Portland teen launches effort to raise $2 million $2 at a time

Two videos featuring Julien Leitner are at the bottom of this story.

PORTLAND, Ore. – A teenager in Northwest Portland who says he wants to change the world using the Internet, social media and donations of just $2 is getting national attention.

Julien Leitner, 13, has set an ambitious initial goal of raising $2 million for the initial push of his fundraising efforts. "What's it cost to change the world?" Leitner asks in a YouTube video. "Two bucks," he says.

So far, he has raised just over $8,000, but after watching the curly-haired teen’s no-nonsense appeals, it's not a stretch to believe he will be raising much, much more.

Leitner has set up an online-based foundation called the Archimedes Alliance, named for the Greek mathematician who is credited with saying “give me a lever long enough and a place to stand, and I can move the Earth.”

Staring into a camera and speaking with a confidence beyond his years in a YouTube video that has been featured on CNN and other media outlets, Leitner tells viewers “you are the lever” and asks for a donation of just $2.

Those who donate can also vote on one of three charities the funds will eventually benefit.

Once the $2 million goal is met, Leitner says the charity with the most votes will receive the money. Each of the charities listed benefits disadvantaged children in the United States or abroad.

In Leitner’s video plea for donations, he compares the $2 people can donate to the cost of a bag of chips, a plastic toy or 15 minutes of parking.

In another video where he clearly explains his plan in person to a rapt audience of adults, Leitner says he wants to use “the power of the Internet” to help others easily contribute to his $2 million goal.

“I knew there were people who wanted to make a difference but didn’t have enough money to do it on their own,” he says in the video. “Now, they don’t have to. I launched the Archimedes Alliance to leverage the power of the Internet and to bring together people of good intentions and limited resources and give them a voice and a means to create the change they envision.”

“Social media allows me to create that lever,” he adds.

Leitner says he started the fundraising effort several months ago with an email campaign. He says initial donations to the foundation are typically more than $2, and are closer to $20. The amount donors can give is not restricted to $2.

Leitner says he plans to duplicate the fundraising effort every six months for the next three years.