The phone call and billionaire behind Charlotte Goodwill’s $10 million surprise

Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont just received its largest single donation in the Charlotte nonprofit’s 55-year history.

When CEO and president Chris Jackson received the phone call a few weeks ago letting him know Goodwill would be gifted $10 million, he said it took his breath away.

“I was shocked because this was unexpected and unsolicited,” Jackson told The Observer. “It took me a little time to process.”

Jackson kept the secret until billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott made a public announcement Dec. 15 on her blog. Goodwill is one of 384 organizations receiving a piece of more than $4.1 billion being donated over the past four months.

Goodwill helps thousands of people in the Charlotte region find employment by providing job training, career development and employment placement.

Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, described the COVID-19 pandemic as “a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling.”

After seeing the blog detailing the rigorous process for how groups were chosen, Jackson said it made him proud of his Goodwill team.

“I cannot express the depth of our gratitude for this historic and extraordinary gift,” he said.

Jackson said it took about two years to raise the $8 million needed for the Goodwill Opportunity Campus that opened five years ago on Wilkinson Boulevard.

“This is by far the largest, single donation” in the nonprofit’s history, he said.

Scott’s gift to North Carolina

Goodwill and nine other North Carolina groups, including YMCA of Greater Charlotte, were identified by Scott’s team as areas where she could make the most impact based on food insecurity, racial inequity and poverty rates.

Three other donations went to colleges: Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina A&T State University and Winston-Salem State University.

Scott said in her blog post the process started by reviewing 6,490 organizations.

Scott said the decision is based on “high potential for impact, but also to pave the way for unsolicited and unexpected gifts given with full trust and no strings attached.”

The YMCA of Greater Charlotte spokeswoman Heather Briganti said the nonprofit is not announcing the amount it will receive at this time and referred to an online statement that said: “We take the responsibility that comes with this donation very seriously, and are excited to evaluate opportunities and outline important, meaningful and tangible work that we are charged with doing as a result of being named a recipient.”

Jackson said Goodwill’s leaders will meet in the new year to begin deciding how to best to use the money.

“Not only was is unsolicited, but unrestricted,” he said of how the millions of dollars can be spent. “And that doesn’t happen very often.”

Goodwill helping the unemployed

Scott’s gift comes at a time when the Charlotte community is experiencing high levels of unemployment and underemployment because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mecklenburg County’s unemployment rate surged in April to 12.8% with nearly 74,000 people unemployed, higher than the peak of the recession in 2010, The Observer previously reported. That rate dropped to 6.7% in October, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. In the months prior to the pandemic, the unemployment rate hovered in the 3% to 4% range, data shows.

Goodwill helps thousands of people in the Charlotte region learn skills for high-growth industries such as IT, construction and customer service at no cost to participants. It also provides free virtual training programs, career coaching and employment support.

Jackson thanked the community for its support, through donations and purchases at Goodwill’s 26 retail stores and more than 30 donation sites in the Charlotte region that help fund the job training and employment services. Goodwill helped more than 11,800 people in 2019 with resources and support, and helped 1,300 people launch careers, according to the nonprofit.

Jackson said Scott’s gift will help Goodwill reach its 2025 strategic plan goals.

“This will propel us forward in our unwavering dedication to closing the skills gap and eliminating the challenges created by inequities,” he said.

This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 1:03 PM with the headline "The phone call and billionaire behind Charlotte Goodwill’s $10 million surprise."