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Putting Our Money Where Your Heart Is | 2008-05-15 10:52
This is one of the most important newsletters we've published Modest Needs in a very long time. Even if you normally skip this part of the Modest Needs website, I hope you'll take a moment to read this very special update.
First of all, I wanted to you know that the last ten days have been something of a whirlwind at Modest Needs. In case you haven't a chance to take a look at the Modest Needs Blog, in just the past week, the work of the Modest Needs Community has been profiled both by NPR (via their show 'Day to Day') and - most recently - on Foxbusiness.com, where we were featured as 'Innovators' in our field. You can find links to the full texts / broadcasts of these stories on the Modest Needs Blog.
Stories like these - stories that, over the last week, have exposed literally tens of thousands of people to our work who otherwise might not have known about it for years - have genuinely made a positive impact on our ability to reach the persons whom we exist to serve. In the last few days alone, we've made close to 50 grants to persons throughout the US and Canada who were facing the loss of nearly everything due to a short-term emergency and who qualified for no other type of assistance.
And that's not all. You might remember that, throughout May 2008, Modest Needs is working to reach a critical goal: the 1,000th monthly donor milestone. Just ten days ago, we were more than 175 new donors from reaching that goal. Today, I'm proud to report that are now just 83 new donors from a Modest Needs landmark that has been six years in making.
And the triple points that people are getting this month just for making a pledge of $10.00 or more (or upping a current pledge by at least $10.00) - well, I have to say, the results of that 'promotion' (if you could really call it that) have been nothing short of stunning, especially for the individuals and families we've been able to reach as a result of your remarkable generosity.
The words 'Thank you' are hardly sufficient to express my gratitude for all that you've done - and continue to do - for those who would have nowhere to turn in their times of crises were it not for your generous support of the work we do at Modest Needs.
As a way of offering up a special 'thank you' for your own courageous generosity (and that's really what this kind of giving is in a tight economy), I've just published a new 'Profile in Courageous Generosity' which I think really showcases what makes this community - this program - extraordinarily special. This one is called '360 Degrees of Kindness,' and after you read it, I think you'll come away with a new appreciation for the impact that your own kindness is having on the lives of others.
This new "Profile in Courageous Generosity' is online and available for you. I hope you'll find just a few minutes to enjoy that piece today. Believe me: you deserve it.
I do have more Modest Needs-related news to share with you, but this time around, I hope you won't mind if I close on a short personal note.
As you must know, over the past few weeks, the world has seen some truly remarkable disasters that have affected literally tens of thousands of people. The cyclone in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and the earthquake that has left up to 50,000 dead or seriously injured in China are truly tremendous disasters, and they deserve, I think, an equally tremendous response from those of us who can afford to reach out right now to persons in other parts of the world who genuinely need us.
I believe the future of the non-profit world lies, not in competition, but in collaboration. After six years working in the non-profit world, I could write book on this issue alone, but right now, my concern is doing what we can to get help, not just to the people who need the kind of assistance we can offer at Modest Needs, but to the people in other parts of the world who may not live without our help.
That said, for the two weeks (15 May to 31 May 2008), we're going to do something very special at Modest Needs - something I don't think you'll be used to seeing from a non-profit of any size, but I think you'll agree that it's definitely the right thing for all of us to do.
I think most of you are aware that Modest Needs is able to operate (and pass through 100% of your contributions directly to those who have requested our help) because we have the generous support of foundations and other individuals, who are kind enough to make unrestricted grants designated to pay our operating expenses.
Obviously, I want very much for us to hit that 1,000th donor milestone this month. That will mean a great deal to Modest Needs, both now, and in the future. But I also want to do something significant for the people in other parts of the world who are suffering in collaboration with one, perhaps two, extraordinary organizations who have the infrastructure to reach those persons and perform a type of work that Modest Needs simply was not ever designed to do and cannot do on its own.
So for the two weeks, here's what we're going to do at Modest Needs: for every new pledge that we receive of $10.00 or more, or for every person with a current pledge who increases the amount of their contribution by at least $10.00, you'll still get triple points to use at Modest Needs. That'll give you triple the power to change one or more lives right here, right now.
But at the same time, as you make new or recurring pledges to Modest Needs as described above throughout the remainder of May, we will be internally matching your contributions via our OPERATING fund - the cash designated to pay Modest Needs' costs. And then, at the end of the month, we will send a check to one or two organizations we know and trust who are carrying out the critical work that must happen in China and Myanmar in an amount equal to the pledges you've made in the final two weeks of May, up to a maximum of $25,000.00.
We're not doing this because we're just flush with cash. In fact, if you folks actually hit that $25,000.00 maximum (and knowing all of you, you probably will), we'll have to tighten our internal purse strings for a month or so in order to make this contribution. But the bottom line is that if we can encourage you to reach out to people right here in North America who need your help while at the same time reaching out to people in other parts of the world who need us just as much - well, that's not just common sense. That's the right thing to do.
And besides, as this week's 'Profile in Courageous Generosity' really demonstrates, when you live by your principles, when you do what you know is right, then somehow, your kindness always finds its way back to you. That's as true for organizations as it is for individual people.
If you'd like take advantage of this special opportunity to reach out to people both here and in other parts of the world at the same time, you can make the pledge of your choice securely, and in two minutes or less, via our simple online contribution form.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this special news update - and for giving all of us at Modest Needs the opportunity to act, on your behalf, on the beliefs we all hold so strongly, and on which this organization was founded and will continue to operate. As always, here's wishing you more heath and happiness than your lives can possibly contain. Until next time, take care, and be well!
One Milestone Down - One to Go! | 2008-05-06 13:30
Good afternoon everyone!
In Modest Needs' April newsletter, I mentioned that we were on the verge of hitting two major milestones: our 5,000th grant, and our 1,000th monthly donor.
Well, true to the form, the Modest Needs community has already hit one of those milestones. In fact, within hours of sending out last month's newsletter, the Modest Needs community had teamed up to fund our 5,000 grant application - and what an application it was. You can read about that application in this month's 'Profiles in Courageous Generosity' (and believe me, this is one PCG that you don't want to miss!)
We're still working to hit that second milestone - our 1000th monthly donor - but the promotion for the final two days of April was so successful that we've decided to extend it for all of May. That promotion goes something like this:
If you make a recurring contribution of at least $10.00 a month between now and 30 May 2008, or if you increase a current pledge by at least $10.00 during the same time period, Modest Needs will use our general fund to give you TRIPLE points for your first month.
In other words, if at any point throughout May, you make a new $30.00 monthly pledge (or if you had, say, a $20.00 monthly pledge that you increase by $10.00 to $30.00 per month), that pledge will automatically be worth 60 points because of our current matching grant.
But in addition to that, we'll administratively credit your Modest Needs account with an ADDITIONAL 30 points, meaning that, just for signing up for or upping a pledge during the month of May, you get TRIPLE points for your first month – and that translates into triple the power to change a life!
One note: please keep in mind that because we have to credit each new Modest Needs donor's account manually with the additional points that we are adding as an 'incentive' in May 2008, it may take up to 24 hours for these extra points to post to your account. Thanks in advance for your patience and understanding.
Folks, we only need about 175 new pledges to hit that critical 1000th pledge threshold - and that's a goal I know we can reach quickly. So please, help us to reach this all-important Modest Needs milestone. You can make a pledge securely, in two seconds or less, just by using our simple online donation form.
Thanks so much, as always, for your very generous support of the critical work we do at Modest Needs. And if you're visiting us for the first time as a result of wonderful piece on Modest Needs that recently ran on NPR'S 'Day to Day,' welcome! We're glad to have you with us.
