Rockville, MD– shopgoodwill.com, the first and only Internet auction site run by a nonprofit organization, has earned $100 million in support of the Goodwill® mission of helping people find jobs and build careers. Since August 1999, shopgoodwill.com has sold donations online. Revenues provide job training programs and other community-based services to people with disabilities, those who lack education or job experience, and others facing challenges to finding employment.
“Since 1999, shopgoodwill.com has enabled Goodwill to give more than 33,000 people the tools they need to find employment and care for their families,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “shopgoodwill.com helps Goodwill fuel economic development in local communities.”
shopgoodwill.com is just one way Goodwill uses technology to benefit its mission. After more than 10 years in operation, the site has helped Goodwill create jobs so people can earn paychecks and fuel the economy in their local communities. The Goodwill employees who administer shopgoodwill.com learn marketable skills including computer knowledge, customer service, and photography skills, as well as processing, stocking and fulfillment systems.
“Eighty-three percent of Goodwill revenues fund our mission of helping people find employment and strengthen our communities,” said Gibbons. “shopgoodwill.com allows Goodwill employees to build their skills to prepare them for the next steps in building fulfilling careers.”
Shopping and bidding on shopgoodwill.com is free and easy. More than 576,000 registered users from all 50 states and many other countries browse, bid and buy on the auction site. There are more than 30,000 items posted on the site at any given time, and consumers have bought more than 5.6 million donated items to date. With 169 categories of items, from jewelry to antiques, musical instruments to high-end purses, and toys to electronics, consumers can find the items for sale on shopgoodwill.com to suit their likes and needs.
Some of the more unique items sold on the site include a 1927 Martin 5 K soprano ukulele, a Mercedes and a Picasso etching. The highest priced item sold on shopgoodwill.com was a Frank Weston Benson watercolor painting for $165,002, sold by Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette (Portland, OR).
