Nonprofits Not All Bad

An article in the Aug. 16 issue of Time magazine, “Remember the Greedy,” highlights a disturbing trend among the nonprofits to divert the donating public’s contributions from those the charities purport to serve.

Sadly, the Time article’s final sentence is all too true: “Some guy who works hard for a living starts reading the newspaper and gets the impression that all nonprofits are just as bad.” Therefore, I want to assure your readers that when they donate to Goodwill, or shop in Goodwill stores, they are directly aiding the disabled men and women we serve.

Goodwill stores are managed exclusively by Goodwill, which assumes all risks of losses and retains all operating profits. Goodwill Industries of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties derives over 90% of its operating budget from five thrift shops. Because of a policy set forth by our parent corporation’s board of directors, two out of every three dollars generated by store sales are returned, as wages, to our disabled workers enrolled in our job training programs.

Furthermore, financing for building expansion projects and capital purchases is entirely from voluntary contributions made directly to Goodwill. No money is used from the operating budget, and no money is borrowed, for any of these improvements.

DANIEL M. MULCAHY

Oxnard

Daniel M. Mulcahy is division director for Goodwill Industries of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.