A giving game

INTERNET: If you're interested in helping others but aren't sure where to start, you might try the website Crowdrise. Its creators aim to put "fun" in fundraising.

On Crowdrise, users can create their own fundraising pages, which can be set up in just a few minutes and are free. Then the fundraiser gets points for every dollar raised. With their points, fundraisers can win prizes, and even earn silly titles such as "tsar", "baron" or "DJ". 

Many fundraisers raise money through an activity, such as running a marathon, or climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. Using a combination of social networking and crowdsourcing, they spread the word via Facebook, Twittter, email, or other platforms, and may ask friends or volunteers to help them gather donations.

The idea comes from Robert and Jeffro Wolfe, along with their Hollywood friends, producer Shauna Roberston and actor Ed Norton, who had himself run a marathon to raise money. They launched Crowdrise in May 2010, and it already offers thousands of fundraising projects for more than a million charities.

If you don't give back, no one will like you. 

Donations are made by credit card through Network for Good, a secure charity giving system. The Crowdrise motto? "If you don't give back, no one will like you".

"We've doubled nearly every month since we started, but I know that is going to slow down sometime," Robert Wolfe told Fast Company magazine. "We'll absolutely be in trouble the moment we know what we are doing."