Behind the Scenes With Plenty of Twenties

Over the past year and a half, the Wakefield-based Plenty of Twenties website has gained national and regional media attention for a unique marketing approach - giving followers on Twitter and Facebook the chance to find a hidden $20 bill at least once or twice a day.

"It's more than just a twenty - It's the fun of the find," said co-founder Steve Grant in a recent conversation with Wakefield Patch.

More and more of the twenties these days are sponsored by area businesses and other organizations, said Grant, who works full-time as an attorney. He co-founded Plenty of Twenties with lifelong friend Rich Cook, who is a psychiatrist. The two grew up in town and are both graduates of Wakefield High School. Longtime friend Kim Ring has also helped with public relations and more from the start.

Back when the effort initially got underway in September of 2011, Grant recalled it was originally just seen as an experiment to find out how far a person would be willing to drive to find twenty dollars. From there, people from New York to New Hampshire have now found some $10,000 in twenties, estimated Grant. More recently, the website's email club mailings have provided the location of numerous twenties at a time.

"We had a few extra dollars - we wanted to brighten people's day and just do something new," said Grant.

Business Sponsors get highlighted to an audience of several thousand Facebook followers and about 1,800 Twitter followers. Local nonprofits are able to sponsor for just the cost of the $20 bill, said Grant, adding that for every found twenty, another $2 is donated to a different charity selected each month. Instead of a $20 bill, some businesses have also been choosing to have gift cards hidden.

On Thursday, Wakefield Patch met Grant in town as he was hiding two twenty dollar bills sponsored by the Dockside Restaurant. The first one wound up in a book about Andrew Jackson at the Beebe Library, while the second one was placed in a picture frame above a booth at the Dockside in Wakefield. In both cases, the twenties were found in less than 15 minutes by local social media followers. After a bill is reported found, a note is sent out on social media so others won't spend their time looking for it.

Dockside owner Jack Urbaczewski said that he had previously had Plenty of Twenties at his Malden location last year, and had been impressed with the turnout. It's also a fun approach and brings new people in to the business, making advertising this way "a no brainer," said Urbaczewski.

At the Beebe Library, Jodi McGovern of Wakefield came in and found the twenty, some eight minutes after Grant tweeted its whereabouts to his followers. McGovern recalled how on Christmas night, Plenty of Twenties had hidden a twenty out on the Wakefield Common, with about five people showing up to look for it. For this twenty, McGovern was thinking of getting some ice cream with her daughters.

As she spoke, another woman stopped in to see if the twenty had been found yet. Grant explained that there's never been a dispute over a twenty, although in a couple of cases people at the scene have agreed to share it or give it to charity.

At the Dockside, Ryan Seeley of Wakefield stopped in to find the twenty with his son, Sam, age 5, exactly 15 minutes after Grant sent out his tweet about the second location. Like McGovern, Seeley was also thinking of ice cream with his son as a possible use for the windfall - or a new Bruins hat.

"Fun is the keyword , and paying it forward," said Grant. "A lot of good can come from this."

Check out the attached video for more.

To learn more about Plenty of Twenties, visit their website here.