WWYD: Profiting from the goodwill of others
It’s that time of year when I pull out the file to prepare for our tax appointment and I’m always amazed at the number of receipts in there from Goodwill donations. How do we accumulate so much junk? Years ago I vowed never to host another garage sale and now I donate everything and take the tax deduction. Suze Orman and I agree on this and term life insurance.
Whenever I’m taking a load over to our neighborhood center, I’m always amazed at the amount and quality of the stuff that I see dropped off. On more than one occasion, Jeanine has wondered aloud about what gets filched first by the employees and volunteers. I typically don’t put that much thought into our trunk full of junk and have replied an equal number of times that if they were skimming off the top, it wouldn’t really bother me. Who am I to judge?
But apparently, Jeanine isn’t the only one questioning the ethics of those making a living or giving their time at the Goodwill store. On Sunday, The Ethicist column in The New York Times posed this exact thought by one reader:
My mother plays bridge at a senior-citizens’ center. Like many nonprofits, it accepts and then resells donated goods as a source of revenue. Recently, she wanted to buy a piece of lawn-care equipment but was informed that the center’s director had already bought it. Is it ethical for center staff members, much less directors, to purchase donated goods?
Randy Cohen, The Ethicist replied:
The center may offer its employees discounts or a first look at donated items, provided donors are informed of that policy, but it may not allow the people who price these items (or oversee those who do) to purchase them: that creates a conflict of interest. As staff members, their duty is to maximize the center’s profits; as customers, their desire is for low costs.
But while the current policy does not seem to be unethical, it is unwise. Who would come to a rummage sale if the best items have already been plucked? The staff should not be permitted to sift through the swag and pull out the pearls. Nor will it embellish the center’s reputation if its employees are spotted driving around town in donated Cadillacs they purchased for a nickel.
Do you agree? Disagree? What would you do if you were a staff member? As someone donating the goods or possibly buying them used, what do you think of the policy? Or are you like me and just happy to be getting rid of the stuff. Does it really matter if someone profits and interrupts its intended purpose of being a donation? Your thoughts are welcomed below.
These types of arguments are exactly why I donate our stuff on FreeCycle or to our church- who in turn just gives the stuff away to folks in need. Goodwill has bascially become a corporation that feeds off the donations of those meaning to do good. They have a website where the good stuff gets siphoned off to the highest bidder- like ebay. It is: http://www.shopgoodwill.com/
When I found out about that I was somewhat sickened. Coworkers and I have had several discussions about this. They seem to think its a great idea- that Goodwill will earn more money in this manner to help those in need. I tend to disagree. Secondhand stuff on the cheap at the community level is what can help families in need. Where is the data that shows Goodwill generates more money to give back more money? Nowhere.
Some of my coworkers think I’m nuts for just giving my clutter/stuff away rather than trying to sell it- and argue some of the people who get my stuff in this manner might turn around and sell what they got from me. My only retort to that is a big fat “So?!?” I clearly didn’t have the time or inclination to pursue making money off my clutter- they did- and maybe they were in more need than I. And then co-workers circle it back around to how is this any better than Goodwill selling what you give? To me, it is on a more personal, community based level– not a big named, nearly corporate entity making money off my stuff and not necessarily giving back to the community.
The employees still have to pay for the item- though at a 15-20% discount. But in the end the money still goes to Goodwill and their services.
I dunno. I worked at a college rummage sale to raise money for a group that works with girls rescued from prostitution. Sure, I got to pick over the clothes as I was setting up and stocking, but I was limited by the money I allowed myself to spend, by the size, and by my taste. And no discount. I guess the only “profit” was that I got first dibs…
As long as the money goes somewhere good, I don’t see it as a problem. I’ve seen people write to Dear Abby complaining about rich people shopping at Salvation Army stores. Abby said that it’s perfectly ok because SA doesn’t just run its stores to give poorer people a place to shop, it runs them to raise money for its programs. Plus, reusing clothes is good.
Taking things free is another matter.
Goodwill doesn’t exist to sell cheap stuff to people who can’t afford new clothes, they are an employment training center for people who don’t have the skills they need to get a job. Selling nice clothes for more on their website raises more money for these job training programs, not for some “corporation” you made up in your head.
As to the question raised in the article, I volunteered at Habitat for Humanity’s local home store. Their policy is that volunteers can grab things after they hit the shelves. All the pricing is done by actual employees, who have to wait several days, as far as I know. The volunteers do have advance knowledge about what items will be available, but they have to allow the items to be priced and shelved as normal before they can purchase them. Habitat also does a silent auction of really cool donations in-store, which raises many times the price they could hope to get through pricing them normally.
Diva Jean: I didn’t know about Goodwill’s auction site. Interesting stuff… I agree with you!
Dawn: Thanks for that tidbit. I guess the employee discount works for Nordstrom’s so why not Goodwill?
Mrs. Micah: It seems the “first dibs” part is what rankled the person writing into the NYTimes. Personally, I don’t have issue with it… like you, I think if someone is finding re-use for an item, then all the better.
Pixiedyke: You make a valid point about Goodwill’s job training programs. Also, I didn’t know that Habitat had home stores. Welcome back and thanks for taking the time to comment… we haven’t heard from you since Erin was writing about Money in the Monthlies.
I think I have a distinctly different take on this topic.
As someone who relies on finding inexpensive clothes, etc thru secondary resources (friends, rescue mission, etc), the fact that people on the edge get squeezed out due to attempts to raise more money for Goodwill “programs” seems backwards. If those in need are forced to instead buy clothes, etc at market value (Walmart, Kmart, etc) rather than secondhand, how was that helping?
Let me illustrate better, in real life terms- a family needs to get a white shirt for their son to wear to the chorus concert at school. At the Rescue Mission- it might cost a dollar or two. At WalMart- there goes $12. How would a program thru the Goodwill help? Not necessarily at all- because say the head of the family already has a job- and what good would training do at that moment? And I’m sure we already know what ends up happening in the real world- the kid who goes without the white shirt eventually learns the shame of poverty and to not even bother participating in chorus in school- or tell his parent(s) he needs a shirt. It takes cheap resources for families on the edge to rely on!
But the Goodwill store still has all the white shirts one could ever hope for. They just took the mint condition vintage Ralph Lauren Polo white shirt out and sold it online for $45. Someone who desires the label got a great deal on a shirt, Goodwill made more money to support their programs, and is able to keep the prices on all their other white shirts at a level affordable by people in your situation.
You will notice some big trunks parked out back of the Goodwill store. OR you will see a Goodwill Truck pull in every morning to your store.
They take the clothes from your community and sell it elsewhere. They bring to you the clothes from poorer communities. Just thought you should know that. A few years ago this wasn’t the case. They sold the clothes left off from your own community. They were in much better shape etc. I will not buy there anymore because they like to say it’s not so, when in fact it is.