Newmark will donate $1 to the National Wildlife Federation for each mention of the hashtag #Squirrels4Good on Twitter or his Facebook Page, up to 5,000 mentions. He'll also give $1 for each new follower he gets over the next few weeks.
The Craigslist founder announced the fundraiser in a
"In the short term, I'm learning how to use social media to support the stuff I believe in," Newmark told Mashable in an email. "I do most of my work in my home office, where frequent visitors remind me of a growing love of the natural world.
"Beyond that, I need to learn social media more effectively to support what I believe in the 20-year range and the 200-year range."
The Craigslist founder chose squirrels, he says, because he's a big fan of them, along with birds.
@Common_squirrel, a Twitter account tweeting from the perspective of a squirrel, will be teaming up with Newmark to spread buzz of #Squirrels4Good.
"I do most of my work in my home office next to some woods, where frequent squirrely visitors remind me of a growing love of the natural world," Newmark wrote. "Through social media, I became acquainted with @common_squirrel. We share a love of the little critters and nature in general. It made for a great partnership to raise money for related causes and social media is the method of choice for us both."
Newmark says he's already set up a squirrel board on Pinterest for photos, videos, quotes and facts about the tiny creatures.
Are you planning on using the #Squirrels4Good hashtag to make a donation? Let us know in the comments.