WESTPORT, CT -- Newman's Own Foundation, founded by the late actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, has teamed up with CrowdRise, now part of GoFundMe—the world's largest social fundraising platform—to sponsor CrowdRise's annual Holiday Challenge. Launching November 21, right before Giving Tuesday, and lasting through January 3, the Newman's Own Foundation Holiday Challenge will donate half a million dollars to competing charities, based on certain criteria and challenges over the course of the campaign. This year's program marks the largest holiday challenge to date for CrowdRise, with over 4,000 nonprofits registered to participate.
With 30 percent of all charitable giving occurring during the holidays, The Newman's Own Foundation Holiday Challenge allows individuals to start or join fundraising teams for their favorite nonprofits, or to donate to any cause to help qualifying organizations raise the most money and win prizes throughout the Challenge. To celebrate its 35th anniversary and the very special milestone of donating over $500 million to charities since 1982, Newman's Own Foundation has committed half a million dollars for this year's CrowdRise Holiday Challenge.
"When I first heard Edward Norton reference Paul Newman and Newman's Own as his inspiration for starting CrowdRise, I had two thoughts. First, I wished my good friend, Paul, was still around to know that a fellow actor he admired had said these words and taken the bold step to start CrowdRise. Second, I looked forward to partnering with him to energize even more people to participate in philanthropy," said Bob Forrester, President and CEO of Newman's Own Foundation and Executive Chairman of Newman's Own, Inc. "2017 is a special year for this partnership, as Newman's Own celebrates its 35th year of giving 100% of its profits to charity while passing the historic milestone of $500 million in total paid donations to charity. To help us celebrate, it is a privilege for us to join with Edward, his other co-founders, and the entire CrowdRise team in making this the largest holiday challenge to date."
From November 21, 2017 through January 3, 2018, qualifying nonprofits will engage in a fundraising competition with the top award being a $150,000 grant. There will be nine additional grand prize winners, multiple prizes on Giving Tuesday, and weekly bonus challenges throughout the campaign to motivate and engage participating organizations.
"I've always been inspired by Paul Newman's vision for Newman's Own. He took the silliness of being famous and turned it into something amazing," said CrowdRise co-founder and actor Edward Norton. "When I started CrowdRise, I thought that if maybe someday we could say we did something at the scale of what Paul Newman has done, that would make me feel pretty good. And now here we are, partnering with Newman's Own Foundation in honor of Paul's legacy and 35 years of giving back to turn $500,000 into what we hope will be millions of dollars raised for thousands of worthy causes."
For more information or to donate visit https://www.crowdrise.com/NewmansOwnHolidayChallenge
About Newman's Own Foundation
Newman's Own Foundation is a qualified 501(c)3 charitable organization founded by Paul Newman in 2005 to assure the continuation of his commitment to use 100% of the net profits and royalties from the sale of Newman's Own food and beverage products for charitable purposes. Since 1982, Paul Newman and Newman's Own Foundation have donated over $500 million to thousands of charities around the world.
About CrowdRise
CrowdRise is the world's largest crowdfunding platform dedicated exclusively to charitable fundraising. Used by millions of individuals, tens of thousands of charities, hundreds of companies and many of the most famous artists and athletes in the world, CrowdRise enables people to creatively leverage their resources and networks to unlock the power of the crowd to support positive social missions and create massive impact.
Founded by actor Edward Norton, film producer Shauna Robertson and Robert and Jeffrey Wolfe, CrowdRise has conceived, implemented and powered campaigns that have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to date. In January 2017, CrowdRise merged with GoFundMe to offer both people and organizations the best fundraising tools for any cause they care passionately about.
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Contact:
Jan Schaefer
Director of Communications
Newman's Own Foundation
media@NewmansOwnFoundation.org
Websites: www.newmansownfoundation.org; www.CrowdRise.com