Earlier this month, Goodwill North Central Texas hosted a “wall smashing” to kick-off the remodel of its new headquarters just northeast of downtown Fort Worth. Members of the Board of Directors and President and CEO David Cox used sledgehammers to ceremoniously break down the walls in a move that will allow Goodwill to significantly expand its services over the next year.
In 2019, Goodwill set an ambitious goal to raise $12 million and embarked on what would have been a long journey to raise funds for expanded facilities and classroom space. But thanks to a major gift received in 2020, the nonprofit was able to shift its timeline.
With a $10M donation from philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott, Goodwill was able to take advantage of an opportunity that arose in early 2021 to purchase the two story 27,718 square foot administration building, along with a 10,474 square foot single-story building ideal for further expansion of Goodwill’s Workforce Development offerings. Situated on 2.28 acres at 4200 and 4304 Airport Freeway, the new campus will include two buildings positioned side-by-side with nearly 650 feet of frontage along TX 121.
The administration building will feature a large community room, while the single-story building will serve as a Job Resource Center and house Goodwill’s VetWorthy program. VetWorthy provides military veterans, dependents and surviving spouses with job development, skills training support, and connections to community resources.
With additional training and education space for at-risk youth, innovative classroom space for foster care and independent living skills training, programs for ex-offenders and re-entry training, and expansion of Goodwill’s credentialing programs, the nonprofit expects to hire an additional 56 full-time staff to run new programs and serve an additional 35,000 individuals over the first five years.
“Education and employment are the only proven pathways out of poverty,” said Cox. “Indeed, the need for Goodwill’s services has never been greater and we are committed to expanding employment and education services to break the cycle of poverty for those in our community.”
The largest employer of people with disabilities in the world, Goodwill believes that work has the power to transform lives by building self-confidence, independence, creativity, trust and friendships. Goodwill North Central Texas is based in Fort Worth and serves 18 counties in the region. The nonprofit’s 27 area retail locations provide revenue through the sale of donated goods to support Goodwill’s mission to create lives of independence and build a stronger local community.
The contribution from Scott was the largest private donation from an individual in the organization’s 70-year history.
