New York ( CNN ) -- Do n't think raising money for nonprofits is an overly sexy undertaking ? Do n't tell actor and activist Edward Norton . `` Crowdrise is pretty much the most fun you can have making a difference without taking any illegal substances , '' Norton said about the online initiative he announced Tuesday at the Mashable Media Summit . The summit , co-sponsored by CNN.com , is part of Internet Week New York . At Crowdrise.com , Norton and his colleagues have set up what they hope will become a crowdsourced community of volunteers and fundraisers to support a host of causes -- from global environmental threats to local clean-up projects . Norton , a longtime activist who 's been involved in issues ranging from environmental protection to affordable housing , took his first plunge into online fundraising last year . He ran the New York City Marathon and , in the months leading up to it , took to Twitter and a website to raise pledges that would go to the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Fund -- a charity working for sustainable development in eastern Africa . In that effort , Norton and other supporters offered gifts and other incentives to inspire giving . `` When we came out the back side of it , we definitely felt it was like a beta test on how to create a good tool for anybody to do the same thing we were doing , '' Norton told CNN . `` We took a lot of lessons we learned from the Maasai run and created something that anybody could use . '' Norton , whose credits include `` Fight Club '' and `` The Incredible Hulk , '' said his group wanted Crowdrise to be fun and easy to use . It lets anyone create a profile , register a cause , ask for donations then communicate with supporters in creative ways . Nonprofits already using the site include both large and small organizations . `` Crowdrise is the only website that makes it so easy to turn our base of passionate grassroots advocates into a base of passionate fundraisers , '' said Danielle Murray , associate director of the Conservation Lands Foundation .
Norton , colleagues have set up a web community of volunteers , fundraisers to support causes . Crowdrise lets users register a cause , ask for donations , communicate with supporters . Large , small nonprofits already using Crowdrise .