The Official Modest Needs Blog

Double the Power of Your Giving, for Free

It's official!

In 2009, thanks to our continuing matching grant initiative, we will DOUBLE the value of any recurring donation you make to Modest Needs via a weekly, biweekly, or monthly pledge.

Let's say you pledge $20 a month. An anonymous foundation will match your $20 and increase the value of your monthly contribution to $40. And that doesn't happen once; it happens EVERY SINGLE MONTH that you pledge for 2009, until we reach our grant maximum.

So if you decide to contribute to Modest Needs, please consider a monthly pledge!

There's no easier way to make the most your contribution.

Apologies to Dr. King

"The time is always right to do what’s right." - Dr. Martin Luther King

I'm a week late on this MLK post, but it's such a beautiful, simple sentiment that I couldn't resist sharing it.

Have a wonderful Monday.

One Little Application, Plenty of Big Hearts

Sometimes, the very best thing about reading through an application is recognizing all the OTHER people who've done their part to help someone in need.

Take this application.

It's written by a social worker (big heart #1) who's determined to help her 22-year-old client, a wheelchair-bound young man who's had a very rough upbringing. The man who helped raise him (big heart #2) is building a home for this young man -- a home outfitted with special accessibility considerations. He has already spent $35,000 of his own money. The septic and well are installed. The house is framed.

Now all he needs from us is $1,000 to install automatic door openers to ensure that this applicant can get around his bedroom and bathroom without too many problems.

What do you think? Can we keep this string of kindness going a little bit longer? We're only a small grant away from helping this young man secure a home!

Suburbia, Without the White-Picket Fences

Who said that U.S. suburbs were all bake sales and leaf-blowing?

This Newsweek article makes the assertion that our suburbs are drowning in the wake of economic hardship, and notes that more of the working poor now live in our suburbs than in our cities. 

So many of us, when we imagine poverty, think only about urban poverty. But we've got streams of Modest Needs applicants hailing from places like Grapevine, Texas, Norristown, Pennsylvania, and Winder, Georgia. Suburban and rural areas pose their own set of challenges for low-income families -- like no public transportation, for example. And if you take a gander through Modest Needs' list of applications, you'll see firsthand that tough times just don't discriminate by geography.

A Fighting Chance

That's what are donors have given to this applicant, who recently received one of our Bridge Grants for the newly unemployed.

In the applicant's words...

" I lost my job, and due to that I was unable to pay my mother's house payment for the month of November. This could have put us in foreclosure; and my mother, after working her whole life to house her family, might have lost her home. But thanks to Modest Needs and your help we have a fighting chance today. "

Interested in helping out someone in a similar situation? Browse our current list of pre-screened applications.

Good News About Your Taxes (Seriously!)

Who knew that the economic downturn would elicit a softer, friendlier side to the IRS?

According to this Wall Street Journal article, the IRS will go easy on taxpayers having a hard time paying their bill this year -- specifically, those who've lost their jobs, rely solely on Social Security or welfare income, or face a devastating illness or significant medical bills.

If you find yourself having trouble paying your taxes this year, the IRS Commissioner's advice was to get in touch with the IRS sooner rather than later. If you can save yourself a call from a collection agency, it's well worth it, no?

Charity Navigator Gives a Shout Out to Modest Needs

Have you seen Modest Needs on Charity Navigator?

Charity Navigator, the premier organization for evaluating the financial health of U.S. charities, has just listed Modest Needs as a top nonprofit for helping individuals affected by the economic slump. 

We're so proud to have earned Charity Navigator's coveted 4-star rating once again and hope that this mention will continue to help us get the word out to potential applicants in need. I invite you to check it out if you have a moment!

A Helping Hand for the Newly Unemployed

If you're like me, you know people who've recently lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Lots of people.

Now the shock of job loss -- especially in this economy -- is tough enough on its own. But what about the first month or two of going without, before unemployment benefits kick in and before someone has a chance to find a new role? How can we expect people to land new jobs when they're at risk of losing their car, their electricity, or their childcare?

To keep those kinds of expenses from sabotaging a job search, we've recently launched "Bridge Grants." This goal of this revolutionary new kind of funding at Modest Needs is simple: to see the newly unemployed through their toughest days.

We can't find people new jobs. But we sure can try to keep their heads above water for a short time while they're frantically doing it for themselves.

Your Easiest New Year's Resolution Ever

I heard on the news this morning that 60% of us abandon our New Year's Resolutions at some point during the year. And to be honest, I was flabbergasted by that number. Not because it was so high but because it was so low! I assumed that most people, like me, almost never stuck to their resolutions.

And no wonder. Consider a few of the most popular New Year's resolutions -- losing weight, quitting smoking, getting out of debt, getting organized. They're all REALLY HARD.

But one of the most popular resolutions is also REALLY EASY. And that's the one about being more charitable. On Modest Needs' website, it takes 2 minutes to donate toward any family of your choosing. Give a helping hand to a single mom trying to re-establish her family after fleeing domestic abuse. Pay the electric bill for a senior citizen whose budget has been derailed by an unexpected medical emergency. 

With a donation as little as $5, you can cross off resolution #1 before most people even finish making their lists. Even more importantly, your self-improvement regimen will leave a family in need in a much better place to start off 2009. Talk about an amazing way to ring in the New Year.

Modest Needs in the Christian Science Monitor

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