About

The Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy, founded in 2006, is a motley crew of people who—once a year—gather in cities across the nation and tell stories about giving. To be a creative philanthropist, one must simply give (which is a great and you should do this). To be in the Secret Society, one must be gifted $100 by a CP Agent, give that money away in the best and most creative way one sees fit, and convene at the top secret annual meeting to tell one's story of philanthropic adventure. Trust us, it's amazing.

The Origin Story

Once upon a time there was a girl. She had a lot of anxiety about money—who has it, who doesn’t, how we decide that this is fair. This anxiety became even more pronounced when she, herself, was suddenly gifted with more money than she had ever dreamed of making.

She bought all of her friends pizza. But all the cheesy goodness in the world could not quiet the nagging voice in her head that asked: Why me? How and when and in what way is the best way to share?  

The girl didn’t know much, but she had a hunch that giving should be joyful. She also knew that her friends were good at joy, so she gave ten of them $100 each and asked them to give it away in some creative manner, then come to a bar and share the story. They did. They were beautiful and good and thoughtful and reminded her that every difficult question is better entertained with friends and a beer.

The next year, to her surprise, many of these ten friends gave away $100 to their friends, who gave in creative ways and came to tell their stories. The answers multiplied and the family grew. And keeps on growing…