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Nonprofits can actually make a profit, they just can’t distribute it to its owners (usually the board of directors) as a dividend. Goodwill pays its executives

Nonprofits can actually make a profit, they just can’t distribute it to its owners (usually the board of directors) as a dividend. Goodwill pays its executives well, roughly $1MM to many of its regional executives. Its primary charitable work is claimed to be hiring people who are otherwise unemployable, often paying them below minimum wage. Some of this is discussed on the Wikipedia page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries

CamperBob2 5y ago
Not saying your larger point is wrong, but this schtick ("Goodwill pays its executives well, roughly $1MM to many of its regional executives") always annoys me. Goodwill is a large organization, and large organizations require experience and talent to run. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about a large corporation, a government, an army, a charity, or even a church. It's not going to be possible to find people to manage it properly for $50K a year. Cutting corners when it comes to attracting and retaining qualified management leads to even greater waste in the big picture.
- URSpider94 5y ago
  Agree 100%. You are 100% right, and I don’t think their executives are “stealing” money. I am the first to jump in and defend charities, like the Mozilla Foundation, or even Goodwill, who pay their CEO’s appropriately. So perhaps that part of my comment is a red herring. It’s just that Goodwill is extremely odd in that the business IS the charity. Most people don’t put a lot of thought into it, and assume that they are somehow giving all of the junk we drop off on their doorstep to needy people - they aren’t. Or that their thrift stores are earning them money off our junk to fund relief programs and feed the needy - they don’t do that. Their charity is … to pay people (generally not very well) to sort and clean all of our junk, put it on display in stores, and take our money for it when we buy it back. It’s just … weird. It does beg the question of where all the money goes.

CamperBob2 5y ago

Not saying your larger point is wrong, but this schtick ("Goodwill pays its executives well, roughly $1MM to many of its regional executives") always annoys me. Goodwill is a large organization, and large organizations require experience and talent to run. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about a large corporation, a government, an army, a charity, or even a church. It's not going to be possible to find people to manage it properly for $50K a year. Cutting corners when it comes to attracting and retaining qualified management leads to even greater waste in the big picture.

URSpider94 5y ago
Agree 100%. You are 100% right, and I don’t think their executives are “stealing” money. I am the first to jump in and defend charities, like the Mozilla Foundation, or even Goodwill, who pay their CEO’s appropriately. So perhaps that part of my comment is a red herring. It’s just that Goodwill is extremely odd in that the business IS the charity. Most people don’t put a lot of thought into it, and assume that they are somehow giving all of the junk we drop off on their doorstep to needy people - they aren’t. Or that their thrift stores are earning them money off our junk to fund relief programs and feed the needy - they don’t do that. Their charity is … to pay people (generally not very well) to sort and clean all of our junk, put it on display in stores, and take our money for it when we buy it back. It’s just … weird. It does beg the question of where all the money goes.