Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana

Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana, Inc. ("gcsi") and its subsidiaries, gw commercial services, Inc. ("gwcs") and Goodwill education initiatives, Inc. ("gei"), together with Goodwill foundation of Central and Southern Indiana, Inc. (the foundation) (collectively referred to as "Goodwill") are Indiana non-profit organizations that offer employment, education, and related services to disadvantaged adults and young people throughout Central and Southern Indiana. Goodwill defines disadvantaged individuals as those with a barrier to employment such as a disability, a criminal history, and/or a low education level (less than a high school diploma). Goodwill's management encourages interested readers to read the form 990 tax returns of all related entities in order to obtain complete information about the exempt activities, operations, and interrelationships of the collective Central and Southern Indiana Goodwill organizations.gcsi operates four distinct enterprise divisions, described below. Gcsi's retail operation collects donations of used clothing and household items and sells them through a network of 71 thrift stores and four warehouse outlet centers. Excess and unsalable donated items are sold through salvage and recycling channels. Unique and high-value items, jewelry and books are often sold through e-commerce channels. The retail operation also accepts and sells donated automobiles, using a third party for vehicle towing and auction services. The retail operation employs nearly 3,500 individuals, more than 66% of whom have barriers to employment. These operations also generate revenue and cash flow that fund a large portion of gcsi's other mission-related operations and its general and administrative expenses. Gcsi's commercial services ("cs") operation provides a variety of outsource packaging, assembly, and fulfillment services to external customers, employing over 300 people with disabilities and other barriers. Gcsi's mission advancement ("ma") operation provides case management, counseling, training, education, job coaching, job placement, and related supportive services for disabled, disadvantaged, unemployed and under employed individuals who wish to find and retain employment and increase their economic self-sufficiency. Ma also manages programs designed to provide holistic whole-family services to Goodwill's low-wage workers, students, program participants, and their families. The cs and ma segments of Goodwill of Central and Southern are funded by a combination of contracts with external customers, service contracts with federal and state governmental entities, united way grants, private grants and gifts from individuals and foundations, and subsidies from gcsi's retail operation. Goodwill strives to place many of the individuals it serves through its mission advancement division in employment with external employers. In many instances, individuals may work at Goodwill in various capacities to gain work experience, training, job and income stability, and soft skills necessary to become more self-sufficient in employment with other employers. Individuals with disabilities or other barriers made up more than 61% of Goodwill's total workforce of more than 4,900 employees in 2023. Employees with disabilities and other barriers receive individualized case management and support designed to assist them in daily living, financial decisions, transportation, life skills, communications, access to health care and other critical needs. For the nearly 14% of Goodwill's workforce that has a criminal history, Goodwill provides employment and related services to help them re-establish a work and earnings history, develop job and life skills and reduce the risk of recidivism. In 2021, despite the covid-19 pandemic, Goodwill placed nearly 1,100 individuals in jobs with external employers, an average of more than four people per workday.gwcs is operated under common management with gcsi's commercial services operations and provides rehabilitative training and jobs for people who have significant disabilities, primarily through service contracts with various federal governmental entities pursuant to ability one (formerly known as the javits-wagner-o'day act of 1971). Ability one requires certain federal governmental entities to purchase selected products and services, via such contracts, from non-profit agencies employing blind or significantly disabled individuals with significant disabilities. At year end 2023, gwcs operated 10 ability one contracts at government sites in Central and Southern Indiana and employed approximately 143 people with significant disabilities. Goodwill education initiatives (gei) provides educational opportunities designed to enable young people and adults to enhance their success in life and work. Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana, Inc. (gcsi or Goodwill), a not-for-profit corporation related to gei, formed gei in 2004 in response to the large number of young people seeking employment and other services at Goodwill with limited career opportunities and without a high school diploma. Gei operates the indianapolis metropolitan high school (the met), a public charter school in an economically depressed urban area in indianapolis under the Indiana charter school laws and the chartering authority of the mayor of indianapolis. Gei also operates the excel centers, Indiana public charter high schools primarily serving adults who previously dropped out of high school and who wish to obtain their high school diploma. The met and one excel center location occupy space in Goodwill's indianapolis headquarters building. Two excel centers occupy space owned by gcsi, one excel center occupies space owned by gei, and the other excel centers lease space from third parties. Gei contracts with Goodwill for certain business support services, including human resources, safety &security, information technology, facilities, and marketing. The excel centers operated in 16 locations in Central Indiana in fiscal year 2022-2023.the met primarily serves students who are in foster care, have been involved with the juvenile justice system, and/or have struggled in other school settings.since inception, more than 700 students have graduated from the met, and 64% of those graduates have gone on to some form of post-secondary education or training and remain in school two years after graduation. The excel center opened its first location in august 2010 and completed its thirteen years of operations on june 30, 2023. Due to the high demand for its services, the excel center has expanded to 16 locations throughout Central and Southern Indiana and student enrollment has grown to over 4,700 students. Since inception over 8,100 students have graduated from the excel center. Students have varying degrees of academic credits and capabilities when they enroll. Excel center students attend classes and connect with a life coach who helps them navigate the barriers that stand in the way of their educational attainment. Demand for excel center enrollment continues to exceed capacity. As a result, gei plans to open additional facilities as Indiana legislation and public funding allows.in 2023, Goodwill foundation of Central and Southern Indiana, Inc., made grants to gcsi and gei for the following purposes:gcsi:-support for gcsi's mission advancement operations, specifically to assist youth and adults seeking employment and educational advancement. -implementation of a new e-commerce model in order to grow and enhance Goodwill's online retail sales.-startup support for a new medical device manufacturing facility that will employ up to 100 people from a low-income neighborhood in indianapolis.-support for work focused on connecting mission and education programs to the future of work as defined by employers with high demand jobs.gei:-scholarships provided to assist students in pursuit of post-secondary education.-funding provided to support mental health services.