MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — Ralph Bates doesn’t think life is too complicated. He’s never going to make anyone’s list of the richest people in Massachusetts and describes himself as just another guy who made a few bucks with a couple of good investments.

Bates, 81, a lifelong bachelor, read a July 19 Globe North article about River House, the homeless shelter in Beverly that had closed for the spring and summer after it ran out of money. The article described an anonymous donor who had offered a matching grant of $75,000 to the shelter. Bates called the shelter, offered $75,000 to match the grant, and put up another $25,000 toward a new matching grant.