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"The Launchpad is a series that introduces Mashable readers to compelling startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.\nName: Prizeo\nOne-Liner Pitch: Win prizes from your favorite celebrities by donating to their favorite causes. \nWhy It's Taking Off: Prizeo harnesses the power of the Internet to democratize celebrity fundraising, and its platform does the heavy lifting for celebrities and the charities they represent. \nNon-profit organizations work to promote change all over the globe, but some might wonder if they could use some change of their own. For all the innovation in other areas, the processes around charitable giving can feel outdated. \nPrizeo, a recent Y Combinator company, just emerged from beta with a platform that facilitates celebrity-driven fundraising. As far as fundraising goes, the experience is more charity auction than direct mail, with a little bit of Kickstarter thrown in. The company recently announced a partnership with Lady Gaga\u2019s management agency, Atom Factory.\nSEE ALSO: Digital Philanthropy: What's New in Non-Profit Fundraising?\n\nPrizeo's first international campaign is with Jamie Oliver, who is raising money for his food education cause, Jamie Oliver Food Foundation. His fans can participate with as little as $3 or up to $100, with a pre-selected prize for each tier. Any donation will get you in a drawing to win a trip to London for a one-on-one cooking class with Jamie. \n\nWhile Prizeo doesn't consider itself to be the \"Kickstarter for charities,\"  Prizeo co-founder Leo Seigal admits they've taken inspiration from Kickstarter and the tiers are effective in driving donor behavior. The $100 tier, which garners backers a Jamie Oliver signed recipe, was the the highest grossing tier for the campaign, and drove up the average donation enormously, Seigal says.\nJamie Oliver's campaign was launched on March 22 and is on course to break six figures before it ends on April 30. \nPrizeo is built with a thoughtful social media integration as well \u2014 users who share out campaigns are listed on a leaderboard on the campaign page, and can earn prizes for social influence. \nWhat Makes Prizeo Different\nTraditional fundraising methods are often split between the fancy charity dinners hosted by influential socialites and the direct mail campaigns targeted at \"regular people.\" Prizeo wants to recreate the former \u2014 with the influence that comes hand-in-hand with a celebrity-backed cause \u2014 and make it accessible to everyone, no matter their net worth. \nPromoting a cause through a celebrity makes it accessible on another front as well. Someone who has money they'd like to donate to a worthy cause is often limited by not knowing what organizations are most deserving or effective (apart from doing extensive research on their own). But the foundation department of a celebrity's talent agency will ensure its clients are paired with upstanding organizations, so in effect these causes have been through an extra vetting process \u2014 in addition to being topically relevant to a celebrity's fan base. Prizeo also has advisors who have worked with DoSomething.org, charity:water and Warby Parker, who will assist in selecting non-profits with which to partner.\nPrevious digital innovations around charities, while effective at awareness, are sometimes criticized for promoting \"slacktivism\" but not enabling real change. What Prizeo brings to the table is a new experience for donating money to causes that effectively hones in on the fundraising that causes so desperately need. \nWhy Innovation is a Hurdle for Non-Profits\nOne criticism common to innovations around non-profits similar to Prizeo is the concept that, instead of putting cash towards marketing a campaign, why not just put that money directly towards the cause? The Prizeo founders have seen this sentiment still exists within non-profits they've talked to, which would like to adopt more innovative ways to raise money but must justify the cost of such ventures. In part, Prizeo lessens the load because the platform is pre-built and thus removes risk. \n\"We've invested a huge amount of time into developing a site and set of features that are precisely tailored to converting site visitors into donors, and encouraging and incentivizing them to spread the word virally,\" Seigal explains.\nPrizeo's beta and current campaigns are led by celebrities, but the company may introduce campaigns led by brands such as Adidas in the future. \nWhen non-profits innovate, the required ROI is that new technology brings in additional donations that more than outweigh the cost of these innovations. With its platform for celebrity-backed charities, Prizeo is doing its part to make that a reality. \nImages courtesy of Prizeo, Flickr, Domain Barnyard"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/03/26/prizeo/>