like marathon runners get family and friends to back them, Norton says.

"One of the things we're suggesting is that people should totally think of the ways that volunteering can be productive," Norton says. "You say to your friends and family: 'I'm giving my time and my skills, and I want to raise this much for this organization. Will you sponsor my volunteering?' "

Meanwhile, non-profit groups can create their own pages, gain followers and then mobilize them to quickly make fundraising goals for specific projects.

"The way the site flows, it can go person, project, charity," says Robert Wolfe. "Or it can also go the opposite way: charity, project, person."