Partners with Modest Needs
Here, you'll find the answers to the questions we're asked most frequently about supporting Modest Needs, and a bit more about the unique opportunities for personal involvement in the gifting process that we offer to members of the Modest Needs Community.
If you are a donor from the United States, yes. Modest Needs is a registered 501 (c) (3) (tax exempt) organization, Federal ID #47-0863430. Any contribution that you make to Modest Needs is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
If you are a donor from Canada, you should know that we have applied for our charitable registration from the CRA. If you are a Canadian citizen, contributions that you make to Modest Needs will not be tax-deductible to you until we receive our charitable registration number. We expect for our charitable registration application with the CRA to be approved within the next six months.
However, once we do receive our charitable registration number from the CRA, we will be able to retroactively issue tax receipts for contributions from Canadian citizens, backdated to the date of our application for charitable status with the CRA.
This means that if you are a Canadian citizen, and you contribute to Modest Needs in 2008, you will most likely be able to claim a tax credit for your contribution to Modest Needs on your 2009 tax return.
The fastest, easiest and most secure way to support Modest Needs is to make a monthly pledge/one-time gift using our secure online payment form.
If you'd like to support Modest Needs but would prefer not to make your donation online, we offer several other ways to support Modest Needs. These include making a gift or pledge by check or through your bank's bill payment software, volunteering your skills, even selling on eBay to benefit Modest Needs. And of course, you're welcome to make a gift or pledge by phone by calling (212) 463-7042.
No. Because we know that many persons living in the same household wish to track their charitable contributions separately, you and the persons living in your household may create as many donor registrations as you think are necessary to appropriately track your household's giving.
However, if at all possible, we would ask that you limit the number of donor registrations you create to ONE per household member (we define 'household member' here as 'a person who resides at your physical address.')
Limiting your donor registrations in this way limits both the size of our database and our cost to maintain it. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation in this regard.
Yes. To safeguard your sensitive personal information, our online payment form is secured using the highest level of encryption available and is powered by Bank of America and Authorize.net, the leaders in secure online payments.
Additionally, and as an added layer of security, Modest Needs DOES NOT archive or retain access to your credit / debit card data. Once your contribution is complete, we electronically 'shred' your contribution data such that is it never again accessible to anyone - not even Modest Needs' staff members have access to it.
Additionally, if you make a recurring contribution, your billing information is stored, not at Modest Needs, but at Authorize.net, which is fully licensed, secured and able to store sensitive data such as the data necessary to process you pledge payment.
We take the issue of donor security very seriously at Modest Needs and work diligent to protect the your personal data and financial information.
You do. Each time you make a tax-deductible contribution to Modest Needs, we credit your Modest Needs account with 'points' that you can either allocate to the prequalified applications at Modest Needs that mean the most to you.
These points are our way of giving our donors 'voting power.' Each point that you give to a request for help brings that applicant one step closer to receiving a Modest Needs grant.
Best of all, the second that our donors allocate to an application all of the points necessary for us to authorize a grant, we instantly fund that request for help on behalf of our donors.
In this way, Modest Needs gives our donors the power to participate directly in our grant-making process by determining - simply, quickly, and directly - which requests for help you would most like for us to support.
Modest Needs is the only charity of its kind in the world to allow its donors this level of hands-on participation in our grant-making process.
The point value of an application (the number of points an application needs to be funded by Modest Needs) is equal to the actual amount of assistance requested by the applicant, plus 25% of that amount.
For example, an application for help with a $100.00 expense would need 125 Modest Needs points in order to be fully funded by Modest Needs.
We build this additional 25% into the point value of each application for two purposes. First of all, at this time, 100% of Modest Needs' own costs are being funded in full by foundation / corporate grants made for that purpose. For so long as Modest Needs' own costs continue to be funded in full by such grants, we use this additional 25% to 'jump start' applications that our donors haven't noticed yet, or to 'top off' applications that we believe are critical and which need just a small number of extra points in order to receive a Modest Needs grant.
When / if our operating grants eventually expire, this 25% will help to fund the costs we incur in performing due diligence on the applications for assistance that we receive. By helping us to cover these costs each time you fund an application, you empower Modest Needs to continue to offer all of our services at absolutely NO cost to individuals who need our help the most. Should this become the case, we will publicly announce that fact and update this FAQ page accordingly.
Either way, this use of our point system turns every contribution you make to Modest Needs into two gifts. Each time you contribute, you're either helping us to fund not just one, but TWO applications; or, in addition to funding a request for help, you're giving the gift of Modest Needs itself by keeping our services absolutely free and available to all who need them.
Almost instantly. As soon as our donors invest all of the points that one of our pre-qualified applications needs in order for us to approve a grant, Modest Needs instantly updates that application's status to 'funded' and places the check necessary to fund that grant request in the very same day's mail.
Absolutely! In fact, many donors tell us that the most rewarding part of contributing to Modest Needs is reading the 'testimonials' of the persons their contributions have enabled us to reach.
To receive testimonials from the persons in whose applications you've invested by email, just login to Modest Needs, click the 'registration' link at the top of the page, select 'Yes' in the option next to 'receive testimonials by email,' and then click 'update.'
From that point forward, you'll receive testimonials from the persons in whose grant applications you've invested your Modest Needs points as soon as they post to our system.
You can also browse all of the testimonials that we receive from our funded applicants by clicking the 'Testimonials' link in our top menu, above.
Points you invest in applications that we cannot fund are administratively credited back to your account as soon as that application expires.
This way, in the event that you invest some of your points in an application that expires before Modest Needs is able to fund it, these points remain available to you to invest in other pre-qualified applications for assistance.
Yes. If you'd like to have Modest Needs invest some of your points for you on a daily basis, just change your settings on your Personal Page by clicking "Update my Profile."
Clicking 'Update My Profile' will take you to your registration page. On that page, scroll down to the section called "Point Allocation Options" and select "I would prefer for Modest Needs to allocate my points according to the preferences I set below."
Once you make this selection, you'll be able to select the grant types and causes most important to you. Then, every evening, Modest Needs will automatically allocate some of your points to applications that meet the criteria you've selected. You'll be able to see exactly how your points have been invested on your behalf via the Contribution Details section of your personal page.
Additionally, if you elect to receive testimonials by email, each time a grant application in which you've invested is fully funded by our donors, you'll receive the personal 'Thank you' note left by the individual or non-profit organization you made it possible for us to assist.
You can change your point allocation preferences at any time - or elect to allocate your own points with no help from Modest Needs at all - any time you like simply by following the directions above.
One of Modest Needs' most important policies is that of complete operational transparency.
To see a general accounting of Modest Needs' financial activity for the current year, simply visit our financials page. You can also see more detailed information about our expenses (including a list of the applications we've funded from inception to present) on our ledger.
For information on Modest Needs' past years' financial activities, we invite you to review our online Annual Reports, available from 2005 to present. Our online annual reports contain a summary of each year's achievements and access to our Form 990, Independent Auditor's Report, and 501 c 3 determination letter.
In addition, you can view Modest Needs' profiles at Guidestar.Org, Network For Good, and the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, which has awarded Modest Needs the very highest rating it is possible for a charity to receive.
If you have other questions about our use of your donations that are not answered by any of these sources, please contact us, and we'll respond to your question as quickly as possible.
For more information about our grant-making process (and the role you play in that process as a donor), please explore our FAQ page for Applicants and our FAQ page for Non-Profit Organizations.
These sections of our website contain comprehensive information about Modest Needs' grant making process and eligibility requirements, both for individual applicants and for non-profit organizations.
At Modest Needs, we take very seriously the responsibility of using your gifts wisely.
The most important steps we take in this regard are a) we perform extensive due-diligence on each application we receive and b) we do not ever send cash directly to applicants.
Rather, when our donors authorize Modest Needs to fund a request for help, we pay the bill with which the applicant has requested help directly on that person's behalf. For this reason, we always know exactly how your contributions have been used.
But we do much more than this to safeguard our donors' contributions. To learn more about the steps we take to make sure your contributions get to the people who need legitimately need your help the most, please read our Donor Security FAQ.
Yes. If you like, you can use the points in your Modest Needs account to create gift certificates you can send to friends and family.
A Modest Needs gift certificate is more than just a thoughtful gesture. It actually gives your recipient the ability to instantly change life.
You can create a beautifully customized Modest Needs gift certificate from the points in your Modest Needs account in two minutes or less.
You can also choose to have your gift certificate instantly delivered via email or, if you prefer, you can print and send the gift certificate to your recipient yourself.
To learn more or to create a gift certificate, just follow this link.
Yes. To make a gift or pledge via your checking account using your bank's bill payment software, just input the amount of your one time gift or recurring pledge using the following payee information:
Payee Name: Modest Needs Foundation
Payee Address: 115 E 30th St, FL 1, New York, NY 10016
Contact Number: 1.212.463.7042.
That's all there is to it. Once - or once monthly - your bank will automatically send a check in the amount you specify to Modest Needs.
If you need further help with this process, just contact us or give us a call at (212) 463-7042, and we'll be happy to help you in any way that we can.
Yes. If your employer offers a matching gift incentive, then all you have to do is send your gift, along with your employer's matching gift form, to:
Modest Needs Foundation
115 E 30th St, FL 1
New York, NY 10016
Immediately upon receipt, we'll fill out the matching gift form and return it, plus any necessary documentation, to your employer.
You may need Modest Needs Foundation's Federal Tax ID number to expedite this process. Modest Needs' Federal Tax ID Number is 47-0863430.
Yes. If you're considering making a gift of stock, then you probably are aware of the significant tax benefits available to those persons who make gifts of appreciated stock to charity. Such gifts can tremendously reduce your tax liability while assisting a large number of persons who have requested help from Modest Needs. We're very happy to be able to accept gifts of this type.
Modest Needs maintains a brokerage account for the sole purpose of receiving gifts of appreciated stock. If you'd like to make a gift of stock in any amount, please call (212) 463-7042 or contact us by e-mail. We'll give you all the information you need to initiate the stock transfer.
Not at this time. Modest Needs simply does not have the staff or space available to receive, catalogue, and responsibly distribute tangible items.
There are, however, several terrific organizations with the space, funding and personnel necessary to distribute goods to persons who need them the most. If you'd like to make a donation of this type, please consider either GoodWill or The Salvation Army.
To increase or decrease a pledge, or to change your payment information, just use our online donation form to create the new pledge of your choice and / or update your payment information.
When you're finished, click 'submit' and then follow the directions in the pop-up window that will appear. It couldn't be simpler!
If you need to cancel a pledge, please call Modest Needs at (212) 463-7042. We'll help you to cancel your pledge immediately.
You can see a complete record of the donations you have made to Modest Needs by logging in to our website and visiting your personal page.
You can see a complete, itemized record of every contribution you've made to Modest Needs since 2004 and a list of all applications in which you've invested your Modest Needs points by clicking the 'Contribution Details' link on that page.
Please note that if you make a donation using our secure online payment form, that gift is recorded instantly.
If you donate by phone or by mail, your donation is recorded as soon as we receive it.
We certainly respect your desire to give anonymously. To elect this option, from your personal page, click 'Edit My Info' and then de-select the option 'make contributions visible' (this option is selected by default). At that point, your donations will be visible on your personal page, but you will be listed as 'Anonymous' on the Modest Needs Community Roster.
Yes. At Modest Needs, donors who are also registered users of Modest Needs receive an e-mail thanking them for their gifts as their gifts are entered into our database. These emails are themselves acceptable as receipts for tax purposes.
Additionally, in the second week of January of each year, we send year-end gift statements (which also can be used as receipts for tax purposes) to all persons whose gifts total more than $200 for the year, as well as to any person who requests a formal record of their donations to Modest Needs.
Certainly. Please contact us either by telephone or email, and we'll do our best to answer your question as quickly as possible.
