Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois > Goodwill $5 Million MacKenzie Scott Donation – Q&A

Goodwill Northern Illinois $5 Million MacKenzie Scott Donation – Q&A

  • The News:
    • In December of 2020, Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois was the grateful recipient of an unrestricted $5 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist who has pledged to give back the majority of her wealth to organizations and leaders driving transformative change.
  • How many organizations were in the running for the gift?
    • A total of 6,490 not-for-profit organizations were examined and vetted by the MacKenzie Scott team before making the selections.
  • Who was selected?
    • Goodwill Northern Illinois was one of 384 not-for-profits and one of 47 Goodwill’s across the country selected to receive this unrestricted gift.
  • Why was Goodwill Northern Illinois selected for this generous gift?
    • The MacKenzie Scott team sought suggestions and perspective from hundreds of field experts, not-for-profit leaders and volunteers with decades of experience to determine community needs, program outcomes and each not-for-profit’s capacity to make effective use of the funding.  The gift is testament to the organization, its employees and participants, and a validation of the work we do at Goodwill Northern Illinois.
  • How will Goodwill Northern Illinois use the $5 Million?
    • 100% of the gifted money will be allocated towards existing and new mission programs that best serve the community. The gift’s impact will be felt within the Goodwill Northern Illinois territory.
  • How will this gift change Goodwill?
    • Goodwill Northern Illinois is a not-for-profit organization that operates to the highest standards, as certified by our CARF accreditation and the 25,000+ people we serve each and every year in our local communities. The gift will not change how we operate as an organization other than funding existing and new mission programs. For more information on how we serve the community, check out our annual report here: http://www.goodwillni.org/about-us/financial-information.
  • How will Goodwill determine what mission program gets the funding?
    • The Goodwill leadership team, Board of Directors and other stakeholders as deemed appropriate, will carefully consider options and announce plans in a timely fashion.
  • When will this announcement take place?
    • As soon as the plans are finalized, there will be an announcement made to the community on what mission program will be the benefactor of the gift.
  • What additional information can you tell me about Goodwill NI?
    • Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois is a community-based not-for-profit organization whose mission is to create opportunities for individuals with barriers to enhance their lives. Goodwill funds job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in its 11 retail stores located in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. In 2019, Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois served 26,273 people in the communities in which we reside. A three-year CARF Accreditation was awarded to Goodwill for its employment programs in 2018 which is official recognition that the organization is guided by internationally recognized service standards and best practices.  Goodwill Northern Illinois has stores in northern Illinois (Rockford, Machesney Park, Freeport, Sterling, DeKalb, Ottawa, McHenry, Huntley, Crystal Lake and Algonquin) and Beloit, Wisconsin.  It employs over 600 people including positions in mission, administration, retail, and work experience employees placed at community locations.  Visit our website at www.goodwillni.org.