A simple act of generosity that became a global movement.
It started with a man
on a midnight street.
Late one night in 2014, Jason Buzi and Yan Budman were driving through San Francisco's Mission District. Buzi spotted a man who seemed down on his luck — and tried to hand him some cash through the car window.
The man ran away.
Yan said: “There's probably a better way to do this.”
Jason replied: “Like what? We'll just hide money around?”
It turned out to be that simple.
On May 22, 2014, they hid envelopes of cash in San Francisco's Dolores Park and along the Great Highway — and posted cryptic clues on Twitter under the handle @HiddenCash. No fanfare. No press release. Just a quiet invitation to go outside and look.
Six days later, a single wave of press coverage hit. In one 24-hour period, the account gained 100,000 new followers. By the end of that week: 260,000. By the end of the summer: 720,000 — with zero paid promotion of any kind.
People weren't just hunting for cash. They were sharing the experience, paying it forward, and writing to say that a simple envelope had changed their day, their week, sometimes their life.
“What started as a fun project to bring a smile to people's faces took off beyond what we ever expected.”
— Jason Buzi & Yan Budman, August 2014
Hundreds gathered at a beach event, 2014
CNN coverage as Hidden Cash reached New York City
