Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area, Inc.

What Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area, Inc. does

Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise founded in 1972 in Scott County, Virginia by Mrs. Anita Steiner and relocated to Kingsport, Tennessee in 1994. The organization operates 10 retail thrift stores and 19 attended donation centers across a 17-county, 2-city service area spanning Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, collecting, sorting, and reselling donated clothing, household goods, electronics, furniture, and books. Per the company, 93% of sales revenue is directed to workforce development programs, and the organization diverts approximately 14 million pounds of goods from landfills annually (35M+ pounds cumulative over 2023–2025).

The organization monetizes through three primary streams: (i) retail thrift store sales, (ii) donated-goods processing including a Dell Reconnect electronics recycling partnership, and (iii) federal grant funding, notably a U.S. Department of Labor SCSEP grant of $22,129,747 that supplied 90% of Senior Community Service Employment Program funding for program year 2025. Mission services — Community Employment Services, Supported Employment, Workforce Development, Veteran Services, Work-Based Learning, and a Community Service Program — are delivered free to participants and accessed primarily through formal referral partnerships with Tennessee Vocational Rehabilitation, Virginia DARS, the Tennessee Department of Human Services, and American Job Centers. Digital skills training is enabled through third-party platforms including Coursera, Cisco NetAcademy, TalentLMS, Northstar Digital Literacy, and IBM SkillsBuild.

Governance is exercised through a volunteer Board of Directors drawn from the service area, and CharityWatch has assigned the organization an 'A' rating. The company's January 2026 leadership announcement — President & CEO Morris Baker's transition to a Goodwill Industries International role as Director of the Donated Goods and Retail Development Program — represents the most significant near-term leadership change and is being managed via an active CEO search. There are no subsidiaries, no parent company, and no disclosed equity funding; the entity is community-governed.

Name

Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area, Inc.

Legal name

Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area, Inc.

Website

https://goodwilltnva.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise operating 10 retail thrift stores and 19 donation centers across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, converting donated goods sales into workforce development programs for individuals with employment barriers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Enterprise Workforce Development

NAICS

Vocational Rehabilitation Services (6243), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (624310), Business Support Services (5614)

SIC

Services-Help Supply Services (7363)

akta.pro primary industry

Donation, Resale & Textile Recycling Coordination (HSAFABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Donation Pickup & Reuse Hauling (HSAKALAI), Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM), Communication, Collaboration & Conflict Resolution Skills (EDAMAIAF)

Keywords

• Thrift retail stores
• Workforce development services
• Community employment programs
• Supported employment services
• Donation pickup services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kingsport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Thrift Store Sales: Revenue generated from selling donated clothing, household goods, electronics, furniture, books, and other gently used items in 10 retail thrift stores across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Ninety-three cents of every dollar of sales revenue is directed to workforce development programs.
2. Donated Goods Processing: Collects and processes donated items through 19 attended donation centers and 10 retail stores. Items are inspected, sorted, graded, priced, and either sold in stores or recycled. Electronics recycled through Dell Reconnect partnership.
3. SCSEP Grant Funding: Federal grant funding from U.S. Department of Labor for Senior Community Service Employment Program. A $22,129,747 grant provided 90% of SCSEP program funding for program year 2025, with 10% contributed through in-kind contributions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area operates a network of thrift retail stores and attended donation centers that collect and resell donated goods to fund workforce development programs. Core services include community employment placement, supported employment for individuals with disabilities, veteran services, the federal Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), work-based learning, and on-the-job employee development for people facing employment barriers.

Product overview

Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area operates a network of 10 retail thrift stores and 19 attended donation centers across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The organization functions as a social enterprise where donated goods are sold in retail stores to fund workforce development programs. Core services include Community Employment Services (job placement, supported employment, work-based learning), Workforce Development (digital skills training via Coursera/TalentLMS/Northstar/Cisco, resume building, interview prep), Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP for workers 55+), Veteran Services, Volunteer Services, and Community Service Program. Additional programs include free donation pickup, computer/electronics recycling through Dell Reconnect partnership, and vehicle donations. The organization served more than 700 individuals in 2021, with 93% of revenue directed to mission programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Goodwill Thrift Stores 10 retail thrift stores across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia selling donated clothing, household goods, furniture, books, and other items to individual shoppers at affordable prices.
• Attended Donation Centers 19 staffed drop-off locations across the service area where community members can deliver donated clothing, household goods, and other items.
• Donation Pickup Service Scheduled pickup of large donated items such as furniture and bulk donations from residential and business donors in the service area.
• Community Employment Services Job placement, career counseling, and employment-readiness training for individuals with barriers to employment, funded in part by partnerships with state vocational rehabilitation and human services agencies.
• Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) Federally funded program supported by a $22 million U.S. Department of Labor grant that provides paid community-service work-based training for low-income adults aged 55 and older to help them transition into unsubsidized employment.
• Veteran Services Employment placement, case management, and supportive services tailored to U.S. military veterans seeking to enter or re-enter the civilian workforce.
• Supported Employment Program Job coaching, placement, and ongoing on-the-job support for individuals with disabilities working in integrated community employment settings.
• Work-Based Learning Program Structured on-site training opportunities that allow program participants to develop work skills in real employment environments.
• On-Track Employee Development Program Structured employee development pathway providing coaching and progression milestones for participants moving toward long-term employment.
• Community Service Program Community service placements at nonprofit and public agencies that serve as training assignments for program participants.
• Volunteer Services Opportunities for community members to contribute time and skills in support of Goodwill's retail, donation, and workforce development operations.
• Computer and Electronics Recycling (Dell Reconnect) Free drop-off recycling of computers, printers, and other electronics through the Dell Reconnect partnership, providing environmentally responsible disposal and feeding reusable goods into the retail pipeline.
• Vehicle Donation Program Program accepting donated cars, trucks, and other vehicles to be processed and resold, with proceeds supporting Goodwill's workforce development mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93 cents of every dollar of sales revenue supports workforce development programs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• U.S. Department of LaborcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025National employment and training program (SCSEP) funder. A $22,129,747 grant provided 90% of SCSEP program funding for program year 2025. Goodwills provided remaining 10% through in-kind contributions worth more than $2,458,861.
• Dell (Dell Reconnect Program)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFree computer and electronics recycling program partnership. Dell Reconnect diverts used computers and equipment from landfills, provides consumer education on responsible disposal, and creates job opportunities for those with barriers to employment. Proceeds support Goodwill Tenneva's job training programs. Over 1 billion pounds of equipment recycled globally through Dell programs.
• Tennessee Department of Human Services, Vocational RehabilitationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal partnership for Job Placement services. Services require referral from Tennessee Vocational Rehabilitation. Goodwill provides job readiness training, resume development, interview preparation, job search assistance, and 90 days of retention services.
• Virginia DARS (Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative partnership for Supported Employment program in Virginia. DARS refers individuals with disabilities to Goodwill for job readiness training, job coaching, and employment placement with retention support. Goodwill staff maintain contact with individuals and employers minimum twice monthly.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Habitat for Humanity ReStores: Nonprofit home-goods resale chain using donated furniture, appliances, and building materials to fund housing programs; overlaps with Goodwill's donated-goods retail model and donor base.
• Goodwill of North Georgia: Larger regional Goodwill with a similar retail-funded workforce development model; provides a benchmark for how a regional Goodwill can scale stores, programs, and contracts.
• Goodwill Industries of the Valleys: Regional Goodwill affiliate serving Southwest Virginia (Roanoke area) with the same thrift retail plus workforce development model, making it the closest geographic and operational peer to Goodwill Tenneva.
• Goodwill Industries of Kentucky: Adjacent regional Goodwill operating thrift stores, donation centers, and employment programs; comparable in scale, mission structure, and federal grant exposure.
• Salvation Army Thrift Stores: National nonprofit operating thrift retail funded by donations with proceeds supporting social programs; directly competes for donations and value-seeking shoppers in the same regions.
• Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Thrift Stores: Nonprofit thrift and donation-pickup operation funding veterans programs; competes for the same donor households, used goods inventory, and mission-aligned shoppers in regional markets.

Broad incumbents

• Goodwill Industries International: Umbrella organization supporting 165 independent Goodwill affiliates; not a direct operator in Tenneva but sets standards, brand, and program frameworks that govern local Goodwills.
• Savers (Value Village): Largest for-profit thrift operator in North America; competes for donated supply via paid donation buy programs and competes for thrift shoppers, pressuring Goodwill's retail economics.

Emerging players

• ThredUp: Online resale platform that processes donated and consigned clothing at scale; a structural threat to the supply and demand economics of brick-and-mortar thrift retail.

Regional players

• EmploymentSource / State Vocational Rehabilitation Contractors: Other nonprofit and state-contracted vocational rehabilitation providers delivering job coaching and supported employment to individuals with disabilities; compete for the same VR and DARS referral contracts that anchor Goodwill Tenneva's mission services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/goodwilltenneva
• Facebookfacebook.com/goodwilltenneva
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/goodwill-industries-of-tenneva-area-ince
• Instagraminstagram.com/goodwilltenneva

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area, Inc.