Modest Needs

I was recently introduced to a great website; modestneeds.org. This organization links people who are struggling with various bills to those who are able to help them out. It’s an especially useful resource for many people given the current economic climate.

There are a number of examples of people on the site who’ve been helped with paying phone bills, rent, mortgage payments, hospital expenses and much more. Many of these people are really struggling financially and to have complete strangers pay a bill that is causing them a great deal of stress is a huge relief.

The way it works is, those who need help submit a request for assistance online. Modest Needs then vet the request to make sure it’s legit. Once legitimacy is confirmed, the person’s story is put up on their website for others to start donating to. Donors get to choose who they’re helping by allocating points to whichever applicant they choose (1 point = $1). Once enough points are received, the person’s bill is then paid for.

You’ll see from testimonials on the site that not only does having the bill paid make a huge difference to the recipients financially but often it triggers a pay it forward type mentality where they feel motivated to help others once they are able to. On top of that, those who give get a kick out of knowing who they’ve helped and that they’ve made a real difference in that person’s situation. A win-win if ever I’ve seen one!

We’ve donated money towards the rent bill of a single mum with 2 kids. Her hours were cut back at work making it very hard to keep up with the rent. So far she’s received 28% of the points required to fund her application. If you’d like to help make life a little easier for someone, check out Modest Needs.

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