The Official Modest Needs Blog

Holiday Fundraising at Modest Needs: The #DecafCharity Experiment

Remember the "Latte of Shame?" (Here's a shot to jog your memory.)

The Latte of Shame got us thinking. Trading overpriced espresso drinks for a cuppa regular drip coffee freed up $60 per month for one individual to give to charity--$60 dollars that helped this man buy new tools after losing everything in a fire, and fund this woman's request for teeth to keep her smiling.  

Giving up loose pocket change literally changed lives.

With that in mind, we're launching our DecafCharity Experiment just in time for the holidays.

Starting December 12, 2011, we're asking you to give up just a little (one cup of coffee) to give back a lot. Here's how you can participate:

The DecafCharity Experiment

1. Give up just ONE cup of morning coffee and donate the money you've saved by doing so to a Modest Needs applicant. (That's $2-$5 depending on where you get your caffeine fix.)

2. If you're particularly flush and cannot part with your morning dose of dark roast, donate the equivalent of one cup of coffee to a Modest Needs applicant.

3. Encourage others to do the same by taking to the Internet and sharing what you've done. 

We're especially encouraging people to use Twitter to spread the word. By sharing your participation with the hashtag #DecafCharity on Twitter, Modest Needs will be able to track exactly how many people have donated or inspired others to give. 

On Monday December 12, 2011, we'll send out the first #DecafCharity tweet, a short ditty that will lead potential donors directly to a list of Modest Needs applicants so the funding can begin. Twitter donors can simply retweet that tweet in order to get things rolling.

For those of you who can't stand Twitter, there will also be a Facebook share option.

Note:

The #DecafCharity hashtag isn't exclusive to Modest Needs. It's a hashtag any charity can adopt--and we encourage them to do so. The DecafCharity Experiment is meant to remind any donor that one minor sacrifice can make a difference anywhere. It can also connect charities, allowing us to monitor our shared message of giving via a simple hashtag. We invite you to add the #DecafCharity hashtag to your holiday Twitter appeals.

Changing a life this holiday season is as easy as going without one cup of coffee (and taking to Twitter for a single tweet). If that isn't a gift, we don't know what is.

Modest Needs Needs to Know: What Keeps You From Giving?

It's the first day after the holiday weekend. There are turkey sandwiches on the middle shelf in your fridge. (Or leftover vegan stuffing with cranberries. Depends on the fridge.) You're just getting back to school/home/the office. Many of you, even as of this morning's coffee, still have one foot in a Thanksgiving Day carbohydrate-coma.

With that in mind, we're starting the week off gently: with a question. 

Thanksgiving Day kicks the "giving season" into high gear as the winter holidays plow toward January 1. It's a shift that raises many questions in the charity world, all involving the word "give." What charities will you give to? How much will you give? Can you even give this year?

Add our question to the list, with a spin: What keeps you from giving?

What are the circumstances that have kept you from giving to charity in the past? What obstacles could keep you from giving this year? What kind of charities do you give your money/time to and which ones do you avoid? Why?

We're asking genuinely and need candid answers. You can post in the comments section of this blog or Tweet at us at @Modestneeds.com throughout the holiday season. We'll be featuring some answers on the Modest Needs Blog and on the Modest Needs Foundation Facebook page--responders looking to remain anonymous can send an email to [email protected]; all personal informaton will be withheld. 

Your answers will not only be appreciated, but also help shape our relationship with donors and applicants in the future, so please--be honest. We ask that you share this post or question with anyone who might weigh in.

We hope your Thanksgivings were as delicious and stress-free as any holiday can be.

Cheers and welcome back.

The Latte of Shame: A Lesson in Charitable Priorities

My caffeine fix this morning cost $4.74.

That's nearly $5 dollars for a cardboard cup of caffeinated liquid with a lot of frothy milk added.

FIVE dollars?

I lamented just this weekend to friends that, while I'm thrilled to join a charity like Modest Needs as an employee, actually giving to any philanthropic group is still something that feels beyond my reach. My income is fixed. I live on a tight budget without luxuries like TV. I have major medical expenses and panic every time that student loan repayment slip arrives. So when holiday requests for donations land in my mailbox, I guiltily slide them into the trash. I mean, how can I possibly give when I frequently need to receive just to get by? Philanthropy feels like something I'll only be able to participate in once I have disposable income--you know, when I'm a real adult.

I've been fearing that this tradition of non-giving makes me the ultimate hypocrite, an outreach worker encouraging others to donate while my own wallet remains sewn shut. So as I stared at the receipt for my foamy pool of latte-ed goodness this morning, the clammy truth slapped me like a cold herring across the face: I am a hypocrite, and I can give.

Let's take a (very brief) moment for math. Now, I don't drink fancy overpriced lattes everyday, but for the sake of this exercise we'll assume I do. A latte before work every day at $4.74 amounts to $23.70 per week, or $94.80 per month. Almost a hundred dollars a month on coffee? How did I let this happen?

During a quick canvasing of the neighborhood I easily found a deli that sells regular coffee (all of the caffeine of my routine latte, sans fancy frothy milk) for just $1.70. At that price a cup of regular coffee before work comes to $8.50 per week, or $34.00 per month.

That's a savings of $60.80 per month if I regularly go for deli coffee over bougie lattes--$60.80 that could go toward helping those who don't think about coffee because their minds are saddled with things that are actually important. Like trying to save a home, afford medication or fix the car that brings them to work.

[Insert sinking feeling of coffee-related guilt here.]

The first thing I did after doing the math was finish my latte, which by then tasted like shame. Hot, liquid shame. Then I sat down and looked even more closely at my finances, seeking more black holes--like the latte--that made giving seem impossible. Finally, I finessed my account with Modest Needs and began funneling funds from the coffee budget to worthy applicants.

Is $60.80 going to save the world? Not alone, no. But when added to the efforts of other donors it can help save a home or cover essential prescriptions for people in desperate need.  There's proof it can do this right on the Modest Needs web site.

For many of us, finding the resources to give is as simple as making one tiny tweak--like trading lattes for coffee, eating one less meal per month at a restaurant or shopping the sale rack--to a monthly budget.

Knowing that my spare cash is going to families in need instead of a corporate caffeine dealer is so satisfying I can taste it--and it goes great with a large deli coffee, extra half-and-half, no sugar.  

What tweaks can you make to your budget to make room for giving to others? And what changes in your life have you made to make helping people possible? Your answers can inspire others to take similar action toward making a difference, so please share.

A Model Local Microphilanthroper. And He's 10!

"Since my two favorite things are reading and eating, a great way to earn money for a good cause would be a book sale."

Those are the wise words of one David Gontarski, a 4th grader in Randolph, New Jersey who is a model of microphilathropy at the local level. David had the brilliant idea to sell used books to feed hungry children in his county.

He says, "I collected used books and DVDs to sell. The entire 4th grade at my school helped to collect the books and DVD's. We collected 723 books and DVD's for the sale. I raised over $700." He called his project David's Plate.

Let's go to the tape for a peek at David, the found of David's Plate:

10-year-old David illustrates that all it takes is a good idea and a drive to help, and you can make a profound change in a cause you care about.

Learn more about David and David's Plate at Kids Who Give.

Two for One and Three for One: Double or Triple your Donation

You've been wanting to help, but are waiting for the right time? Well, now is the perfect time (times two, or even three!).

Right now, your first donation to Modest Needs in the year 2011--no matter the size--will be doubled. That means you get to help twice the number of people with a single gift! Your generosity goes twice as far.

But better than that, if you set up a first-time recurring donation (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly), your gift is--wait for it--tripled. Thrice the impact. You read the right.

Set up (it's easy to do) a recurring donation for any amount, and that amount will be multiplied by three. Ten dollars becomes thirty, twenty becomes sixty and thirty becomes ninety. (You know math, you get the idea.)

How terrific is that?

Want your assistance to make twice or three times the difference. Start here to change lives in a big way.

[Photo by Taylor Hand]

It's Now Easier Than Ever to Prevent Poverty Before It Starts

Exciting news on the Modest Needs front! It is now easier than ever to help keep people independent and prevent poverty before it begins--the mission that we tackle each and every day.

If you "like" Modest Needs on Facebook, and you should!, you can now donate directly to Modest Needs right from our Facebook page. Not only that, but you can now easily "share" our Facebook donation page on your own Facebook wall. More, better, simpler ways to help people just like you and me who are facing a financial hardship--it's win-win!

And maybe the coolest part of all, you can create a "birthday wish" on Facebook asking that, in leiu of gifts (or in addition to well wishes), people give to Modest Needs on your behalf.

Neat, right?

So, check out our fresh new Donate page on Facebook, like us if you haven't yet already, and see the wonderful world of social media for social change at work.

No Cash Needed to Change a Life

In a positively endearing article about a child's birthday party wherein guests were asked to give donations to a local charity in lieu of gifts, we learn the importance of teaching generosity at a young age. Also, we learn that one doesn't need to have cash in hand to make a huge difference in the lives of those less fortunate.

This 8-year-old didn't have money in the bank. She just decided to turn ungiven gifts into generous aid for strangers in need.

In the article, the author lists other ways one can give back to his or her community without spending a single cent. And they are all smashing ideas:

* Neighborhood dog wash
* Charity car wash
* Used book sale
* Making and selling homemade jewelry
* Birthday party donation in lieu of gifts
* Backyard movie night on large screen under the stars

So, the next time you find yourself wishing to help someone at Modest Needs, but can't quite afford to do so, keep in mind that a used book sale or a neighborhood dog wash might yield enough funds to change someone's life for the better.

[Photo by mae noelle]

Last Day to Have your Donation Doubled at Modest Needs

This is it! Not only is this the last day of 2010, it is also the last day that gifts to Modest Needs will be matched--dollar for dollar.

You know how this goes: Whatever you give, no matter how small, will be doubled thanks to a generous matching grant that was put in place for the month of December. We have a fund designated up to $500,000 to be matched for every single donation that comes in. But today is the very last day, and there are plenty of matching funds left to be had.

This means that when you give to people like the applicant from Orlanda, Florida who told us, "Because of your giving, and willingness to reach out to me I do not have to worry about being or sleeping on the streets," you can do twice as much to change a life.

No more delaying. Time is up. Make an end-of-year donation--$5, $10, $50, whatever you can part with to ease someone else's suffering--and know that your gift is going twice as far.

Act Now! Double your Money and Change a Life (Or Two!)

It is almost like magic. Today and tomorrow you can double your money. Believe it or not.

No matter how little or how much you choose to give, every single dollar will be matched 100% when you donate to Modest Needs. No joshin'.

And when you act now you get the added bonus<\b> of changing the life of a hard-working individual or family in need. So, donate today to double the impact of your generosity and make 2011 a fresh start for someone who truly needs it.

Two Days Left to Double Your Gift to Those in Need

Only two days remain for you to *double* your ability to help a family in need and prevent the perilous cycle of poverty.

That's right, for just two more days, your gift to Modest Needs will be matched. Times two. Each dollar you donate to a hardworking individual or struggling family will have twice the impact...but only for two more days.

Modest Needs recieved a generous matching grant for the month of December wherein every single penny donated to those in need will be matched, one for one. This means your ten or twenty or fifty dollar gift will become twenty or forty or one hundred dollars that will immediately prevent a family from losing their home or their car or their job. Your ability to keep people self-sufficient is multiplied by a factor of two. How awesome is that?

So, browse requests for help. There are so many deserving families who just need someone like you to step in and lend them a hand--a hand that could keep a roof over their heads this winter.

Time is running out to make your donation count double for a single mom or an out of work dad or a disabled student. Your power to change a life is doubled for the next two days only.

Why not do that today?