NEW YORK (AP) ― Following crowdfunding campaigns from “Veronica Mars’’ and Zach Braff, James Franco is seeking to raise $500,000 to bankroll a trilogy of movies.

Franco on Monday night started a campaign on IndieGogo, a crowd-funding site that allows people to keep the money they raise even if the project doesn’t come to fruition. Franco isn’t trying to direct the films; he is raising money so that a collection of young filmmakers can adapt his 2011 short story collection, “Palo Alto.’’

Franco pledges to donate any profits from the films to Art of Elysium, a nonprofit that encourages entertainers to visit children with serious medical conditions.

Levels of contribution range from $10 for a copy of the screenplays to $10,000, which gets dinner with Franco and an executive producer credit.