Modest Needs founder Keith Taylor pleaded guilty on Aug. 18 to taking $2.5 million that was meant for charity, the DOJ announced.
what an absolutely fantastic time to find a random and incredibly vague us government email in my inbox about being a potential victim, scaring the shit out of me, only to learn that the founder of the one usa-only charity i donated to has been embezzling funds since 2015 and plead guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion.
i don't think i donated more than $30 after 2010, due to me wanting to focus more on canadian and international charities, but holy shit. i should have realized something was up when his newsletters changed from genuinely moving anecdotes about people that have been helped by his charity and his own feelings about charity to just a list of people you can donate to. i thought it was because the organization was expanding and he had less time to do this stuff but yeesh. glad i got so annoyed by those emails and stopped donating.
i'm not going to give the us government any of my information over this case, but cheers to modest needs! which is no longer modest or helps anyone in need!
âIâd probably just spend it on something stupid Iâd never use. And they need it more than I do.â
Beth said that when she was 8 (see this post) to explain why she wanted to make microloans through Kiva. With repayments and interest, her donations have more than doubled in value for repeated re-loaning.Â
Bethâs quote is almost always true. So, finally, last night, we got around to what might be the most important act of our holiday season: giving to nonprofits. Sure, we are giving presents to each other, but whatever our complaints in life, we know there are millions of people around the world whose basic needs are not met.
For a local focus, we chose nearby community organizations that operate food pantries and winter heating assistance programs. Itâs important to remember that people living in our own area face insecurity with food and other needs.Â
For a global focus, we had the kids look through the World Vision Gift Catalog. Beth, age 10, filled a notebook page with items that caught her attention, and then with Luke, age 14, narrowed it down to a few items that would fit our donation budget. There are plenty of small items on there, like mosquito nets for a family ($21+) or their 5x multiplied medicines ($25+). Â
I have worked in the nonprofit world for years, so I know the listed dollar amounts and items are all about money pools and averages. This is especially true for a global nonprofit where costs and needs fluctuate wildly from one country to the next. In the case of âmultipliedâ medicines and other goods, nonprofits also leverage corporate donations that might already have been given even if you didnât donate. And individual stories profiled by nonprofits are often heavily edited, and may actually be fictional composites assembled from real people in similar situations. However, even with all this marketing spin, reputable nonprofits still do good things with your donations, though it might not be precisely the good things you clicked on when you made your donation.
I have previously mentioned World Vision, Kiva, Modest Needs, and Trees for the Future, and to this I would add Covenant House, which provides housing and support services to homeless youth. But you donât have to support these specific nonprofits. If you choose to donate somewhere, check out nonprofit ratings on sites like Charity Navigator and GuideStar. And if you donât have money, consider time. Many nonprofits have volunteer opportunities.
There is no end to the good works to be done in the world. Go find some and support it!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and whatever floats your boat this season.
I'd probably just spend it on something stupid I'd never use. And they need it more than I do.
Beth, age 8, explaining why she decided to give away all of her money.
For over a year, sheâs been saving money from chores, birthdays, and holidays. She recently realized she had over $100 and could not think of anything she really wanted to buy herself. So, through my accounts, she made four $25 microloans via Kiva.org (all to women needing business loans, if youâre curious) and also donated farm animals through World Vision.  I am super proud of her. I was never that generous as a kid. Or as an adult, for that matter.
So, itâs worth asking: do microloans work, or did my daughter just throw away her money? Â
In 2014, Hugh Sinclair had a harsh and widely-reported teardown of Kiva and decided âKiva is a scam, and if we are to contribute to the welfare of the poor and restore any faith in the integrity of the U.S. financial sector, such players should be regulated immediately.â  Kiva responded with a teardown of Sinclairâs teardown, noting, âWe know that poverty is multidimensional, that microcredit is just one tool, and that it is far from being perfected.âÂ
Kiva is hardly the only microfinance crowdfunder.  When NPR tackled the question âCan microloans lift women out of poverty?â in 2016, they concluded, âif microloans haven't proved themselves the poor's salvation, neither should the industry be scorned as useless.â  Simone Schaner, an economist at Dartmouth University, was quoted with probably the most salient point of all: "Microfinance is a victim of an unfortunate tendency in development, which is that everybody wants to find a silver bullet to solve poverty. And the fact is that poverty is this massive, incredibly difficult problem. There is no silver bullet."
If youâre at all curious about Kiva and microfinance, I recommend that you read the links above and understand the goals, limits, risks, and benefits involved. The whole business is not as clear-cut as Kivaâs marketing would suggest. Â Itâs not like sponsoring a child through World Vision (which we also do) where thereâs a more direct connection (though that is not always what it seems). But itâs also not scammy and useless, as Sinclair would lead you to believe. Â My own decade-plus experience with the international nonprofit world leads me to believe that Schanerâs point is the most accurate: microfinance is a tool, and can be useful, but itâs no silver bullet.Â
My daughter is already planning on saving up for her next donation. There is no end of need in the world, so in the interests of broadening her horizons, we agreed that weâd look at other charities too. Â For example, Modest Needs crowdfunds money for Americans facing temporary financial needs. And there are several local charities -- homeless shelters, food pantries, veteranâs groups, etc. -- that are worthwhile. Â Bottom line: trust but verify; investigate with open eyes, mind, and heart; do good when you can.
The truth is, Iâve got my own financial needs and could easily spin a sob story about it. Maybe Iâll start a charity and convince Beth to donate to me it. I think the name âHuman Fundâ is taken already, so perhaps âParents for Youth Investmentâ or something. Â Any suggestions?
The charity was called Modest Needs but federal prosecutors who filed charges against its founder say his werenât.
NEW YORK (AP) â The charity was called Modest Needs but federal prosecutors who filed charges against its founder say his werenât.
Rather, prosecutors in the U.S. attorneyâs office in Manhattan say, Modest Needs founder Keith Taylor had such expensive tastes that he embezzled more than $2.5 million from the charity between 2016 and May 2024 and spent it on meals at some of New York Cityâs priciest restaurants as well as cosmetic surgery and a luxury apartment.
Taylor, 56, was accused in a federal complaint unsealed Tuesday with embezzling funds intended to serve Modest Needsâ mission of helping the needy, evading more than $1 million in taxes and creating a fake board of directors who supposedly had approved his personal expenses.
âAs alleged, Keith Taylor falsely claimed that donations to his charity would help working families with unexpected expenses that put them at risk of homelessness,â U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a news release. âInstead, Taylor allegedly took those donations to pay for his meals at upscale restaurants, rent for a luxury apartment in a Manhattan skyscraper, and even cosmetic surgery.â
Williams said Taylor âunconscionably took money from the pockets of those most in need, and he is now facing federal charges for his alleged crimes.â
Taylorâs attorney, Brian Ketcham, said his client âdenies the charges and looks forward to clearing his name.â
Taylor founded Modest Needs in 2002 to help low-income families and individuals pay for expenses like medical bills or broken appliances.Â
The charity, which used crowdfunding to recruit donors, won praise for its small-scale philanthropy.
âModest Needs is one of a new crop of Web not-for-profits that put a face on charity and give donors the sense that theyâre fixing problems directly,â Forbes reported in 2008.
But federal prosecutors say that Taylor stole more than $2.5 million from Modest Needs and its donors and used the money on his own expenses such as $300,000 for his own rent on the 30th floor of a Manhattan high-rise and $320,000 on expensive restaurants including Per Se, Jean-Georges, Masa and Marea.
The menu at Marea lists a dry-aged ribeye at $240, and Per Seâs nine-course tasting menu is $390.
According to the complaint, Taylor tried to hide his embezzlement by falsely listing acquaintances as members of the charityâs board of directors and claiming that the board had approved his expenses.
The purported board members included a bartender at Jean-Georges, a friend and the friendâs house cleaner, none of whom knew that they had been listed on the charityâs website as board members, prosecutors said.
Additionally, prosecutors said, Taylor did not file personal income tax returns or pay income taxes on the money he had received from the charity for at least the calendars years of 2017 through 2022.
Taylor is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He appeared in court Tuesday and was released on bond.
It was unclear whether Modest Needs was still operating Wednesday. An email sent through its website seeking comment was not returned.
A lot of people are posting some great links to petitions, organizations, and fund raisers, helping BLM and other great organizations. I thought Iâd post some links to some other great causes.
Code cooperative
The Code Cooperative is a community of people who learn, use, and build technology to create life changing possibilities for individuals and communities impacted by incarceration.
âShow TheThinkingAtheist, Ep Vulgarity For Charity: Let's Do Some Good (for goodness' sake) - Nov 25, 2019
Please share this information I know so many people on Tumblr reach out for help for these sort of things.
This charity does great great work for those who need a little help to keep from drowning by a financial situation snowballing.
If you need any amount of cash for medical help or rent or food or emergency bill.. Please check this podcast out they will explain it best. And then go to Modest Needs web page.
If you need some help this place will and does help so many people.
The holidays are coming, and so is charity season! Instead of dropping your change in the Salvation Army bucket, please consider donating to Modest Needs. In their own words, "Modest Needs is a tax-exempt charity where you can make small, emergency grants to low-income workers who're at risk of slipping into poverty and for whom no other source of immediate help is available."
Basically, they help people who just need a little help with their bills, and don't qualify for other forms of assistance. You can choose specific grants to donate to, or you can just donate and let Modest Needs allocate your donation. Either way, they're a fantastic charity and do a lot of good work.
