At the University of Florida, students and staff are running through Turlington Plaza, the Plaza of the Americas, Reitz Union and other places on campus, not looking for a class, but for cash.
An Instagram account, with the name @findthemoneygator has become viral. The account posts clues for followers to find cash hidden around the University of Florida campus. What started at Texas A&M University has expanded to other universities, including UF. The page is run by an anonymous man who will only reveal his first name, Cody.
Cody chooses to stay anonymous because he said he wants the account to be about the students rather than himself. He said he has no interest in personal fame.
Cody said the idea came after watching people in big cities post similar scavenger hunts online. He thought it would be even more meaningful on a college campus.
“Every campus is so unique. UF is such a special place. It’s just a different energy than anywhere on Earth,” he said. “So to do it within that ecosystem is super fun.”
Cody said he hoped to bring something positive to social media feeds which are often filled with negativity.
“Hiding money got me really excited because it can go super viral, but it’s also just a win-win for everyone involved,” he said. “There’s no negativity within it, and that’s what really pulled me in to start this page.”
After Cody’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away five years ago, his outlook on giving changed.
“When she was diagnosed, I was not making very much money at all. My family had nine-to-fives, but she had to stop working,” he said.
Someone his mother knew donated $10,000 to help his family.
“I remember when the donation came through, I felt guilty, but also relieved,” Cody said. “Life’s not about money to me at all, but when you need money, it’s so powerful. For him to donate $10,000 to my family when my mom was about to die and had to take off that final year of her life from work, it was a huge impact on me.”
It was this experience that motivated him to give back to people in some way. Cody said he uses money he earns from sports betting to fund the cash giveaways. In each giveaway, the amount of money varies from $20 to $100. So far, he has given away over $1,000, and his goal is to increase the amount as the Instagram page grows.
However, Cody is not the one hiding the money because he lives in Texas. UF student Qingyuan Tian is the one tasked with hiding the money throughout campus.
Cody was networking with students who were interested in creating content. He reached out to Tian on Instagram and asked if he wanted to be involved in growing the number of followers on the account.
Tian explained why he wanted to help out. “In a world where everything has become so divisive, having something that people all love — which is money — can really bring a campus together,” he said. And in early summer, they began hiding the money.
For Tian, the best part is watching students’ excitement.
“My favorite part about hiding money is seeing people react to where I hide it,” he said. “When I hid it in a tree, people started freaking out, saying, ‘How the hell am I going to get this? It’s not worth the hospital bills!’”
The scavenger hunt for the location of the money has become a game for some students. UF student Aaron Forgas said it’s “turned into a full track and field race” between him and his friends.
Forgas claims to have found the money a few times, but has searched for it dozens of times. He said he enjoys the creativity of the hiding spots.
“There was a Sunday afternoon when he put it 80 feet up a tree across the street from [MacDinton’s Gainesville],” Forgas said. “Four or five people tried to climb it, but I was the only one who could get up there.”
Not only do students follow the page, but non-students do as well. Landon Dew, who works on campus, said he has been following the page for months in hopes of being a lucky winner.
“I saw it one day, and ever since, I followed the page and turned on notifications, hoping I’d find it,” he said.
On Oct. 6, Dew was working near where the cash was hidden. When he got the notification that a new clue had been posted, he knew exactly where the money was. He quickly followed the clue and found the most recently hidden cash.
For students and staff, the scavenger hunt has become something for the community to get excited about. It has become a way to connect with others and have fun on campus. The Instagram account has created a sense of community among those who participate, Tian said.
Tian hides the money two to three times a week. Cody said that’s exactly what he hoped for when he started the page. By keeping his identity hidden and letting students like Tian take the lead, he hopes to keep the focus on positivity, the students and the community.
“Seeing people get excited, sharing in that moment, that’s the point,” Cody said. “If you can give a little, even just $20 or $50, and make someone’s day, it comes full circle.”