Take It to Goodwill. Learn How the Value of Your Drop Off Changes Lives.

Gabriel Noriega: [00:00:00] I didn't have to no longer hire my disability. When I used to work at the other previous employee, I would hire my disability. I didn't, I didn't tell 'em I was visually impaired until after I got the job. 'cause before that I would have to, I would disclose that I never got the job when I got hired from Goodwill.

They don't discriminate. Everybody's welcome. You know, it's, and I felt I could be myself and I didn't have to hide being visually impaired. So. It made it less stressful to work. Mm-hmm. Being able to be myself and being accepted.

Jeff Holden: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network here. Our purpose and passion are simple to highlight the incredible nonprofits that make our communities stronger. Each episode is a chance for these organizations to tell their story. In their words, sharing not just what they do, but why it matters to the people [00:01:00] they serve, to their supporters, and to all of us who believe in the power of community.

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Visit cx OR e.com. When most of us think about goodwill, we picture the blue sign, a donation drop off, and maybe a quick browse for a bargain if there's a retail store attached to the drop off point. The brand has become synonymous with a place. You take things to donate, take it to goodwill. It could mean any charity.

It's kinda like, give me a Kleenex instead of a tissue, or put a bandaid on it when you really mean an adhesive bandage. Right? In this episode, I wanted to get behind that familiar brand and talk about what really happens to all that stuff we bring to Goodwill and the impact it has on people's lives in the communities they serve.

I'm joined by CEO, Bryan Wagner and workforce development coordinator and job coach Gabriel Noriega. Bryan walks us through a $100 million regional operation, 34 stores, four outlets, [00:03:00] 17 donation centers, and 1700 employees funded 99% by sales of donated goods. All built around one mission. Helping people overcome barriers to employment.

Gabriel shares his own story of coming in as a visually impaired job seeker and now coaching others through resumes, interviews, skills, training, and on the job experience. If you've ever said, I'll just take it to Goodwill and wondered what happens next, or how those donations translate into more than 5,000 people a year getting support.

This conversation will give you a very different way to see that blue logo on the corner. Bryan Wagner, Gabriel Noriega, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Thank you for having us, Jeff. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank 

Gabriel Noriega: you for having 

Jeff Holden: us. Good to be here. Good to meet you. Goodwill is not an unfamiliar organization for a variety of reasons.

One of them being it's 120 years old, but it's a little bit different in [00:04:00] Sacramento, even though it's a legacy institution and has all that branding. How long has it been in Sacramento? 

Bryan Wagner: Sure. Goodwill has been in Sacramento since 1937. That's 88 years. 

Jeff Holden: Well close to that one. 

Bryan Wagner: 20, right? Yeah. Yeah. Quite a, quite a long 

Jeff Holden: time.

Yes. And, and Bryan, what have you seen in those 88 years? Well, that's half my age. I'm 44. So tell us a little bit about the organization as it exists today. 

Bryan Wagner: Sure, sure. So, you know, as mentioned, we've been around since 1937. We cover a large territory. We go from Redding down to Elk Grove. Then from Davis all the way to Reno, in Carson City we have about 1700 employees.

We have 34 stores, four outlets and 17 donation centers, and it's all tied to to our mission, which is to help people overcome [00:05:00] barriers to gaining employment. 

Jeff Holden: You are a logistics. Company in some way, shape, or form. That's a retail location with 34 stores is a big operation. 

Bryan Wagner: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Plus. Plus, 

Bryan Wagner: yep. 

Jeff Holden: How does it all function?

How do you manage all that? 

Bryan Wagner: It's difficult, but you know, to tell you the truth, I have such a great team that that helps manage the day-to-day operations. I mean, we have, not only do we have retail, but. We have the donation collection centers. We have a transportation department, we have a maintenance department, and then we have the support departments that handles all of the hr, the it, and the accounting.

So it's quite the operation. It's, it's a large operation and you know, there's a lot of people that are working hard each and every day. We're open seven days a week, with the exception of a few holidays, so it's, it's a very busy operation. 

Jeff Holden: Would you compare yourself, I mean, most people see goodwill. As the retail side of things.

'cause that's, you know, the consumer facing part. [00:06:00] So you are this, this massive retail operation, relatively speaking with a whole nother purpose behind it. It's not just as a retail operation. You could be a successful entity as a a, a thrift store reseller, but you're much more than that. And I, I think what we see is, you know, you're like the Kleenex of drop off stuff.

Take it to Goodwill. Okay, there you go. You take it to Goodwill. We don't really know what happens behind that, you know, or, or bandaid. You know, it's, it's goodwill. Tell us a little bit about what the mission is behind. All those drop off locations and those, those retail locations. 

Bryan Wagner: Absolutely. So at Goodwill, our mission services are all about helping people build long-term success.

It's not just getting a job, but it's keeping it and growing from there. Mm-hmm. So there's four core areas that we focus on. Number one being vocational [00:07:00] services. That's everything from skills assessments to training to job placement and career counseling. We help people identify their strengths, build the skills necessary that employees are working, or employers are looking for to, in order for them to find meaningful work.

Second, we have advocacy and referral services. So, you know, we partner with various community organizations. So if you came to us and said, Hey, I'm, I'm homeless. Or I need education support or legal support. We partner with community organizations that would be able to help you find that support that you need, which would, which would address the, the barrier that you're facing.

Mm-hmm. Third, we have work experience. We offer job training on the job, training, internships, and apprenticeships with the idea of. You getting a chance to work side by side with folks who have been in the business for quite some time, and, you know, if you're a good fit within retail or [00:08:00] donation center, we're gonna find you a spot.

If, if you're not a good fit for retail, we don't just leave you hanging. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Bryan Wagner: You know, we partner with other for-profit employers and, and, and nonprofit community partners with the idea of finding a job where you would be a good fit. And eventually become successful. 

Jeff Holden: So not only within your own infrastructure do you have the ability to bring people into employment, but you also help them find.

Employment in any way, shape or form if it doesn't fit your infrastructure somewhere else. 

Scott Thomas: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: And, and I understand you also have a a, a resume service and, and a job interview process. And 

Bryan Wagner: we we do, yeah. So like, part of our job readiness training is, is we help people build resumes. We help them with their interview skills.

We offer digital literacy, financial literacy, which what's very cool about our corporate office is we have, we have a lot of computers downstairs, so. You don't have to be a client of ours. You can just drop in and say, [00:09:00] Hey Gabriel, I need help. Writing a resume and somebody from our mission services team will be available to help you write that resume or having 

Jeff Holden: nothing to do with the organization, just to just Right.

Looking for help. 

Bryan Wagner: Yep, absolutely. And you know, it's all about serving our community and, and, and helping people become successful and achieve their dreams. I'm sure that's something many people did 

Jeff Holden: not know existed. 

Bryan Wagner: They do not. Yes. A lot of people do not know that. They just, you know, they, they think Goodwill is, is, is just a retail entity and the buck stops there.

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Bryan Wagner: But it's not, I mean, we have this whole mission services component and that's what makes us great is, is all of the programs and services that we're offering. It's wonderful just to be able to get a chance to, to talk 

Jeff Holden: about that. Yeah. I'm gonna look over at Gabriel now for a second to ask him. What his process was, you know, Gabriel, what was it, what was your relationship with Goodwill?

Because you were in college. You, you graduated from American River College, was it? 

Gabriel Noriega: Yes, I did both, uh, SAC City and Los Rios. [00:10:00] I didn't graduate. I just, you know, took a lot of courses there, but Okay. Couldn't pass that, so, you know, 

Jeff Holden: good 

Gabriel Noriega: enough. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. But what, what brought you to Goodwill? How did you end up there?

Gabriel Noriega: For me, it was. I was done with college Uhhuh, and I needed, I wanted to find employment, so I was with the Department of Rehabilitation. So my DUR counselor referred me over to, to Goodwill Uhhuh. And at first I, I was like, oh, Goodwill, like the retail store. 'cause that's all I knew, you know? Yeah, right. But no, she's like, no, there's, they do job coaching on there.

They help you, you know, build all the employment documentation that you need and they can help you with unemployment. And I was like, oh, wow. I didn't, I did not know that. So it was like, it was spring of 21 when I went there and had a good job coach. And yeah, it's, it was incredible, amazing that all the services that I was getting, uh, all the skills I didn't have, I didn't know how to interview or I thought it was just a resume, but there's [00:11:00] so much things that goes into it.

Yeah. Which, you know, cover letters and follow up letters and do gotta do follow up phone calls after you interview, you know? Just learning all of that. And then with time I was, that was like in May of 21. By September I was able to take those skills and I got a job at another store, retail store, and I was able to use everything that my job coach taught me and employment.

And I was there for two years. And I also wanted to get office job just because I know. Being visually impaired and working retail, it's, it's, it's not easy. So I called my job coach again, and then I was able to go back there and then. There was, there would be, they were rebuilding the mission service side of things and me being, having skills and being visually impaired and having skills and jaws and braille and stuff [00:12:00] like that.

They had clients that needed those, some those skills to work with them. And then July 5th of 23, I came from my job coaching appointment, and that's where they presented me with a offer letter. Okay, great. And I was there ever since, working in an office setting something where I didn't have to no longer hire my disability.

When I used to work at the other previous employee, I would've, I would hire my disability. I didn't, I didn't get, I didn't tell 'em I was visually impaired until after I got the job. 'cause before that I would have to, I would disclose that and I never got the job. Or I have like, you know, a pair of transit park around the corner and, 'cause I'll be, you know.

Embarrassed getting off that bus and, you know, seeing, well, what's wrong with him? You know, that's, that's the way they think. So when I got hired from Goodwill, they don't discriminate. Everybody's welcome. You know, it's, and I felt [00:13:00] I could be myself and I didn't have to hide being visually impaired. So it made my job a lot, it made it, you know, less stressful to work.

Mm-hmm. Being able to be myself and being accepted. 

Jeff Holden: So what is the, what is the title? What is it you do today? 

Gabriel Noriega: I am a workforce developer coordinator. Okay. So, and I also do job coaching, so I'm cross-trained. So when I first got hired, I was working with, uh, the Goodyear program, which is basically teaching some courses, which is retail, customer service, nonprofit case management, custodial and office administration.

So I worked in that we would receive clients from Department of Rehab authorizations. Then after that I was able to do job coaching. So the the program where I came in as a participant, where I was taught how to do resumes and cover letters and follow [00:14:00] up letters and all that's job search and stuff like that.

Now I'm a job coach there as well, and now I just got into doing a situational assessment and adult work experience. Which is basically adult work experience is kind like an internship. It's a hundred hours. And we either to work in our, one of our retail stores or at the corporate office and they gain the skills.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Gabriel Noriega: And, and this, and then the other one is situational assessment, where it's basically evaluating to see if they're ready for competitive employment. And that one's, uh, 40 hours. So yeah. So. I did, I do a little bit of all that. You got your hands 

Jeff Holden: full 

Gabriel Noriega: there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's uh, keeps 

Jeff Holden: me busy for sure.

So Bryan, and, and I can just see you looking at Gabriel as, as he's speaking, just with a sense of pride of, you know, his accomplishments. What is his interface in the organization? You know, where does he, he fit in, in terms of. [00:15:00] Programs and services that you offer, let's kind of walk through those that maybe are the most significant.

Bryan Wagner: Yeah, so, you know, as as mentioned, job coaching and, and Gabriel just does a fantastic job at doing that. There's a lot of people that come in that just don't have confidence in their abilities and it's a beautiful thing to see, you know, to hear Gabriel's testimony and where he came from. And what his thoughts were about Goodwill prior to joining the organization.

And, and Gabriel's just one of those guys that, that's, that's going to motivate somebody. You know, they're gonna come in the door. They don't have confidence, they don't have the necessary skillset to go out there and do a job. And where Gabriel plays a role is, is just taking them under his wing. And, and being that resource for them, coaching them to, to eventually become successful.

Which, you know, the hope would be, you know, somebody gaining employment at one of our stores and, you know, it's, it's okay if they're not necessarily a good [00:16:00] fit for retail because we can help them gain employment elsewhere. Gabriel does a great job at encouraging people and, and I mean, he's pretty inspirational.

What, what, you know, his story and where he is been mm-hmm. And where he is at now and, and what the hu what the future holds 

Jeff Holden: for him. Well, especially with the resources that you've got and the support of the organization. I mean, you can climb and continue to grow within the organization as opportunities present themselves.

Absolutely. Yeah. And then you'll have a track record from, you know, people of success that have gone through. You know your support. Yes. 

Yeah. 

Yeah. That's, that's very cool. If we take a step back for a second, because I think we all wonder, a lot of us will say, okay, we'll just bring it to Goodwill.

Sometimes you get, you know, the wrong stuff, you don't really need it. Tell us a little bit about the stuff, because that is one of the employment opportunities as well. It's, it's working at one of the collection facilities. What happens to this stuff when it [00:17:00] gets dropped off at Goodwill? 

Bryan Wagner: Absolutely. I, I think a lot of people wonder that.

And, and so it's a really, it's a really cool process. So we take in donations at our stores and, and donation collection centers, and what we do is, is we evaluate every item to see if it's sellable. If it is sellable, then we're going to place it at one of our stores, which goes through a five week, a five week rotation.

And so how we price that item is by using the good, better, best model. So think of a shirt from Target, for example, that would be considered a good item. Maybe a pair of jeans from Kohl's that would be considered a better item, and then a suit coat. From Nordstrom's would be considered best, and so like I said, once everything is priced, it goes to the sales floor for five weeks.

If it does not sell at the store, then that item [00:18:00] goes to our outlet where it is significantly discounted and sold by the pound. And so you could see the real value is ensuring an item sells at the stores. Mm-hmm. And then from there, if it does not sell at the outlet. Then it goes through what we call our salvage stream, and it is sold in bulk to various customers that we have who either recycle or repurpose those items.

One of the things that I, I do wanna mention is in that people don't really know is that we are, we are deeply committed to environmental sustainability. So what people don't know is that. Every single year, Goodwills collectively keep millions of pounds of product from going into the landfills. Which, which is, which is really cool.

Yeah. When you, when you talk about environmental sustainability, and so the idea, you know, going back to the idea of. You [00:19:00] know, everything selling at our stores. If, if we are able to sell most of our product through our stores, what that means, that's more money being poured into our mission, which is, which is very important to 

Jeff Holden: us.

And you said millions of pounds being prevented from the, from landfill. Did I see 61 million Pounds is a yearly intake. 

Bryan Wagner: It's a, it's around that number. Yep. Oh my goodness. It's, it's quite a bit. 

Jeff Holden: It's a lot of stuff, yes. That, that comes through. 

Bryan Wagner: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: You have a lot of tentacles into the community, and I think we touched on a few with how Gabriel is interfacing.

Tell us who are some of those collaborative partners. Sure. Department of Rehabilitation being one of 'em, obviously. Right, 

Bryan Wagner: right. And, and yeah, so we're, we're fortunate to partner with great organizations, several great organizations across our region to share our mission of helping people find meaningful work and.

One of our key partners is the California Department of Rehabilitation, [00:20:00] and so they refer individuals to us and we provide job readiness training, things like resume writing, interview skills, and digital literacy, along with hands-on work experience and job placement support. We also partner with Sacramento Employment and Training Agency to serve youth ages between.

18 and 24 people that have barriers to education and employment. And through that partnership we provide case management, job placement services, job readiness training as well. 

Jeff Holden: How about organizations that you reach out to or outreach? For opportunities. Is, is that, does that occur from you in or from them to you?

And I'm thinking just, just other nonprofits and or retailers. I imagine that's a, it's a broad swath of people that you. You interface with, because you've got all these people coming outta your programs. Are there any that you can mention here? Yeah, so 

Bryan Wagner: we, we have, [00:21:00] we have a variety of, of nonprofit partners that we partner with.

Uh, one that comes to mind is Golden Sierra. Yep. We, I remember when I was the CFO, we partnered with Golden Sierra and they had a candidate who had accounting experience. We brought her on to our, to our department and trained her in the field of accounts payable and accounts receivable, and she ended up being very successful with our organization and moved on to actually run her own bookkeeping business.

So we have a variety of of nonprofit partners that we, you know, we partner with and. How we source them. Either they reach out to us through our website or we go to them. We have a director of mission services that's out and about in the community that, that, uh, makes partnerships with other organizations.

Based on how 

Jeff Holden: much I've seen you, I would've assumed that was you. 

Bryan Wagner: Yeah, no, I'm, I'm trying to be out and about more often. You know, it's, it's kind of interesting, you know, being in CFO land, you're, you're, you're in the office a lot more crunching the numbers. But [00:22:00] now in CEO Land, it's all about, you know, making partnerships in the community and with the idea of, of doing big things.

Jeff Holden: Yeah. And I'd like to stress for those who are listening too, if you have, if you are a nonprofit and you have an interest. Some of these services to take advantage of them because some organizations can't do that. They just don't have the ability or the depth to do it. Whereas you have it as a, a provision, it's a service, it's a, you know, a pro bono free service for somebody to take advantage of these, these assets, which is really wonderful to hear.

Absolutely. We'll continue with Bryan Wagner and Gabriel Noriega, both from Goodwill, right after we hear from the people who make this program possible. 

Darrell Teat: We are really excited to be part of the family and contribute to the work that you all are doing. Core provides fractional and interim executive services along with comprehensive back office solutions that go into our client sites and do the work to give them the capacity they need in order to move through [00:23:00] transitions, whether that's planned or unplanned, or companies also work with our accounting and finance.

Back Office solutions, human resources, technology and administration. The reason why our back office solutions add value is because we save them time and money anywhere from 20 to 30% of what they would spend on that back office solution. We work in it so they can actually work on it. CX OR e.com and contact me directly at DTE a t@cxoe.com.

Jeff Holden: If you're interested in learning more about how CORE may help your organization, visit CXOR e.com.

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAPTRUST in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations annually. We survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment. [00:24:00] In our more recent survey, we hear concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement alternative investments.

If you would like a copy of the survey or do discuss your organization, look me up, scottThomas@captrust.com. 

Jeff Holden: At 

Scott Thomas: Western 

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It's a partner in your purpose. [00:25:00] Explore your options today@westernhealth.com. Western Health Advantage, healthcare with Heart designed for those who give back. Let's talk a little bit about funding. You were CFO for seven years. There were a couple bumpy years in there. It seems as if the organization is now not only on track, but really excelling.

So what was it? What? What's changed? What are you doing differently that maybe you weren't doing 4, 5, 6 years ago? 

Bryan Wagner: Yeah, so, you know, being in the, the seat of A CFO, I feel like I was very fortunate. It gives you the ability to, to see where the challenges are and, and the changes that need to be made in order to turn an organization around.

So one of the things that we realized is that we were selling the wrong product. In our stores, we were, we were selling a lot of new goods, and when, when people come to Goodwill, they, they don't necessarily [00:26:00] shop for new goods. Right? They're, they're thrifting. They're going for that treasure hunt. They're searching for value.

Mm-hmm. That that's what they want. But just to give you an example, we were selling dog toys at our stores. And could you imagine new dog toys, new dog toys? I love dogs, don't get me wrong, but we leave that to the pet stores. They're really good at, at, at selling dog toys. And so one of the strategies was to get back to our core competency, which, which is selling donated goods.

Mm-hmm. That's what we're in business for you. You bring your donations to us, we sell the donated goods, and then no sales go directly to support our mission. Another thing that was part of, of this turnaround strategy is we noticed that our prices were too high and we, we had raised our prices last year and, and didn't really have much data to support those price increases.

And so we, we looked at our prices, we used the data that we have, and then we introduce some new lower price points, [00:27:00] which have proved to be very successful. Our customers are happier now. Our transaction counts have gone up, items sold have gone up. It, it's truly amazing to, to see what has happened just by making those two shifts in our operation.

And, and I do wanna point out that, you know, I wanna be clear that, that none of this. Happened because of me alone. I want to thank our teams that I have a really, really good team and, and they work very hard and all of them have played a monumental role in turning the organization around. 

Jeff Holden: Tell me about the actual funding.

'cause I think from the consumer standpoint, yeah, we're looking going, okay, the retail stores fund everything, 

Bryan Wagner: right? 

Jeff Holden: But that's. Probably not the case. 

Bryan Wagner: So, well, 99% of our funding comes from sales from donated goods. Oh, that's awesome. And, and the other 1% comes from grants and professional fees, which, which is derived from the, the Department of Rehabilitation.

Mm-hmm. And then we have unrestricted cash donations [00:28:00] as well. Um, more along the lines of, of Roundup at our registers. And so what we're truly, what we're really trying to push. In, in the upcoming year is we're training our cashiers to have a conversation with the customers as they're checking them out, right?

And, and, and to really share with the customers what it is that Goodwill is doing. This is our mission. Here's our stated purpose, and. Trying to help the customer understand that, you know, their purchase is, isn't just going to this for-profit organization. It, it's going to Goodwill that has a mission component and here are the services that, that we are out there performing because of that purchase and donation that is being made.

Jeff Holden: Retail funds, 99%. That's, that's an envious position. I will tell you from many nonprofits, because you're not reliant on federal grants, state grants, you know that, that grant cycle, that gets so tough, especially today [00:29:00] with the uncertainty of everything that's going on. And you mentioned the unrestricted funds coming from the roundup at the, the registers, which is all self-inflicted.

You know, it's self-generated, which is another asset. Because you don't have to totally rely, and then you do get donations as well, because people who like the mission are, are willing to, you know, to support it. Right. What, what's the total budget that you work with? So our total budget that we work with is about a hundred million dollars.

Okay. So you are a big organization by Yes. Any means you're a big business. 

Bryan Wagner: We are 

Jeff Holden: By, by any means. What do you see looking forward short term? 

Bryan Wagner: What I see looking forward short term, what we are are pushing, there's, there's a few things that we're pushing. One is just the, the community engagement side and, and just getting the message out there about.

Our mission services, what it is that we do with the donations that come in, and the purchases that are being [00:30:00] made in our stores. And you know, we're pushing several training initiatives, not only in our stores, but our donation collection centers as well, because. What people don't understand is that donations, donations of product is the lifeblood of the organization and, and if you really break it down and think about it, without donations, we wouldn't have anything to sell in our stores.

And if we didn't have anything to sell in our stores, then we wouldn't have a mission. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. Gabriel wouldn't 

Bryan Wagner: have a job. I wouldn't have a job. 

Jeff Holden: Right. 

Bryan Wagner: And so it's very important for. Us to be able to talk about that in out in the community. We're also wanting to expand our footprint, our retail footprint within the territory that we operate in.

There are for-profit thrift operators that are out there that are competing for our business. They're competing for our donations and. We are going to be very aggressive when it comes to real estate because the one thing that we have over them, our [00:31:00] advantage is our mission. Mm-hmm. They don't, they don't, they don't have a mission.

Who are they? Who are they? You know, they may donate. Well, there's 

Jeff Holden: just for, for profit business, right. 

Bryan Wagner: They, I mean, they may give a portion of their profits, but we're actually changing lives. We're transforming lives through our workforce development services that we're offering. And so I feel like we have a competitive advantage from that standpoint.

So those are the two big things for us that we're, we're pushing next year, in the next three years. And you certainly have 

Jeff Holden: a branding advantage. Absolutely. Who doesn't know the name, right? Everybody knows the name. Right. If we look at the way things are today and somebody comes in and says, you know, Bryan.

I heard your story with Gabriel and I really like it. If you can gimme a good enough reason, I'm gonna give you a blank check to do something with the organization, what would it look like? What would you do? And I'm talking more, you know, our region Sacramento, not goodwill holistically, but just in the Sacramento region.

What would that look like if you just got this unlimited funding? 

Bryan Wagner: Unlimited funding. Wow. [00:32:00] Boy, that would be great. You know? Yeah, no, if, if money were no object, I would love to build a workforce development innovation hub. And that's a place that brings together job training, entrepreneurship, and creativity all under one roof.

It would be, it would be very cool. It'd be a space where people could not only learn skills and, and find jobs, but also develop new products, technology, and ideas and, and, and just, just imagine. You know, an incubator where someone who once came to Goodwill for job readiness training, someone that, you know, came to us, they can learn how to design, build, and launch something of their own.

Maybe it's a product that solves a real world problem or a piece of technology that helps people who have barriers. Mm-hmm. So, you know, we bring employers, educators, and innovators together [00:33:00] to co-create. And, and eventually with the idea of moving people from job seekers to job creators. 

Jeff Holden: I love that concept.

And I think getting that out there, there's people who are thinking the same thing. What would this look like? You know, for, for people who have been challenged or have disabilities, there's really not a maker space for them. Right. With all the accoutrements of what you're referencing, which are the services that you provide?

I, I think that's. That seems doable to me. Yes. You know, it, it really does, and I can see that in the not too distant future. Gabriel, I'm gonna throw it over to you as, as you are in the environment. Mm-hmm. You know, you're actually working in the realm of, of goodwill in the services that you provide. From your perspective, what would be really neat to see if it didn't rely on having to be budgeted.

Gabriel Noriega: The same mission, try to just serve as much people as we [00:34:00] can. Just helping them achieve their, their goals, right? Their dreams being successful of second opportunity and getting their confidence back. Mm-hmm. So just keep, continue to do that and just keep the more people we served, the more lives we change the, you know, the, the better.

Better for the community. Yeah, better for the community, better for, you know, our organization. And you know, at that's at the end of the day, it's all about numbers and just changing the most lives for the better. And you know, that's the most important. Y you know, Brian, I don't 

Jeff Holden: know the number, I didn't ask you this earlier, so you may not have it off the top of your head.

Do you know roughly how many people go through the program each year? 

Bryan Wagner: So each year, I believe last year we served over 5,000 people. 5,000 people. 5,000 people in some way, shape or form, in some way, shape or form. Right. That's, you know, that could be somebody that just comes through our, our doors at the corporate office and [00:35:00] asking from resume help to the individuals, the participants, through our set of training programs.

Mm-hmm. Through the Department of Work or Department of Rehabilitation. Okay. 

Jeff Holden: And set. Is that Sacramento Employment Training? It's Sacramento Employment Training Agency. Yeah. Yep. Okay, now come back to reality. You know, our, our big warehouse with the, you know, incubator and, and makerspace is on hold. What's the greatest need that you've got?

I would say our greatest 

Bryan Wagner: need is donations. Donations a product. Our mission is, is fueled by donations. It's powered by donations. And, you know, it's, it's because of the generosity of the community that we're able to do what we do. You know, as mentioned, without donations we wouldn't have product to sell in our stores.

And if we didn't have anything to sell in our stores, we wouldn't have our mission. Also what we're, what we're always looking for are partnerships. Expand our partnerships within the communities. So the people that we serve when it comes to placing them in jobs, we [00:36:00] can place them at an organization where we would know they would be a hit.

You know, assuming that they wouldn't be successful at our, at our, one of our retail stores. Mm-hmm. And so donations and partnerships are always something that we're, we're trying to 

Jeff Holden: expand. Again, I'll reiterate that donations we're not looking for monetary donations. Although, yes, if they came in, that's fine, but we're talking about product stuff, correct?

Yes. And today people seem to be so short lived with their stuff that they turn it in. I mean, have you seen. Reasonable influx. Is there, is it up, down, what, what's happening with the donations? 

Bryan Wagner: Yeah. No, there's, there's definitely ebbs and flows and, and we've seen an uptick this year. You know, I will say in a, in an economy where, where you have inflation, people are more conscientious on, on what they're spending their money on.

And, and so when they come to Goodwill, they're looking for that value, right? They have, you know, because a dozen eggs is gonna cost, they're gonna cost you 10 to 12 bucks, right? Their, their [00:37:00] purchasing power has, has decreased. Mm-hmm. And so, coming to our stores, they're gonna find value and they're gonna have more purchasing power, and they're gonna get an item that, you know, it may be good, better, best, but they're, they're gonna get something of, of value to them that.

Is gonna go a long way. And so on the donation side, we, we've seen an uptick in donations this year and we wanna continue to see that uptick in, in future years as well. The thing, you know, you hear nonprofit and, and people think, oh, they're not supposed to make a profit. But in reality, like you said, we, well, we still have to make a profit to stay in business.

It's a business. Mm-hmm. It's just a tax status at the end of the day. You know, and so it's, it's important to run your operation like a business, but also be mindful of like, okay, this money needs to go toward, you know, providing services. Yeah. You know, and, and what our stated 

Jeff Holden: purpose is. So yeah. We see a lot of people who will come through and it's, it's not a vow of poverty because you're a nonprofit.

Mm-hmm. You know, the work that you're doing is every bit as significant 

Bryan Wagner: Right. 

Jeff Holden: As, [00:38:00] you know, a a for-profit business. 

Bryan Wagner: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: And so it should be treated. Like a for-profit with a marketing director. Yes. You know who's out there to help you perpetuate the mission and tell the story. 

Bryan Wagner: Yep. 

Jeff Holden: And make sure that people know what's happening and, and the good that's happening through the organization.

Yeah. There's a lot of things that I think the average individual just doesn't realize. Right. You know that when you bring it to Goodwill, what happens to it? Well, it's, I get a, I get a deduction of my, you know, of my taxes. Yeah. Yeah. So I throw it away, you know, to Goodwill. Does part of your plan. Involve more retail locations in outlying areas or in.

Denser populated city areas. It's a combination of 

Bryan Wagner: both denser and and outlier areas. If, if, if a location, if we identify a location that doesn't make sense to put a retail operation in, we would, we would consider putting a donation center. At that location, what we, what we really look for is [00:39:00] locations and, and specifically targeted zip codes where there may be higher quality items.

And because those items are, are, we can get better pricing at our stores for those items. And so we try to be very strategic on where we place those donation centers because we want, you know, with the idea of, of capturing as many donations as possible. Sure. High traffic areas and visibility, high traffic visibility, all of it.

Yeah. Right. And are those leased locations typically lease locations? Correct. Okay. Yep. We, we lease most of our locations, we own about 17 locations, and those properties were all purchased some, some years ago, 10 

Jeff Holden: plus years ago. So now I'm gonna ask you something. We're gonna completely shift from the organization to you personally.

You know, this is a big job, a hundred million dollar business. You're a young guy and you look probably, you look younger than you really are. Really? Yes, you do. Thank you. I'll write the check to you later. Coming from an older man, right? But [00:40:00] as, as you look at the responsibility that you've got, you carry it.

It just is, it's endemic. And people who are passionate about their. To their business. You know, it can be a 24 7 thing, you know, and, and it's hard for you to get away from it. You drive by a corner, there's one of your stores, you know, you can't miss it. It's either a drop off location or a retail location.

What do you do to relax? How do you get out of the, you know, the mindset of, oh boy, I'm, I've, I'm, I've gotta make sure Gabriel's doing his thing, you know? 

Bryan Wagner: Well, you know, it's because of folks like Gabriel that I'm able to have some kind of relaxation in my life. Now that's a great question, and honestly, you.

It is hard to relax being in the CEO role, especially in your first year. Mm-hmm. Right. And, and you're in this, you're in this turnaround phase and you know it is 24 7 and you wanna make sure that, that this organization survives and, and is in business for the long term. But ultimately what, what, what keeps me grounded?

Is my faith and my family. You know, I'm, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ [00:41:00] and you know, it's because of him that I'm able to do what I do and he keeps me grounded, especially in those, in those days that are very, very long, which, which happen often. But also my family too. I have, I have a beautiful wife. And two boys, 15 and 13, and, and I have a daughter that's three.

And so I find myself on football fields, baseball, diamonds, basketball courts, and changing diapers. Yeah. Golf courses and changing diapers and chasing her around the park and, and so I'm very fortunate to, to have them in my life. And then lastly. What I've come to realize is, you know, I used to be in the Marines and so physical fitness, uh, plays a role in, in being successful.

And I, I've started getting back into the gym and, and trying to focus on myself because at the end of the day, you know, if, if I can't lead myself, I can't lead a successful organization. And so I, I have to be [00:42:00] able to lead myself and and, and get back into it so I can be. You know, mentally sharp and physically.

Physically in shape. Yeah. Oxygen mask 

Jeff Holden: is 

Bryan Wagner: taken 

Jeff Holden: first by the adult. Right. Which is, is so important. Absolutely. And your mission and service and operation are similar to, you know, a Salvation Army, faith-based, uh, volunteers of America, faith-based, and these big iconic organizations, which I'm really pleased to hear because.

I just think it's something that people need more of, you know, in their lives, in the country, in our operation, in our organizations, you know, all the way around. Gabriel, how about you? What's fun for you? What do you do? For 

Gabriel Noriega: me is just working out. Yeah. I'm a, I'm a gym rat. I like to, uh, work out and, um, just chill.

Trying new places to eat, cooking. That's pretty much it. Good. Yeah. So. That's how I relax. Yeah. 

Bryan Wagner: I wish I could try new places to eat. Yeah, right. The [00:43:00] don't thing my wife feeds me is there's salads nowadays. Yeah.

Jeff Holden: How about closing thoughts? Anything you wanna leave the audience with? 

Bryan Wagner: You know, at the end of the day, I'm, I'm just really proud of the people we. We've served and, and the lives that we've changed through our workforce development programs. I mean, it's, it's just truly amazing to see, and I feel very fortunate to be part of it.

You know, every day we see people gaining confidence, learning new skills, and becoming self-sufficient. And I think for both Gabriel and I, that's, that's what makes the work well worth it. And, and so I just, I just want people to also remember that Goodwill isn't just some retail store and, and, and the buck stops there.

We have this mission services side of us and, you know, we provide vocational services, advocacy and referral services, work experience services, and then other indirect services such as transportation, technology and those [00:44:00] kind of things. So I, I, I want, I want people to know that. We're out there doing great things.

We're transforming lives through the power of work, and it's a beautiful thing. So, and, and lastly, I just wanna thank our community. I wanna thank our donors, shoppers, employees, and partners for believing in what we do. And, you know, none of this happens without them. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. And, 

Bryan Wagner: you know, together we're giving people second chances, strengthening families, and building a stronger region through the power of work.

Gabriel Noriega: Gabriel, anything on your end? Yeah, I just wanted to let everybody know that if you need any assistance with job coaching, building resumes, cover letters, mock interviews, come see us. If you want to upscale and learn a trade like retail, customer service, or janitorial, we got you covered. All those skills that we provide and.

Come see us. We're open Monday through Friday, eight to four, and we're here to serve the public and happy. Reach your goals and, uh, dreams. [00:45:00] Well, there's, 

Jeff Holden: there's your call to action. There it is. He just laid, he just laid it all out in the close. Love it. Gabriel's the closer. Very, very good. Well, gentlemen, thank you for helping us better understand what happens with all that stuff that people drop off in realizing that it's not just.

A retail operation that there really is a mission behind it and it's serving an incredible amount of people. I mean, 5,000 people a year is, is incredible. That's a, a huge, huge number. You know, congratulations on the work that you do, Gabriel. Congratulations on, on the role and the, the skill that you're providing for the people who are coming through the organization.

And thanks for you and your team, for what you're providing in the community. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank 

Gabriel Noriega: you. Appreciate 

Jeff Holden: it. Thank you for listening to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. We hope today's episode inspired you and gave you a deeper look into the work of our local nonprofits. If you believe in our mission to amplify their voices, please take a [00:46:00] moment to leave us a positive review and share this episode with a friend.

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