Your goodwill
At Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona, we are thankful for your support of our mission and our impact on the community. Thanks to your goodwill, we are continually moving one step closer toward achieving our vision of ending poverty through the power of work. It’s our goal to maintain transparency and inform our shoppers, donors, and community about our impact as a non-profit organization.
With that in mind, you may have seen articles highlighting concerns that are frequently asked about Goodwill. However, we would like to address the false claims that do not accurately represent Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona.
It’s important to understand that each Goodwill runs independently from one another. Each Goodwill is operated at a local level by its own board of directors and leadership team.
What WE do
Our mission: empowering individuals, strengthening families, and building stronger communities.
We provide no-cost career services to anyone and everyone. Donations and purchases provide the funds to allow us to deliver our services and give a hand up to those who are seeking a job or want to advance their career.
Our no-cost career services include resume review, interview skills development, computer skills training, soft skills training, and more. Learn about and connect to our training services here.
Recycling Efforts
We divert over 200 million pounds of materials from going directly into Arizona landfills every year. Through partnering with local organizations and the city, we are able to produce widespread environmental impacts in waste reduction.
Minimum Wage
We pay EVERY employee Arizona’s minimum wage or above, there is no exception. We don’t utilize the 14c Special Minimum Wage Certificate that enables organizations to pay employees less than Arizona’s minimum wage.
Financial Information
The biggest and most common misconception is that our CEO gets paid millions. Our CEO gets paid commensurate with other Arizona nonprofit organizations comparable in size to Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona.
All of our records are available to the public, and we encourage you to view our audited financial information and IRS 990 form online at guidestar.org.
I’ve heard about the gentrification of thrift? Is it ethical to shop at thrift stores?
At Goodwill, our mission is to empower individuals, strengthen families, and build stronger communities. Have you known someone in need of help finding their first job, someone impacted by a layoff, or someone who was looking to work in a new industry where they could make more money to support their family, but didn’t have the skills to do it?
When you donate to and shop at Goodwill, you’re helping support our efforts to provide services like these to anyone in need of employment assistance. You’re also a part of helping divert more than 200 million pounds of no-longer needed items from going directly to the landfill. The EPA estimates that in 2017, of the 16.9 million tons of textile waste generated in the United States, only 15.2% was recycled, which resulted in 11.2 million tons of textile waste ending up in landfills.
Donating your unwanted items and shopping secondhand can help keep textiles from ending up in the landfill. And, most items that don’t sell in our retail stores or clearance center are then sorted for recycling. We stock our stores with thousands of new donated items every day of the week. There is never a shortage of product to discover at your neighborhood store.
Price changes over the years support our no-cost programs in the community, and align with minimum wage and operational cost increases.
With affordable thrift pricing, and different sales all week long, Goodwill is the place to find a great deal on that new outfit, decor for your home, or a unique treasure.
Goodwill stores and mission services are available to our entire community. “I found it at Goodwill” or the even better “I got the job because of Goodwill” feelings of excitement are possible for anyone, and we welcome everyone to shop, donate, and build a better future at Goodwill.
Reach Out
Did we miss something? We want you to talk to us. Feel free to ask us questions about our mission, services, or financial information. We are an open book, and you deserve to know what’s going on in each chapter.
