Philanthropy obviously isn’t just about huge tax breaks, benefit galas, and getting your name on that new science center. Caring for other people can happen in all kinds of wonderful ways…

• Courtney Martin, a 30-year-old writer in Brooklyn, was suddenly faced with a large sum of money. So she took $1,000, distributed it evenly among 10 people, and asked each participant to give the money away that month.
• These small-scale philanthropists formed the Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy, and the variety of ways (traditional and decidedly non-traditional) they spread their $100 was an exercise in thoughtful giving.
• In a demonstration of good will inspiring more good will, several participants in Ms. Martin’s project decided to add an additional $100 of their own to the $100 they were supposed to give away.

Facts & Figures

• The Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy is in its fourth year, and inducted 16 members this year.
• Some of this year’s donation projects: Converted the money into 10,000 pennies to leave on sidewalks around the country, head-side-up; Anonymously tipped their favorite drugstore cashier; Donated to nonprofits working in Haiti; Bought a dish for a friend who was instructed to regift it; Converted NYC children’s writing into bound books; Tipped the bartender exceptionally well; Handed the cash to a local woman who scavenges for bottles and cans to turn in for their deposit value.

Tags: philanthropy, Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy