chuck failla

In many ways, I'm a prototype Scuppie. In my day job, I'm President of Sovereign Financial Group, Inc, a financial planning firm with offices in Manhattan and Stamford, CT. I'm also an occasional commentator on financial topics for media outlets such as the New York Daily News, CNN, Elle Magazine, CBS, Reuters, and others. But while I enjoy making money and living the good life in an affluent suburban community, I'm also concerned about the environment and social justice. In my spare time, I've worked as a fundraiser for Street News, a newspaper written and distributed by homeless people in New York, and served as a board member of El Puente, a community-based human rights organization that operates the El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice, an alternative public school in Williamsburg (Brooklyn).

I got the idea for The Scuppie ™ Handbook one day at the office, when a coworker overheard a phone conversation of mine and asked whether I had picked up a new client. When I explained that I was doing some pro-bono work for a homeless organization, she shot a skeptical glance at my Armani suit and Rolex watch, and responded, only half-jokingly, that she couldn't believe a “Yuppie scum” like me would do anything for free. That momentarily threw me for a loop, but then I had an epiphany. “It's entirely possible to be socially conscious and desire upward mobility at the same time,” I replied. I coined the term “Scuppie” to describe myself and others who wanted to live well and do good at simultaneously.