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Think of this FAQ sheet as a general introduction to the work we do at Modest Needs. On it, you'll find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Modest Needs' mission, history, and structure.
Modest Needs is a charitable organization reaching out to the people who conventional philanthropy has forgotten: hard working individuals and families who suddenly find themselves faced with a small, unexpected expense that threatens their ability to remain self-sufficient - the unexpected car repair, the unanticipated visit to the doctor, the unusually large winter heating bill.
At Modest Needs, compassionate persons whose lives have been touched by kindness pass that kindness on to individuals and families struggling to remain self-sufficient despite a temporary financial setback. We do this because we've all been there, and we all believe that no hard-working person should ever be forced to choose, for example, between seeing a doctor and putting food on the table.
Modest Needs is proud to be the one and only licensed charity in North America serving otherwise self-sufficient individuals and families who find themselves in temporary financial distress. Our work has been featured on NBC's Today Show, CNN, CBS' Early Show, NPR's Morning Edition, in People Magazine, USA Today, and in countless other media outlets across the globe.
If you'd like, you can view some of our favorite media clips right now by exploring our online Press Kit. You can also view our Mission Statement.
Yes. Modest Needs is a designated 501(c)(3) (tax-exempt) organization. We are duly registered as a charitable organization with the Internal Revenue Service, the Tennessee Secretary of State's Office of Charitable Solicitations, the New York State Charities Bureau, and with such organizations as Guidestar.Org and Network For Good.
Modest Needs originally launched as the personal project of Dr. Keith Taylor, its founder, on 21 March 2002. Modest Needs Foundation incorporated and received its tax-exempt status on 1 May 2002 and has been in continuous operation as a charitable organization since that time.
Like virtually all non-profit organizations, Modest Needs is governed by a board of directors. The three persons on the board provide governance and oversight to Modest Needs in their areas of expertise but with an eye towards keeping Modest Needs' fundamental operating principles intact, even as Modest Needs grows.
You can learn about Modest Needs' board members and other key members of Modest Needs' staff by reading our staff bios.
Modest Needs Foundation differs from most conventional charitable organizations in several significant ways. For example:
At Modest Needs, we focus on prevention by making grants designed to STOP the cycle of poverty BEFORE it starts. Conventional charitable and social programs play a critical role in the lives of those who simply cannot support themselves. But generally, individuals and families generally have to lose everything - including any hope of future self-sufficiency- before they qualify for assistance from these types of programs.
At Modest Needs, we think it makes more sense to assist hard-working individuals and families at the OUTSET of a financial crisis, when a small amount of well-timed assistance has the power to keep our applicants from entering the cycle of poverty altogether.
In this way, we not only promote the financial self-sufficiency of our applicants, we free up the critical tax dollars that otherwise would go to support these individuals and families, were we simply to take no action and allow the cycle of poverty to run its course.
Modest Needs' donors have a real and tangible voice in how our funding - their funding - actually is allocated. In most cases, when a donor gives to a conventional charitable organization, they have minimal control - or no control at all - over how that gift actually is used. They have even fewer opportunities actually to participate in a charitable organization's funding and evaluation process.
At Modest Needs, we want our donors to become active participants in the work they're supporting. To that end, we give our donors the opportunity to read and evaluate (in an anonymous format) each application for assistance posted to the Modest Needs ledger. The rating that each application receives from our donors determines its place in our funding queue, and with few exceptions, we follow the guidance of our donors by giving priority to the applications for assistance that our donors tell us they most would like to see funded.
Modest Needs is proud to be the ONLY organization of its type to give its donors this unprecedented opportunity for personal involvement in the grant-making process.
As part of our commitment to financial responsibility, Modest Needs spends no money - not ONE donor dollar - hiring professional fundraisers. We fundraise simply by making it possible for concerned members of the public to support this work if they wish to do so, and then we move to assist as many individuals/families as we can with the funding our friends and partners are kind enough to make available.
The fundraising costs that we report are the estimated percentage of our shared resources consumed by fundraising activities. We report these for the sake of transparency.
Modest Needs has a proud history of financial responsibility. Historically, and even as we've grown, we've been able to allocate more than 85% of our available funding to our only program - providing emergency financial assistance to the individuals and families who request help from Modest Needs.
You can see our running profit and loss statement for the current year by visiting our financials page and you can view all of our current applications, as well as a comprehensive list of applications that have received funding from Modest Needs' inception to present, by visiting our ledger.
At Modest Needs, we take very seriously the responsibility of using our donors' gifts wisely. To learn more about the steps we take to ensure that the applications we make available for donor review and adoption have been made in good faith, please visit our Security FAQ.
| Icon | Meaning |
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Pending : The request currently is under review. |
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Funded : Modest Needs’ donors have funded this application, and we currently are processing payment. |
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Closed : The request was reviewed and closed because it did not fall within our funding guidelines. |
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Unfunded : The request could not be funded due to lack of funds. |
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Adopted : A Modest Needs member has decided to personally fund this request. |
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Prequalified : The authenticity of this request has been verified by Modest Needs. |
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Withdrawn : The funding offered for that request has been pulled due to insufficient documentation. |
If you couldn't find the answer you were looking for on this or Modest Needs' other FAQ sheets, we'll be happy to help. All of Modest Needs' staff e-mail addresses, our physical mailing address, and our telephone number can be found on the Modest Needs Contact Information page.
If you write or call us with a question not answered here, we'll do our best to answer it for you as quickly as possible.
