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HomeTech/ScienceHelp Others (or Get Help) Through Innovative Grassroots Website - Modestneeds.org

Help Others (or Get Help) Through Innovative Grassroots Website – Modestneeds.org

Recently, I have taken some heat from readers for speaking out against certain “awareness campaigns.”  One reader responded  awareness campaigns are good fund raisers for good organizations, and that I should not be so critical of the campaigns, but crtic how the organizations spend their money.  I recently learned of a website that allows donors to directly help people in need with very minimal organizational costs.  I thought I would share that with my readers.

Modestneeds.org is a website dedicated to preventing poverty before it happens. Keith Taylor, the websites founder, says the goal is to help people with short term needs, so that these short term problems do not snowball into bigger problems.

For example, an applicant from Ripley, TN posted this modest need $1,045 for an EMS bill:

“I just graduated high school in May of this year. I took a job with the job corps for the summer. I have not been able to get another job since then. I had to receive emergency medical attention back in June, after becoming dehydrated on an outing in the woods. I still owe this bill and would like for it not to give me a bad credit rating starting my future. My father and grandmother are both laid off from work and cannot assist me.”

Each applicant has a profile, where you can learn more about the person’s financial background, such as the number of family members in the home, whether their income is below the poverty line, if they have used the website before, or if they have received any federal/state assistance in the past 30 days.

All applicants must be employed (although there is a section for “bridge grants” for the recently unemployed). The needs must be of a “small, emergency expense”, such as a medical bill, water heater replacement, or emergency car repair.  Modestneeds “has performed extensive due diligence” on each application to mitigate the risk of any fraudulent claims. The applicants go through a background check and must submit documentation that shows they are employed, as well as copies of the related bills.

If the applicant meets all the qualifications, the applicant’s story is posted on the website. Visitors to the site can search all the applicants and donate directly to the  person needing help. Once an applicant need is met by user donations (which are tax deductible), modestneeds.org writes a check – not to the applicant, but directly to who the applicant’s debtor. Once funded the applicant can post a thank you note telling the donors what a difference their contributions made.

Modestneeds.org has been featured on the Today Show, CNN, NPR, CBS Early Show, The Oprah Magazine and other news outlets across the world.   Bill Clinton and Bill Gates praised the site during the 2008 Clinton Global Inititive Meeting and teh site has been featured on the Dave Ramsey television show.

During this season of giving during a rough economy, please consider making a direct difference in someones life.  No donation is too small.  Donations are tax deductible, if you are looking for that all important year end tax deduction.

News Videos at  http://www.modestneeds.org/explore/media/

Blayne Clements
Blayne Clements
I am a 30 something graduate from Austin Peay State University, where I graduated in 1997 with two majors (Accounting and Finance). I am a very happily married man, with one beautiful daughter. I enjoy a professional life of public service and a personal life of travel, reading, music, and always trying to learn from others.
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