By: Frank McGree, President & CEO, Goodwill Industries, Inc., Serving Eastern Nebraska and Southwest Iowa
Some may wonder how much “business excellence” matters to a nonprofit that puts mission over profits. I can tell you it’s everything.
Last year, Goodwill Industries, Inc. was recognized as a Greater Omaha Business Excellence Award winner by the Chamber.
One of the things you learn very quickly as the head of a nonprofit is that your capacity for helping people is directly tied to how well you conduct yourself as a business. We exist first and foremost to change lives and strengthen communities through education, training and work. But we can’t do any of that without making sound business decisions and growing the capacity of our agency on a regular basis.
It’s always been important to us that the shopping and donating experience be representative of our mission. We understand the value our customers and donors bring to the organization – without them we’d have no way of making our mission a reality. We strive to create a welcoming retail and donation environment that keeps folks coming back.
We’ve also grown the agency in other areas. Goodwill offers custodial, grounds maintenance and postal services to the federal government. And we provide a number of these same services to businesses in our community. We also clean all the city buses in Omaha. Goodwill has added these services for two reasons: It creates employment opportunities for the people we serve, and it helps us grow and diversify as an agency.
Winning this award from the Chamber is a huge honor for us. It serves as a reminder of the importance business excellence plays in the completion of our mission.
Photos provided by Goodwill Industries, Inc., Serving Eastern Nebraska and Southwest Iowa
To nominate for a Greater Omaha Business Excellence Award, visit OmahaChamber.org/ExcellenceAwards