TECH SUPPORT FAQ

Here, you'll find answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding technical problems people sometimes encounter with Modest Needs' website. If you're having trouble using our website, chances are you'll find the solution to your problem here.

1. I registered with Modest Needs but never received my user name and password. What happened?

If you registered with Modest Needs but didn't receive a password, then either you gave us the wrong email address during registration, or the email containing your login information was marked as 'spam.'

If you haven't received your user name and password within five minutes of registering with us, first, check your spam folder. Email providers like 'Yahoo!' sometimes mark our system email as spam, and your login information was probably sent to your spam folder.

If your login information isn't in your spam folder, then chances are you didn't provide us with your correct email address during the registration process. Please contact tech support with your correct email address and the secret question/answer combo you picked when you registered. Once we validate your secret question and answer, we'll be happy to update your email address for you.

2. I forgot my password and/or my user name. What should I do?

This is an easy fix! To retrieve your login information, click the 'Login' link you'll see at the very top right of Modest Needs' website, and then, on the right side of the login box, enter the email address you provided when you registered with Modest Needs. Click 'Go,' and we'll email your user name and password to you.

3. I tried the tip above but the system sent my login information to an old email address I can no longer access. What should I do now?

Please send an email to technical support to request that we update your email address. When you write, please provide us with your updated email address, the email address you originally used to register with Modest Needs, and your secret question/answer combination.

Once we validate your secret question/answer combo, we'll be happy to update your email address for you and resend your password to your new email address.

4. When I log in and click on "Apply for Help," I'm told that I cannot apply for a grant with the type of account I have. Why did that happen? What should I do?

In order to apply for help from Modest Needs as an individual applicant, you must have an applicant account with Modest Needs. If you click our 'Apply for Help' link and receive a message that you cannot apply for help with the type of account you have, this means that you're trying to apply for help from, for example, a donor account.

To fix this problem, simply complete an applicant registration with Modest Needs. Then, login from that account, and you should be able to apply for help.

If you already have both an applicant and a donor account with Modest Needs, then before you attempt to apply for help, please make sure you've logged in to our system with your applicant account login information.

5. I am sure I never registered with Modest Needs, but when I try to register, I get a message that registration cannot proceed because a duplicate account was found. What's wrong?

There are several reasons you might receive the 'duplicate account' error. For example:

  • It's possible that you registered with Modest Needs a long time ago and forgot that you'd already registered;

  • A member of your household or a person living at your address (like your roommate) has already registered with Modest Needs;

  • Someone who USED to live at your address is registered with Modest Needs; or

  • You may live, for example, in an assisted living facility where all persons living at the facility use the same address, and someone else living in your facility has already registered with us.

If you're certain you've never registered with Modest Needs and are receiving a 'duplicate account' error, please contact tech support with your name, street address, city, state, and zip code. We'll figure out what's wrong and help you to complete your applicant registration.

Please note: You do NOT have to register with Modest Needs each time you want to apply for a grant. You only need to register with us one time and then use that account any time you want to apply for a grant from Modest Needs.

6. At the top of the page, there's a message about Javascript being disabled. What's that?

Javascript is a programming language. The Modest Needs website will not function properly if you've disabled Javascript in your web browser. Please consult the technical support instructions for your web browser to enable Javascript before attempting to use Modest Needs' website.

7. At the top of the page, there's a message about computer cookies being disabled. What's that?

Computer cookies are tiny text files that our website needs to write on your computer to accomplish certain tasks (for example, remembering if you're logged in or not.)

In order for the Modest Needs website to function properly, you must enable cookies in your browser. Please consult the technical support instructions for your web browser to enable cookies before attempting to use Modest Needs' website.

8. How do I change my email/password/street address, or any of my account information?

Updating your personal information is easy! To update your personal information, login to the Modest Needs website and click the link that says 'Edit My Profile' from your Account Dashboard. You'll be immediately redirected to your registration page, where you can edit any information about your account that you would like.

9. I have successfully applied for help before and recently had a grant application funded. Today, I tried to place a new application for help, and the system won't let me proceed. What's wrong?

Modest Needs allows one funded application per household per year. If you've already had one grant application funded this year, our system will not allow you to access our Application Wizard until 1 January of the following year.

10. My application recently was completely funded. Why can't I post my testimonial?

Your application is probably still undergoing Administrative Review. In order to post your testimonial, your most recent application must have 'funded' status, which means it has cleared our Administrative Review process.

When it's time to post your application, we'll send you an email to let you know. Until then, there's no need to attempt to post a testimonial.

11. I have successfully logged in to Modest Needs before and have used the website with no problem. Today, when I logged in, I received the message that my account was inactive, and the Modest Needs website won't let me do anything. What's wrong?

After one year of inactivity, Modest Needs automatically deactivates your account. To reactivate your account, just fill out the short form updating your contact information that appears when you try to log in, and we'll automatically reactivate your account for you.

12. I have successfully logged in to Modest Needs before and have used the website with no problem. Today, when I logged in, I received the message that my account was banned, and the Modest Needs website won't let me do anything. What's wrong?

If you receive this message, it means your account has been disabled by a member of Modest Needs' staff. Typically, a user account is disabled because:

  • We have discovered that a registered applicant has violated one or more of Modest Needs' Terms of Service. For example, we might discover that someone has attempted to circumvent the restrictions placed on the number of grants we make to a household (one per year) by creating more than one user account per household;

  • Upon investigation, we have discovered that an applicant provided false or misleading information to us during the application process (for example, we discover that an applicant wrote his or her own employment letter and then listed a friend's cell-phone number as the number of his or her employer); or

  • A registered applicant has repeatedly violated the spirit of Modest Needs by sending pervasively abusive communication to one or more members Modest Needs' staff. We're here to help, but we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to abusive communication at Modest Needs.

Modest Needs does not ban an account indiscriminately, but once we do decide to 'ban' an account, that decision is almost never reversed. However, if you feel that your account has been banned by mistake, you should feel free to contact Technical Support and request that your account be reactivated.

13. I'm trying to upload my documentation to Modest Needs, but I'm getting an error message. What's wrong?

For our security, Modest Needs only accepts scanned documentation in .pdf and .jpg formats. If you try to upload a document that hasn't been saved as either a .pdf or .jpg file, our website will not allow the upload to continue.

Additionally, document uploads larger than 2MB may not be successful. If you have a very large .jpg or .pdf file to upload, you may want to reduce the file size to significantly less than 2MB before attempting to upload the file for review.

14. Some features of the website are not working, or the website layout is weird. What's wrong?

If you experience problems using or viewing the site, first make sure Javascript and cookies are turned on in your browser. If these steps do not correct the problem, the issue is probably that your browser is not compliant with web programming standards.

The Modest Needs website has been fully tested on all major web browsers and computer operating systems. The only issue we're aware of is that people who are using AOL *and* a browser inside an AOL window have trouble connecting to the website.

If you're an AOL customer, you can fix this problem by just installing the browser of your choice to your computer and connecting directly to our website through that browser. We highly recommend Firefox. It's free, fast, reliable, blocks popup ads and makes just about every website look great.

If you've tried the steps above and still have problems, just contact Technical Support and let us know what problem you're having. We'll do our best to help you.

15. My problem persists, or I have a problem not mentioned here. Can I contact someone with tech support questions?

Of course. Please send email to Technical Support or call us at (212) 463-7042, and we'll do our best to help you solve your problem.