Goodwill of Northeast Indiana

What Goodwill of Northeast Indiana does

Goodwill Industries of Northeast Indiana, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1937 and headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The organization operates a social enterprise model in which revenue from 8 thrift retail stores across Northeast Indiana (Fort Wayne, Angola, Auburn, Huntington) — selling donated clothing, household goods, furniture, and electronics — funds free workforce development services for individuals with disabilities and other employment barriers. Retail operations are augmented by e-commerce channels including ShopGoodwill.com, eBay (eBay Giving Works), Amazon Books, and GoodwillBooks.com, with drive-up donation sites at select Fort Wayne locations.

Name

Goodwill of Northeast Indiana

Legal name

Goodwill Industries of Northeast Indiana, Inc.

Website

https://fwgoodwill.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Goodwill of Northeast Indiana is a Fort Wayne-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating 8 thrift retail stores and e-commerce channels that fund free workforce development, job placement, and supported employment services for individuals with disabilities and employment barriers across Northeast Indiana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Social Enterprise / Workforce Development

NAICS

Used Merchandise Retailers (459510), Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110), Used Merchandise Retailers (4595)

SIC

Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399), Retail-Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores (5940)

akta.pro primary industry

Donation, Resale & Textile Recycling Coordination (HSAFABAI)

Keywords

• Thrift retail stores
• Vocational rehabilitation services
• Workforce development training
• Supported employment programs
• Nonprofit social enterprise

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Wayne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Store Sales: Revenue generated from selling donated clothing, household goods, furniture, electronics, and other items in Goodwill retail stores. The revenue funds job training and employment services in Northeast Indiana.
2. E-commerce Sales: Online sales of donated goods through ShopGoodwill.com, eBay, and Amazon platforms. Includes Ecommerce Lister Training program for individuals learning to list items for online auction.
3. Monetary Donations: Cash donations, bequeaths, financial gifts, and round-up programs at checkout counters. All contributions are tax-deductible.
4. Vocational Rehabilitation Funding: Funding from Indiana's Vocational Rehabilitation Services to provide employment services to individuals with disabilities.
5. Grants: Grant funding to support mission-based services and programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Goodwill of Northeast Indiana operates eight thrift retail stores across Northeast Indiana that sell donated clothing, household goods, furniture, electronics, and books, both in-store and through e-commerce channels (ShopGoodwill, eBay, Amazon). Revenue funds free workforce development services for people with disabilities and other employment barriers, including Career Discovery and Job Placement, Supported Employment, SSA Benefit Planning, Youth Pre-Employment Transition, and partner-branded training programs such as the Walgreens REDI retail training initiative.

Product overview

Goodwill Industries of Northeast Indiana operates a network of eight retail thrift stores as its primary revenue engine, complemented by e-commerce channels (eBay, Amazon, ShopGoodwill.com, GoodwillBooks.com). The organization reinvests store revenue into workforce development services including Career Discovery/Job Placement, Supported Employment, and Youth Pre-Employment Transition. Training programs include the Walgreens REDI retail program, Ecommerce Lister Training, Janitorial Training, and National Retail Federation-certified Retail Training. SSA Benefit Planning assists clients with understanding how employment affects their benefits. Donations of goods, money, and time from the community fuel both retail operations and mission services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Career Discovery, Job Development and Placement
• Supported Employment Services
• Walgreens REDI Program
• Ecommerce Lister Training
• Janitorial Training
• Retail Training Program (National Retail Federation)
• Skills to Pay the Bills (U.S. Dept of Labor ODEP)
• SSA Benefit Planning (Benefit Information Network)
• Youth Pre-Employment Transition Services
• Goodwill Retail Stores
• Online Shopping
• Dell Reconnect Electronics Recycling
• Volunteer Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% client employment retention rate throughout services
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WalgreenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWalgreens REDI (Retail Employees with Disabilities Initiative) program provides 3-4 week in-store retail and customer service training taught by Walgreens-trained Goodwill Job Coaches. Graduates with 3.0+ evaluation scores earn 'recommended for hire' designation and can bypass standard Hourly Selector assessment when applying for CSA roles at Walgreens nationwide.
• KrogerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGoodwill of Northeast Indiana is part of the Kroger Community Rewards Program, allowing shoppers to support Goodwill while doing everyday shopping at Kroger with no added cost to the shopper.
• National Retail FederationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoodwill's Retail Training Program follows the National Retail Federation's curriculum. The five-week course uses classroom activities and paid internship to teach retail skills including cash handling, customer service, sales, inventory management, and professional development.
• U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkills to Pay the Bills curriculum developed by ODEP focused on teaching soft/workforce readiness skills to youth including those with disabilities. Goodwill uses this modular, hands-on curriculum covering communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and professionalism.
• Indiana Family & Social Services Administration Vocational Rehabilitation ServicescoreOthersPrimary referral source for Goodwill's employment services. Refers adults with disabilities and disadvantages to Goodwill's programs including Career Discovery, Job Development, Placement Assistance, Supported Employment, and SSA Benefit Planning.
• Indiana Vocational RehabilitationcoreOthersContracted by Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation to provide Pre-Employment Transition Services to students with disabilities in Noble, DeKalb, Stueben counties and post-secondary students in Allen County.
• Indiana Institute on Disability and CommunityminorOthersProvides Employment Specialist Training certification and Benefit Information Network (BIN) Liaison training to Goodwill staff, enabling them to support people with disabilities with information on how working may impact state or federal benefits.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Easterseals: Disability services nonprofit offering employment training, job coaching, and transition services comparable to Goodwill's Career Discovery and Supported Employment programs. Competes for the same Vocational Rehabilitation referrals and contracts.
• The Arc of the United States: National disability-advocacy network providing employment services, supported employment, and pre-employment transition services similar to Goodwill's workforce programs. Overlaps directly on the disability-employment mission but does not operate retail stores.

Broad incumbents

• Savers / Value Village: One of the largest for-profit thrift operators in North America, operating large-format second-hand stores and partnering with nonprofits (including some Goodwills) for donation processing. Directly relevant for thrift-retail scale and donation-supply economics.
• The Salvation Army USA: National nonprofit combining thrift/family-store retail with social services including workforce development, addiction recovery, and emergency assistance. Overlapping business model of using donated goods retail to subsidize mission services.

Direct peers

• Goodwill Industries of Central and Southern Indiana: Operates the same Goodwill thrift-retail-plus-workforce-development model in a different region of Indiana. Comparable services: career discovery, supported employment, youth transition, NRF retail training, and CARF-accredited program delivery — making it the closest direct peer.
• Habitat for Humanity ReStore: Nonprofit home-goods and furniture resale chain that uses retail revenue to fund housing mission work. Closely aligned social-enterprise model (donations fund mission, retail does not maximize profit), though narrower merchandise mix focused on furniture and building materials.
• America's Thrift Stores: Multi-state for-profit thrift chain with deep donation pipeline and donation-skip bin infrastructure. Comparable physical-store thrift model competing for the same donated-goods supply and bargain-conscious shoppers.

Others

• Goodwill Industries International: Umbrella network of which Goodwill of Northeast Indiana is an affiliated member. Sets brand standards, mission framework, and ShopGoodwill.com e-commerce platform that this affiliate uses — relevant as enabling infrastructure rather than a direct competitor.
• United Way of Allen County: Regional United Way affiliate in Goodwill's service area, channeling corporate and donor dollars to community nonprofits including Goodwill. Relevant as a funding and referral partner rather than a direct competitor.

Regional players

• Society of St. Vincent de Paul: Catholic nonprofit running thrift stores and direct-assistance programs across multiple U.S. regions. Comparable donation-driven retail-to-mission model, though not operating in Indiana and not focused on disability employment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GoodwillofNEIN
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@GoodwillofNEIN
• Facebookfacebook.com/GoodwillofNEIN
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/goodwill-industries-of-northeast-indiana-inc.

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 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 of Northeast Indiana