You may have heard or even received an email titled “Think Before You Donate.” The email lists five non-profit companies and advises people not to donate to them. Goodwill is listed as one of the five, however the information included in the email is erroneous.

Think before You Donate – and Get the Facts about Email Rumors!

Updated Spring 2015

Goodwill® has a 110 year-plus track record in providing services that meet critical human needs in local communities in the U.S., Canada, and 14 other countries. Goodwill is a leading social services enterprise, and consistently ranks among top charities that make your donations go further.

Because we are widely known and respected as a network of nonprofits that fund job training and employment services through the sales of donated items in Goodwill® stores, we sometimes stand in the line of fire from individuals and organizations who are  misinformed and/or misrepresent us to the public.

This negative rumor mill has recently resurfaced in the form of a now seven-year-old email that includes a variation of a message like this: “Think about these before you donate. As you open your pockets to do a good thing and make yourself feel good, please keep these facts in mind…”

The message then quotes erroneous information and salary figures for several nonprofit organizations’ chief executives, including a reference to a so-called “Goodwill CEO and Owner Mark Curran, who profits $2.3 million a year.”  Jim Gibbons is the CEO of Goodwill Industries International. Learn more about him.

Goodwill Industries International earns $4.4 billion revenue per year, and we spend about 82 cents of every dollar on programs and services for people in need. This is a very healthy number in the nonprofit world, and a solid indicator of our commitment to good stewardship of your donations. Read personal stories of some of the people whose lives have been transformed through Goodwill programs.

Goodwill definitely encourages you to “think before you donate” — the one legitimate message that this otherwise spurious email contains — and to research and learn more about the charities you’d like to support. Be certain the organization you choose uses its revenue for charitable purposes that support a mission you can get behind.

Review our audited financial information and IRS 990 form on our website. You may also access information about Goodwill Industries International on GuideStar, an online nonprofit database that has certified Goodwill with the GuideStar Exchange Seal for our commitment to transparency.

Thanks for your support, and feel free to share this message with your contacts!