In the world of business, cash is king. People get sick of the same, tired story of companies ignoring or outright opposing the common good when it means growth and returns for their investors. That’s why sometimes it’s nice to hear stories about the friendly side of capitalism, where the usual exchange of goods and services for money does not exist for its own sake but to give work and resources to those in need.
One internationally-recognized example of this is Goodwill. It’s literally in the name. As of 2024, the nonprofit thrift store had locations to be found in 16 countries. Despite sharing the same logo with half of a smiley face as the first letter of their name, Goodwill is not necessarily one large organization, but actually 183 independently-based organizations spread throughout those 16 countries, each one managing a different area. For example, Tucson Goodwills are managed by Goodwill Southern Arizona.
It’s a good business model: people donate items that they no longer need and Goodwill will sell them to create jobs and invest in communities. As with all thrift stores, it also gives a chance to be useful to items that would otherwise be destined for a landfill or the stomach of a moth. Goodwill does genuinely good work, most of which is related to job training for youth, seniors and the disabled.
However, the company does not always have a squeaky clean record of putting the people it is supposed to serve first. Years ago, it was discovered that some disabled workers in Pennsylvania were making as little as 22 cents per hour thanks to a legal loophole, all while executives make six figure salaries. These locations displayed a clear hypocrisy when they abused the labor and the circumstances of the very people that they claim to be serving.
Besides the issue of pay ethics, Goodwill has also been found to have most likely illegally exported electronic waste to east Asian countries. To top it all off, Goodwill has pushed for legislation in California that would push down other nonprofit organizations, such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education America and Planet Aid, and make it more difficult for them to collect clothing donations while the ever-present Goodwill remained a well-known and easily-accessible destination for them. Taking the easy route to dispose of waste and using political lobbyists to corner the market are two textbook acts of corporate greed, yet this behavior by these Goodwills seem to see hiring disabled workers as cheap, exploitable labor instead of a chance to do a societal good by providing them fair pay for fair work.
Goodwill may not answer to stockholders, nor do they have to deliver growth every quarter but for a nonprofit, they sure do seem to care an awful lot about their bottom line. They aren’t alone either. The Wounded Warrior Project was accused of spending millions of dollars intended for wounded veterans on parties and dinners. Kids Wish Network has a goal similar to that of the well-respected Make-A-Wish, yet in the past, they spent less than 3% of their donations on that goal.
As mentioned previously, Goodwill is not a single entity but an organization run by regional branches. Some of these branches are true to the cause that Goodwill proudly states they support. Likewise, there are numerous other fantastic nonprofits around the world that do not abuse their donations for personal enjoyment or gain. However, those who do reflect badly on nonprofits as a whole and make people think twice before doing business or donating money to them.
Clearly, some of these organizations need to rethink what is important to them. Is philanthropy just a clever way to make profit off of sob stories and heartfelt causes or is it a chance to honestly say that you made the world a better place?
In helping a nonprofit organization with whatever it is they do, whether it’s one like Goodwill that operates with retail sales or a more typical nonprofit that is willing to accept donations or volunteers, it’s up to us to make sure that we trust these organizations to do what they promise to do and don’t make a quick buck off of public trust.
If we remain vigilant and educated, then the pressure will be on all organizations who brand themselves as an organization for the common good to treat workers equally, ensure responsible business practices and use donations where their donors intended them to be used.
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Ian Stash is a junior studying Journalism at the University of Arizona. In his free time, he loves video games and chilling with his cats.
