The Many Different Types of Needs

As you may already know, the way that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs works is that until our most basic-level needs are met, we don’t usually seek to meet higher level needs.

In this hierarchy, the two most basic-level needs are: survival first, followed next by safety. 

Once those needs are met, we then seek out the next more-interpersonal level, which is that of: belonging. 

Following the fulfillment of those first three need states is the desire for: respect and self-esteem. Beyond that is the highest needs level, which is: achievement, otherwise known as, self-actualization.

At first glance, one might assume that charities and non-profit organizations typically exist to assist in helping people with the most basic needs of survival and safety. However, that assumption would not exactly be accurate. 

There are “need-to-haves” and “want-to-haves” at all five of these needs levels. Our financial budgets often determine how much we can afford to spend. And, budgets are limited. The reality is that within our individual budgets, some of us are able to afford some or even many of our wants, while others of us can barely afford our needs. Needs can exist on all five levels of this hierarchy. Thus needs come in many shapes, forms, and sizes.

What is the Best Way To Categorize Needs?

Many non-profits or charitable organizations are known foremost for providing basic survival- and safety-level needs. For example, these organizations include: shelters, soup kitchens and food banks, and also groups such as: Red Cross, Charity Water, InvisiblePeople, or Covenant House, just to name a few.

But there are many other ways to categorize these organizations and the services they provide, too.

• Charity Navigator,a watchdog group which essentially oversees U.S. charities by evaluating their “financial health and accountability and transparency”, segments its charities by population-served, namely: Animals; Arts,Culture, Humanities; Education; Enviornment; Health; International; Public Benefit; and Religion.
• DonorsChoose.org, with a 4-out-of-4 rating by Charity Navigator, is an education charity, which categorizes its projects by any combination of: Subject; Donation Status; Resources Requested (Supplies, Technology, Books, Trips & Visitors); Age; Teacher Type; and School Type. Additionally, you can filter projects there as: Most Urgent (Highest Poverty + Closest to Finish Line); Lowest Cost; Highest Poverty; Fewest Days Left; or Most Donors. You can also search or filter by keyword or zipcode.

Overall, there really is no singular “best” way to categorize needs types, needs areas, or needs levels. Needs, just like people, come in as many shapes, colors and sizes as you can imagine. As I wrote about before, who are we to judge other people’s needs?

So, Which Needs Are Most Important?

For example, let’s look at the variety of education needs that come to mind for me. There is the need for:

• Basic school supplies: from cleaning supplies, tissues, wipes,pens, pencils, paper, notebooks, tables, chairs, to printer toner.
• Different student population needs: from gifted-and-talented, remedial needs to special needs, learning style differences, and behaviorally-, physically-, mentally-, emotionally-challenged groups.
• Core subject-matter needs vary by subject: math, reading, writing, speaking, communication,history, language, etc.
• Non-core subject-matter needs, be it arts, sciences, health, sports, social skills, social sciences, government, law, etc.
• Technology needs vary: ranging from the need for printers and copiers, to tablets or ipads; whether used for: training, researching; communicating; learning job skills; life skills like online banking; test taking skills, and accessibility to stay competitive with peers. (As we know, there are quite some disparities in our school system.)
• “Need-to-Have” vs “Nice-to-Have” needs: this can be a very subjective classification as one person’s “need-to-haves” can easily be another person’s “nice-to-have” and vice-versa.
• Convenience: sometimes there are benefits to being able to achieve a result better, easier, more effectively, or more efficiently. Is that a need or a want?
• Life-skills or Personal Development skills: some important lifeskills aren’t part of everyday school curriculum but are just as important to have the opportunity to learn, such as: emotional intelligence, nutrition, health, cooking,fitness,goal setting, social skills, and financial management.
• Over-and-Above Basic Needs: funding generally stops at basic needs, but what if a school needs a playground, ball fields,after-care programs, field trips, or community centers? aren’t those highly socially beneficial needs, too?

The best thing about charities, non-profits, or crowd-funding groups like DonorsChoose.org is that donors can choose to fund or not fund whichever projects that feel are the most worthy, helpful, or necessary based on their own perception of need.

What type of projects or needs do you feel are most important to be met first? second? or at all?