Tis the Season to Give Back

Folks, I believe that it’s really important to give back to our communities. One way to do that is to participate in CrowdRise’s #GivingTuesday Holiday Challenge for nonprofits. I’m giving $50K to go toward the winner of the Challenge, and together, with the other donors, there will be $250K in prize money.

CrowdRise has been working hard to make this Challenge and #GivingTuesday bigger then past years. One way they’re doing that is by creating a Giving Tower. It’s going to be a hologram tower. Each time someone donates, a brick is added to the tower. You can actually download an app and point it at a dollar bill to see how the tower’s growing. Here’s a little more about it:

The Giving Tower Holiday Challenge is a great way for organizations to rally their supporters, raise money for their cause, drive engagement, get lots of exposure and, most importantly, raise money for their cause (note intentional repetition). The Challenge is friendly fundraising competition launched by craigconnects, Fred and Joanne Wilson, and MacAndrews & Forbes. It’s designed to help you raise awareness and lots of money for your year end fundraising.

Here’s more about the Challenge this year:

The Challenge starts on November 25th and there are going to be huge grand prizes, plus lots of Bonus Challenges. The campaign is always amazing and last year, charities rallied to raise over $2.3m for their causes.

There will be $250,000 in prizes this year. The organization that raises the most will receive a $100,000 donation to their cause. Second place will win $50,000, third $25,000, fourth $10,000 and fifth place will receive a $5,000 donation to their cause.

There will also be multiple opportunities along the way to get extra cash donations in the form of Bonus Challenges. Folks, we’re talking an extra $60,000 in Bonus Challenges.

The good folks over at CrowdRise are hosting a webinar on November 20th at 3pm ET to walk you through everything about the Challenge, please Click Here to register.

So far, there’s more than 500 charities signed up, and plenty of time for you to sign up, too.

The Toolkit will tell you everything else you need to know that I may have forgotten.

Use the hashtag #GivingTower to continue the conversation.

Looking forward to getting this Challenge started, more to come…

November 21, 2014

Just a few more days to help out America’s heroes

Hey, there are just a few days left in Veterans Charity Challenge 2 and we’re raising money to help out folks who are risking their lives for us, and their families. We need your help. I figure, the least we can do is give back. These charities do some really innovative work to support vets, and other American heroes.

If you want to help these orgs out that’re supporting veterans, police officers, military families, and firefighters, now’s your chance to give to the nonprofit of your choice. Over $225,700 has already been raised for causes that are the real deal, but with the important work they’re doing, they can use as much help as we’re able to give.

Folks, a few reasons you should support this Challenge:

All money raised goes directly to organizations supporting veterans, military families, police, and firefighters.
The participating nonprofits are doing good work, for example:
- Some orgs are helping to take care of military member’s pets,
- Others provide educational and employment services to vets who face economic hardship,
- A few are raising the money to provide scholarships to kids of milfams,
- Others train service dogs for returning veterans,
- Some of the money raised will go toward providing mentors to women vets looking for jobs,
- And a few orgs are providing books overseas. There’s so many more causes you can give to over on CrowdRise, too.
With your support, these organizations will have the opportunity to win the prize money awarded to first ($20k), second ($10k), and third place ($5k). But, hey, please remember that even if the org you support doesn’t end up coming in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, they’ll still keep all the money they raise.

Email CrowdRise with all questions and they’ll be ready with great customer service.

June 30, 2014

How your charity can raise $50K+ for Vets and Heroes

Hey, we’re launching the Veterans Charity Challenge 2 to raise money for good causes.

Last year I sponsored the first Veterans Charity Challenge to raise money for nonprofits that support veterans and their families. The challenge was so successful that we decided to host the Veterans Charity Challenge 2 this year, but include more folks who really have their boots on the ground. I’m giving $50k to support orgs who are doing good work.

This challenge is for all nonprofits that support veterans, military families, police, and firefighters. It starts in just a few weeks, over on CrowdRise, and there’s still time for you to get involved. Here are some reasons why your org should sign up:

Last year’s Veterans Charity Challenge raised over $445,000 for causes like yours
This year’s Veterans Charity Challenge 2 goes from May 22nd at 12pm ET and runs through July 3rd at 11:59:59am ET
The charity team that raises the most during the Challenge gets $20k, second place get $10k and third place gets $5k
Plus, there’ll be another $15k given away in cash and prizes throughout the Challenge
Even if you don’t win a grand prize, you get to keep the money you raised

Getting involved is easy, folks. Just Go Here and click the Start a Fundraiser button.

Okay…now that you know how to sign up for the Veterans Charity Challenge 2, check out the Veterans Charity Challenge 2 Toolkit. It’s a reference guide to help you raise more money than you thought possible for your cause. The Toolkit has really important stuff, including sample calendars and tips.

And, as an extra bonus, if you browse the Veterans Charity Challenge 2 Toolkit and find the hidden movie quote, Email CrowdRise with the name of the movie it’s from and you’ll be entered to win a pizza party for your org on launch day (May 22nd).

Please share this challenge with all the orgs you know that support vets, milfams, police, and firefighters. These folks do a lot for our country, and it’s important to give back. Email CrowdRise with any clarifying questions, they’re the real deal.

This isn’t altruism, it just feels right.

April 28, 2014

The #HolidayChallenge is in Full Swing

Hey, the CrowdRise Holiday Challenge that I’m funding with the Huffington Post has really taken off.

It began on Monday, November 18, and over $173k has been raised in less than a week, since the challenge started – this is huge.

Joining me in raising money for charities this holiday season are several actors/actresses and comedians (hey, maybe I can give them some career advice), such as Edward Norton (Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust), Sean Penn (J/P Haitian Relief Organization), Ian Somerhalder (Ian Somerhalder Foundation), Sophia Bush (The Nature Conservancy), Jason Bateman (City Year), Kristen Bell (Epath.org), Olivia Wilde (Artists for Peace and Justice), Christy Turlington (Every Mother Counts), Eliza Dushku (THRIVEGulu), Brittany Snow (Love Is Louder), Will Ferrell (Cancer for College), Seth Rogen (Hilarity for Charity), and Conan O’Brien (Children’s Hospital Los Angeles).

(Speaking of Conan, his recent TV bit cited my LinkedIn following, and this is my attempt to help him out…folks, even a pity follow will do…follow Conan?)

CrowdRise is an effective way to help out nonprofit groups, and I’m excited we already have more than 500 charities and counting coming together this holiday season to raise a lot of money for nonprofits getting the job done.

It’s not too late to get started. You can sign your nonprofit up by clicking here. And if you’re an individual who wants to participate and support your favorite causes, you can choose an org to support, and join their team!

Lately, I’ve been asked if orgs can participate if they’re outside the US. I asked the good folks at CrowdRise about it and they said that their site’s only set up right now for US-based 501c3’s right now, so unfortunately, no. But they hope to change that soon, and told me that it’s on the roadmap. You can read the rest of the Challenge rules here.

Just a reminder that:

The team that raises the most during the Challenge wins a $100k donation for their charity.
Second place gets $40k.
Third gets $20k.
Another $40k+ in cash prizes, and lots of HuffPost prizes will be given throughout the campaign.
Even if you don’t win a grand prize, you get to keep the money you raise.
The Challenge ends on Thursday, January 9th at 11:59:59am EST.

Make sure to get your constituents and followers on social media talking about the Holiday Challenge, the more people who know about it, the more chances you have to raise money for your cause. Join the conversation using the hashtag, #HolidayChallenge, on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, and Instagram.

And don’t forget that CrowdRise has created a toolkit for you to get the most out of the #HolidayChallenge, with tips, strategies, and a calendar that outlines all the Bonus Challenges.

How’s your team doing so far?

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November 22, 2013