People donate less during a recession, but some might feel a little more giving if rapper Talib Kweli and the up-and-coming rap group Mojoe were the ones asking for money. At least, that’s what marketing company Platform One and nonprofit organization Working in the Schools are hoping.

Kweli performed a benefit concert on May 2 at the House of Blues,  329 N. Dearborn St., and proceeds from the event went to Working in the Schools. A second performance, at midnight, was added to answer the high demand of tickets from fans.

Kweli selected Mojoe to be his opening band as part of a contest created by Platform One.  Hundreds of bands applied, but in the end, it came down to Mojoe’s San Antonio, Texas, rappers T.R.R.E. and Easy. The two met in high school and spent nights making music and listening to soul, blues and hip-hop staples like Al Green, Muddy Waters and De la Soul together. They became Mojoe in 2001 when they started recording their first album, and now they are opening for Kweli.

“It’s a privilege to work with an artist who put out quality work for so long and whose live show has such a good reputation,” said Easy. “We’re going to learn with him, we’re going to jam, we’re going to have fun.”

Kweli’s performance was part of Platform One’s Dare 2 Dream concert series. The series is meant to spotlight local causes in the community and help out nonprofits with income from ticket sales. Kweli’s performance was the fourth in the series, which also included concerts from Common, Cypress Hill and Kings of Leon.

Working in the Schools promotes literacy among students in Chicago public schools and provides volunteers for one-on-one tutoring. Jenne Myers, Working in the Schools’ executive director, said she had not heard of any of the Dare 2 Dream benefit concerts until she got a call from Platform One telling her that her organization was “on the short list.” She said she jumped at the chance to put her nonprofit in the public eye and be a part of the concert.

“We could be making some dollars; but for us this whole thing—while amazing if we get some money out of it—is more about the exposure,” Myers said.

Platform One and Working in the Schools are looking for more sponsors to cover part of the cost, but they have had trouble because of the economy.

“It’s an unfortunate time to be doing fundraisers in the nonprofit community everywhere, so that has been hard,” Myers said. “So the key here is selling those tickets because people still want the entertainment value, but it’s just those sponsorship dollars are a little harder to get.”

Myers said Working in the Schools is shifting to smaller events like the concert as opposed to bigger fundraisers where they might make as much as $100,000. The organization will do more events, which will only generate about $5,000 or $15,000 each to make up the difference, she said.

Platform One spokesman Luke Tanen said his company has seen an increase in groups asking to participate in Dare 2 Dream, but his company still chooses what issue and which group needs attention. He said Platform One looks for the artist that best fits the issue highlighted, and they have found good artists to partner with so far.

“The artists are really all for the cause,” Tanen said. “They’re willing to do a lot of extra stuff on our behalf to help out the nonprofits; whether it’s donating their artist fee or, in this case, doing meet-and-greets with underprivileged students.”

This is Mojoe’s first benefit concert, but they said that aspect of the performance is very important to them.

“We feel like it’s a responsibility for us to go back,” T.R.R.E. said. “Whatever part we play in the community it’s our responsibility to give back.”