Happy Anniversary to the Donate Movement!

Last June, Goodwill Industries International launched the global initiative to raise awareness about the positive impact of donating to Goodwill Industries®. When you donate to Goodwill, you are not only keeping gently used clothing and household goods out of landfills, but you are supporting vital community programs.

Did you know that more than 85 percent of Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.’s, revenue is used to provide the free job training and services offered at the company’s 17 Career Solutions Centers? Goodwills in the U.S. and Canada average 84 percent of their revenue being used for the job programs that are offered. In 2010, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc. served 11,200 clients while 2,915 clients found employment. Goodwill agencies around the world served 2.5 million people, and, at year’s end, they employed more than 97,000 people.

The Donate Movement helped Goodwills throughout the U.S. and Canada attract 20 million more donors in 2010 than in 2009, which means we earned more revenue and were able to serve more people. Goodwill Industries International, and Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc., launched the Donate Movement Web site, which features the Donation Impact Calculator (patent pending), allowing you to see how your donations can fund Goodwill’s services. For example, donating just one coat or jacket provides 11 minutes of career counseling to a Goodwill program participant.

During the past year, Goodwill Industries International partnered with major corporations and partnered with Lorrie Marrero, Certified Professional Organizer® as a spokesperson and ambassador for the Donate Movement. Marrero is creator of The Clutter Diet® and author of the best-selling book by the same name, as well as a contributor to Good Housekeeping.

Four corporate cause-marketing partnerships helped the Donate Movement gain momentum. Goodwill’s first partner, Levi & Strauss, Co., began putting “A Care Tag for Our Planet” in their jeans and other products. The tag instructs people to Wash Less, Wash Cold, Line Dry and Donate to Goodwill. Not only does this raise awareness of corporate social responsibility and Goodwill’s brand, but it also reduces energy consumption and diverts items from landfills.

Other partnerships include:

• Family Circle: Goodwill teamed up with the national magazine to encourage readers to organize “Back to School” donation drives, resulting in approximately 20 million pounds of clothing being diverted from landfills.

• Hanes®: The clothing manufacturer partnered with Goodwill, deeming March national “Clean Out Your Drawers Month.” Celebrities Bethenny Frankel and Michael Moloney provided tips on how to de-clutter and organize for spring. The campaign encouraged people to donate the items they no longer use to Goodwill.

• Planet Green™ — the television network devoted to conscious living – leveraged its multi-media platform, to spread the message about the positive impact donations have for our communities and the environment.

Just as you carefully consider to which organizations you will donate your money, you should also consider which organizations should receive your donated goods. When you donate to Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc., you can be assured that you are making a positive impact on both people and the planet.

How often do you donate to Goodwill, and what is your strategy for deciding what to donate?

Mission Possible: Goodwill Industries Week

Courtesy of Goodwill Industries International

When Rev. Dr. Edgar J. Helms founded Goodwill Industries® in 1902, he couldn’t have envisioned our reliance on social media, nor the role it would play in educating the public about our mission. Yet, web sites, blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other new media have helped Goodwill® take its social entrepreneurship role to new heights.

Technology — once thought of as cold and impersonal — can actually make Goodwill’s mission more tangible and meaningful to you: our shoppers and donors, business and government partners.

The most dramatic example to date is the launch of the Donate Movement, around which people united for a common cause — protecting the environment through socially conscious donations. Goodwill’s groundbreaking Donation Impact Calculator  demonstrates the value of donations to the planet and to the people Goodwill serves through critical job training and career services.

So while the Donation Impact Calculator can show you how much job training your old sweater or bicycle can fund or how many pounds of usable goods are diverted from landfills, our Success Stories lets you see someone who has earned a job or overcome an obstacle that kept him or her from succeeding in the workplace.

During the first week of May, which marks the 60th Anniversary of Goodwill Industries Week, we want to thank you again for the part you play in our history and in our future. Your continued support keeps alive a century-old vision that we all have a role to play in protecting the planet and transforming lives through the power of work.