About a year ago, Jared Paul was in the throes of what he calls “a third-of-life crisis.” He and his girlfriend had broken up. His career in sales and marketing left him unfulfilled. He felt spiritually empty.

Paul, 32, left his job to ponder his next step. After three months of introspection inspired in part by Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now, he was reinvigorate by an idea: He’d gather and inspire altruistic people who could then ignite that spark of goodness in others.

It seemed like a good idea, so the San Francisco resident called his new group A Good Idea. Its first activity, Intentional Acts of Kindness, featured participants sharing hugs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sunflowers and smiles with passers-by, an event so unusual (even in California) that it was featured in a local newspaper.

A Good Idea’s volunteers have also handed out toiletries and desserts to the city’s homeless, plucked litter from the streets – and bonded over potluck dinners and nature hikes.

“I’m trying to build a network of people who like to help other people,” Paul says. “That’s how energy builds in a group. It’s important that like-minded people connect with each other…. In everything we do, connection is key.”

Those like-minded people span all ages. They find A Good Idea through word of mouth, his website, agoodideasf.org, and Facebook, where he posts to more than 2,200 potential volunteers. Anyone is welcome at the weekly Tuesday night meetings at a Haight Ashbury café to study a social issue and then mingle.

A Good Idea’s philosophy is so tidily summed up by a quote from Mohandas Gandhi – “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” – that Paul added it to his business cards.

Fostering change can happen though small acts, such as playing bingo at a homeless shelter. About 20 A Good Idea participants competed on a recent Monday night with residents of the Next Door Shelter. The prizes were small – candy bars, socks, a deck of cards – but eagerly sought, and the social chasm typically dividing volunteers and the homeless dissolved in the face of good-natured rivalry.

Yet launching, growing and funding a non-profit organization has been a challenge, particularly in a down economy. Paul, who does not draw a salary, has sold his car, tapped his savings and pared his possessions to help float A Good Idea. “It’s been a huge lifestyle change,” he says. “But I’ve had faith that things will work out as they should.”

He’s been pursuing seed money from foundations, raising funds and networking with prospective donors to find successful athletes, celebrities and businesspeople inspired by A Good Idea’s call to action. He draws guidance and support from a board of directors, advisory team and inspiration committee, whose members include Father Joe Carroll of Father Joe’s Villages in San Diego.

By June Bell