MacKenzie Scott Gift—Dec 2020

Please watch this important message for all Goodwill Northern Michigan employees from Executive Director Dan Buron, or read the message below. (3 min)

Hello Goodwill employees— 

At the end of this year like no other, we are grateful. When the pandemic shut down our stores and cut off crucial revenues our programs rely on, the community came to the rescue with an overwhelming show of support. We’re grateful for the confidence the community has placed in our programs that help people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. And we're grateful for the heroic efforts of our donors, partners, team members, and volunteers that have allowed us to continue our essential services without pause, despite all the complexities 2020 presented.   

You may have heard the good news that we received an unsolicited $5M gift in December  from author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. MacKenzie Scott used to be married to Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, and her Amazon stock has made her a billionaire. She has pledged to give away the majority of her fortune during her lifetime to organizations that are doing good work.  

In the past four months, she gave over 4 billion dollars to 384 nonprofits. To decide who would receive the gifts, her team did extensive research on 6,500 organizations from all across the United States. Each was carefully screened for proven management teams and high potential for making a positive impact. We were one of 384 organizations she chose. Her team looked at our history and saw that we do good work and that we make decisions thoughtfully, using data, guided by our mission. Our track record shows that we will not spend this gift frivolously or impulsively.  

This gift is a huge vote of confidence in the work that we do together. Each and every one of us should be proud of the role we have played in making Goodwill Northern Michigan an organization that is worthy of being entrusted with this gift.   

With this gift, comes great responsibility to use these resources wisely, to reach further than we ever have before in reducing food insecurity and making homelessness a rare, brief, and one-time experience in our region. We are determined to find the best possible use for the money by engaging in a deliberate process over the course of the next few months.  

We don’t have any specifics on how we are going to use the funds yet. To make the right decision for using the $5M, it’s crucial that we go through a diligent process, and that process will take time. We need to seek input on ways we can best invest the funds in order to achieve a positive systemic impact on the problems our communities face. We need to hear from our team members, our donors, and our partners. We need to talk with the people we serve and with community leaders, too. 

It’s important for us to communicate that this gift does NOT mean we no longer need community support. While we do not know at this time specifically what the funds will be used for, we do plan to invest the gift in long-term systemic change. Our program operations will continue to be funded as they have been in the past: through store revenues, Round Up donations, and donations and grants from individuals and foundations. 

I want to thank each of you for the role you play in making Goodwill Northern Michigan what it is today. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions about this gift and what it means for our organization.  

Take care, thank you, and Happy New Year. 

Dan