Sean Parker (Founders Fund, Facebook, Plaxo, Napster) and angel investor Ron Conway are doing a little smack talking over who’ll raise the most money for charity. Conway is raising for the UCSF Foundation, and Parker is fighting Malaria through Malaria No More.
So far Parker is in the lead, with more than $15,000 raised (he’s tying it to his 30th birthday party tonight). Conway, who started later, has nearly $7,500. They’re both using Causes on Facebook, one of Parker’s companies, to raise the money.
Causes cofounder Joe Green answered our question on who he thinks will win: “Luckily because it’s for charity, with 2 great causes: Malaria No More and UCSF Child Life Services, they both win. And that is what Sean and I are after in creating Causes, getting people involved where everyone wins. This is an epic showdown between Sean, a pioneer in social networking, and Ron, the “Godfather of Silicon Valley.” This is pretty closely matched, but Vegas has Ron as a 3:2 favorite. Though it’s usually not a good idea to bet against that Parker kid.”
We’re not picking sides, and both are very worthy causes. Donate early and often. And consider asking friends to donate instead of giving holiday gifts.