Man promotes foundation that gave him a helping hand

By DAN KEGLEY/Staff

Eligibility for virtually all financial assistance from human service agencies is income-based. Aid generally is aimed at those living on incomes below some threshold that sifts out those who make too much money to receive help.
According to Ron West, he was one of those people.
He had a good job, one he took 30 years ago after moving with his then-wife to Marion from New York so they could be nearer her family, he said. But his sudden development of two serious health issues last year landed him on Social Security, and suddenly the professional single father with one dependent in the home was unable to pay all of his bills.
He looked locally to social services and other aid sources, but his income level was higher than their threshold and disqualified him from receiving help.
His search for assistance then took him to the state level where an advocacy organization returned to him “a packet designed for this area,” he said, with references to Smyth County Department of Social Services, Mountain Community Action Program, and others.
And then it said, according to West, when all else fails, try the Modest Needs Foundation.
He had never heard of the philanthropic organization, based in New York.
The foundation traces its start to 2002 as the idea of an alumnus and later professor at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, some 30 miles southeast of Nashville. Dr. Keith Taylor, who himself had seen a financial shortfall or two, began setting aside $350 a month to help others.
Soon, Taylor established a Web site where like-minded people could donate what they could afford. That effort took off, and Taylor set up the foundation and serves as its CEO. Its costs for operations plus some comes from grants from larger philanthropies. In fact, Taylor has said, for every $1 contributed, $1.08 goes out in the form of one-time grants to people in emergencies.
MNF’s goal, according to its Web site, http://www.modestneeds.org, is to prevent people above poverty from slipping into “the poverty cycle” with a well-timed helping hand in a financial emergency.
“Founded in 2002, Modest Needs is an award-winning public charity with a simple but critical mission: we work to stop the cycle of poverty BEFORE it starts for the low-income workers whom conventional philanthropy has forgotten, the foundation said on its website. “Because Modest Needs has earned the highest possible charity ratings from both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, you can give with confidence, knowing that we won’t abuse your kindness. But more importantly, together, we can make sure that no hard-working person is ever forced to choose between taking a child to the doctor and putting food on the table.”
MNF offers four kinds of grants. Through Self-Sufficiency Grants MNF pays a creditor “for an expense on behalf of an otherwise self-sufficient individual or family for a relatively small, emergency expense which the individual or family could not have anticipated or prepared for,” its Web site said. “For example, we might make a Self-Sufficiency Grant to cover the cost of an emergency auto repair that must be made if an individual is to continue working.”
Back-to-Work grants pay “for a small work-related fee or expense on behalf of a temporarily unemployed individual…to provide a willing but temporarily unemployed individual with the means to return to work. For example, we might make a Back to Work grant to cover the cost of a professional license renewal for a temporarily displaced worker.”
Independent Living Grants pay for an expense for persons permanently disabled but “living independently on the limited income to which they are entitled - their retirement income, or their permanent disability income, for example,” the Web site said. “In making an Independent Living Grant, our goal is to empower financially responsible persons who cannot work to continue to live independently on their limited incomes, despite an unexpected expense which no conventional agency is prepared to address. For example, we might make an Independent Living Grant to cover the cost of maintenance on a piece of accessibility equipment not covered by Medicaid, to cover an unexpectedly large prescription medication co-pay, or to assist with a large summer cooling bill.”
The maximum payment for those three programs is $1,000 or 7.5% of the applicant’s household’s “verifiable annual income, whichever is greater,” the Web site said.
Non-Profit Grants, up to $5,000, “demonstrably strengthen that organization’s ability to serve its clients and community” by providing “a forum whereby small non-profit organizations can apply directly to members of the public for the assistance they need to complete the small projects that will allow these organizations to more effectively carry out their missions, but which most larger grant makers would not generally consider a funding priority. For example, we might make a Non-Profit Grant to cover the cost of a handful of new beds for a small but expanding women’s shelter or to assist with the creation of a basic website for a small non-profit with no ability to communicate directly with its own constituents.”
A fifth category, for Random Acts of Kindness Grants of up to $10,000, is available in the Los Angeles area.
When West learned about the foundation, he applied for $680 to be paid Appalachian Power Co., when his Socials Security and disability income proved insufficient.
Responding to his application, MNF said, “This applicant lives above [emphasis theirs] the poverty line and probably won’t qualify for other types of help.”
That application, like all those received and approved by MNF, was posted on its Web site where it was visible to donors who could direct contributions to it until it was fulfilled. Posted in November, it had earned a smiley face and “funded” status, and this message, “On 2009-12-30, Modest Needs sent payment in the amount requested by the applicant to Appalachian Power on behalf of this deserving individual.”
A Better Business Bureau report for MFN meets its 20 standards for charity accountability. BBB said MNF’s expenses break down to 92 percent for programs, 5 percent for and 3 percent for Administrative costs.
According to the foundation’s 2009 Internal Revenue Form 990, required to be filed by tax exempt organizations, MNF’s 2008 receipts totaled just under $2.7 million, while grants awarded reached almost $1.5 million.
All of that is beside the point for West, now a self-appointed ambassador for MNF.
“It worked for me,” he said. “It can work for others.”
Others who qualify, that is. A woman applied for $350 to make payment on her car that took her child to school and her to work. “That’s the kind of request that gets funding,” Taylor told USA Today. Another wanted $50,000 to pay off credit card bills. “That’s not happening.”
The foundation welcomes donations of all amounts, but is designed to encourage small contributions from a large number of people.
West invites inquiries about his experience with Modest Needs Foundation at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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