Step 1: Locate EITHER your most recently filed tax return OR the most recent bank statement you've received for all of the adults living in your household.
During the application process, we'll need to ask you some questions about your income to make sure you qualify for a Modest Needs grant. To answer these questions accurately, you'll need to have either your most recently filed tax return or the most recent bank statement you've received for all of the adults living in your household.
Because a mistake in the 'income' section of the application could result in our telling you that you're not eligible to apply for assistance when that really isn't the case, we would strongly urge you to have these documents in front of you while you're completing the application.
Step 2: Set aside between 30 and 45 minutes to complete our grant application.
Most people can complete Modest Needs' grant application in between 30 and 45 minutes depending on how quickly you can write. We know from experience that our best applications come from people who set aside this time in advance and complete the application in one sitting, so if you can, make sure you have time to complete the whole grant application at once before you start.
VERY IMPORTANT: In the final section of our grant application, you'll need to answer some questions about the crisis your household is facing and why you're requesting assistance from Modest Needs.
Don't skimp on these! We'll hold in confidence anything you tell us you'd prefer not to share publicly, but the more information you give us, the more likely it is that we'll be able to help you.
Step 3: Most importantly, while completing our application, please be honest.
Modest Needs is not funded by the government or gigantic foundations. It's funded almost entirely by people just like you, many of whom at one point applied for (and received) help from Modest Needs.
The people funding Modest Needs are not wealthy. They're caring, and in most cases, they're making a sacrifice to help people in situations they understand from experience.
For this reason above all, we want to make certain that our donors' limited but extremely generous funding gets to the people who really need our help the most. So, as part of our application process, we'll ask you to document what you've told us about your identity, employment, income, and of course, the expense you need our donors' help to afford.
Now, ready to Get Started?
Great! To get started on or continue your application, click the button below to be redirected to our Application Wizard.
If you have trouble completing the application or don't understand one of the questions we've asked, we're here to help. And if you have questions about the application process itself, please feel free to Contact Us for assistance. We'll do our best to help you.
