What Does Goodwill Really Do?

The journey of your donation and the chain reaction that follows

You know that moment – you’re cleaning out your closets or basement and think, “Someone else could use this! Maybe I’ll drop it off at Goodwill.”

You might ask, “Does my donation actually make a difference?”

The answer is: Yes! A donation to Goodwill does a lot more than you think.

What does Goodwill do with donations?

Every year, millions of items arrive at one of Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago’s donation centers. These items launch our ability to provide mission services in 23 counties in southeast Wisconsin and the Chicagoland area.

Whether you bring your donation to one of our store and donation centers or arrange for pick up with one of our pickup partners, our teams sort it with an eye towards maximum community value. Most items are sold in the store where they are donated. Some items are taken to a nearby store that might need additional inventory. And others are sold in one of our e-commerce shops. No matter where your item is sold, the funds raised through the sale of your generous donation are used to support Goodwill’s job training and placement programs in the greater Milwaukee & Chicago area.

Revenue from donated goods is pumped directly back into regional job training and placement programs. In 2025, these programs helped over 18,000 people build skills, find work and connect to vital community resources.

Learn more about our local impact

Myth vs. Reality: Clearing up 3 big questions about Goodwill

Myth #1: Goodwill is just a thrift store

Reality: Goodwill is a social enterprise nonprofit. Our retail stores are the biggest economic engine supporting our nonprofit mission. When items are sold in our stores, the funds help us provide free job search assistance, job training and placement programs, and services that help people find a job.

Myth #2: My donation leaves the community.

Reality: Revenue from the sale of your donations stays right here and supports programs in Wisconsin and Illinois. No shareholders. No corporate profits. No private ownership. Just mission. Right where you are.

Myth #3: Goodwill doesn’t offer real training programs.

Reality: Goodwill provides a variety of training programs available and partners with local organizations to help job seekers overcome barriers to sustaining employment.

A chain reaction: How your donation transforms your community

Your donation is the key to starting the engine of a nonprofit machine that helps people find and keep jobs.

• Step 1: Your donation = Goods and mission support. When your donated item sells in a store, one of our outlets, or online, it generates real dollars that are used to fund mission programs.
• Step 2: Revenue = skill building for people who want to find a job – and more! Goodwill’s skill-building programs, workforce development initiatives, and support services impacted the lives of more than 199,400 individuals in 2025 alone. 
• Step 3: Skill building = Employment. We are located across greater Milwaukee and Chicago in a neighborhood near you to help job seekers of all ages and backgrounds, including young people, people in recovery or workforce re-entry and people with disabilities.

Quick answers to common questions

Is Goodwill a nonprofit? Who is the CEO of Goodwill? Does Goodwill recycle? You can find answers to all these questions – and more on in our FAQs.

Get answers to Frequently Asked Questions

What Goodwill really does

Goodwill doesn’t just take your donations. Goodwill activates them. In an easy convenient and helpful way. 

Your donation becomes:

• A way to get help finding a job or exploring a career
• A program to help someone overcome barriers
• A second chance for an item that would otherwise hit a landfill 
• And a stronger community

Goodwill is a community accelerator, and you are the spark.

So when people ask, “What does Goodwill do?” feel free to say: “More than you think. A lot more.”