The Official Modest Needs Blog

Join Me for an Inspiring Evening of Cocktails!

One Wednesday, June 24th, I'll be hosting a cocktail party in Chicago, and I'd love to see all of you Modest Needs supporters there! We'll be serving wine and light hors d'oeuvres. All of the details are below.

John David Mooney Foundation Art Gallery
114 W. Kinzie Street
Chicago, IL
Wednesday, June 24th
6-8pm

If you're interested in attending, please RSVP to Modest Needs' Chief Operating Officer, Huriya Jabbar, at [email protected] or 415-956-9295. I look forward to meeting as many of you as can make it!

Help Us Claim Our Brand-New Matching Grant!

We just received some FANTASTIC news this week at Modest Needs. A major gift has unexpectedly fallen into our lap -- to the tune of a whopping $200,000. But there's a catch.

In order to claim ANY of this grant funding, we must first raise $100,000 from individual donors who support Modest Needs. And we've only got until the end of this month (June) to do it.

This money couldn't come at a more important time. Like so many nonprofits, we lost a substantial grant this past February -- one that we've counted on for the last couple of years -- at a time when Modest Needs applications were reaching all-time highs. As you can imagine, I've been plugging away to try and replace that lost grant funding, and this week we hit the jackpot with an extremely generous offer from a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous.

Although raising $100,000 from individual donors within the month of June seems aggressive, it's a goal I'm confident that we can reach.

So if you were thinking of donating to Modest Needs at all in 2009, I urge you to consider making a contribution this month. As always, we make it convenient and easy right on modestneeds.org.

Thanks so much for reading. And have an absolutely wonderful Wednesday!

Free Resume Printing at Fedex Kinko's

Job-seekers, listen up!

In an inspiring act of generosity, Fedex Kinko's is offering unemployed folks 25 FREE resume prints this coming Tuesday, March 10th, during regular business hours at stores nationwide.

Not only is it refreshing to see a corporate behemoth provide such a practical service for those suffering in this economy -- it's beautifully similar to what we do here at Modest Needs. After all, Fedex is ponying up maybe $2.50 per job-seeker for those 25 copies. And yet that $2.50 has the power to encapsulate a lifetime of hard work. It has the power to take that experience and get it in front of the right person.

It has the power to transform a person's entire financial future. For $2.50.

(Does Modest Needs' motto sound familiar? Small Change. A World of Difference.)

You can find all the details on the FedEx press release. And please remember that you can also help a newly unemployed person stay afloat via a Modest Needs "Bridge Grant" (or apply for assistance yourself). Visit our website to learn more.

Fox News NY Interviews Modest Needs' Donors

Why do donors choose Modest Needs?

Every person's reason is different. But if you're curious about the topic, I invite you to watch this recent TV news feature by Fox News New York. They posed that very question to two of our donors. And as part of the story they also interviewed a very special applicant from New Jersey named Marion, a widowed mother of four who received your assistance a few months ago with a car repair.

It's a lovely story -- and one that beautifully demonstrates how one person really CAN make a difference. Since its airing less than 24 hours ago, we've received a whopping 300+ New York-area applications. I encourage all of you to have a look!

Touching Modest Needs Story on NBC 3 in Las Vegas

Looking for a real-life example of how your spare change can work miracles for someone on the edge of poverty?

Check out this News 3 Las Vegas feature highlighting Susana Cervera, a cancer survivor and cosmetologist in Las Vegas who needed less than a thousand dollars to renew her license and become self-sufficient again. She's one of more than 7,000 families that your kind donations have rescued since Modest Needs first launched.

(To see the full news video, simply click on the "Video Gallery" image in the left column.)

ABC News San Francisco Features Modest Needs

October was a HUGE month for Modest Needs in the media, and we're thrilled to report that applications are flowing in like never before. Check out our most recent profile, from ABC News 7 in San Francisco. Now that we've set up an office in California, I hope to be alerting you to even more of these West Coast stories very soon.

As always, thanks for your support. And have a very happy Halloween!

We're Feeling the Brotherly Love in Philly

Modest Needs made prime-time TV again this week! We earned some great press in this wonderful news piece by ABC TV in Philadelphia. 

Last week, I alerted you to a FANTASTIC "Rumble in the Kitchen" event in Philadelphia that Loews Hotels sponsored to benefit Modest Needs. I just got back yesterday, and I have to tell you... What a wonderful event it was! We received thousands in donations -- not only from the proceeds of ticket sales and the silent auction, but directly from the pockets of the extremely generous event staff, too, like bartenders and valet parking attendants. It really was a night to remember.

Fox TV Memphis Profiles Modest Needs Applicant

I'd like to invite you to watch this clip from Fox 13 TV in Memphis, Tennessee. Last night this news broadcast interviewed the Shoemakers, a family who couldn't come up with the money to lay their beloved son to rest... until you stepped in.

Every few weeks, we tell one of Modest Needs' many special success stories through our Profiles in Courageous Generosity series. But nothing quite compares to actually SEEING a funded Modest Needs applicant explain the immense impact you've had on his/her life. I'm betting it's the best 3 minutes you'll spend all day.

Rumble in the Kitchen

Good things are happening in Philadelphia. And I'm not just talking about the Phillies making it into the World Series!

This Wednesday, October 22, our friends at the Loews Hotel Philadelphia will be hosting "Rumble in the Kitchen," an Iron Chef-like cooking contest coupling culinary students with some of the top chefs in the City of Brotherly Love. All proceeds will be coming to -- you guessed it! -- Modest Needs. 

If you're interested in attending the event, which will also include an open bar and complimentary appetizers, live music, and a silent auction, call 212-231-7230 or visit Rumble in the Kitchen. Tickets cost $40 in advance or $50 at the door. And the silent auction prizes are something pretty special -- especially its headline item: a meet and greet with the one and only Jon Bon Jovi!

Watch Modest Needs on TV Tonight!

Breaking news! Tonight on the Fox Business Network, bestselling author and financial guru Dave Ramsey will interview me all about the work we do at Modest Needs. Dave's show airs at 8pm Eastern, 7pm Central, 6pm Mountain, and 9pm Pacific. And the segment on Modest Needs is scheduled to run approximately 25 minutes into the hour.

As one of the most respected and popular financial experts in the media today, Dave Ramsey has used his own experiences (both good and bad) to help thousands make smart decisions when it comes to money management. And I'm just over the moon that he has decided to spread the word about Modest Needs among his very loyal following. It's truly an honor!

Head over to his website, daveramsey.com, for more information on Dave and to find the Fox Business Network station in your area. We hope you'll all tune in tonight!