Diversifying Revenue Streams Through Innovative Program Development or Social Purpose Enterprise

Success Story Goodwill Industries, London

“Serving over 5800 individuals in South Central Ontario in registered services, with a close to 200-person workforce including 30% with employment barriers or challenges, we continue to review and revise existing services in response to changing needs and the marketplace while pursuing new directions.  We operate eight retail stores, two Career Centres and a temporary staffing service, have several partnership programs at other locations and have a budget of $7 million. This Goodwill regularly engages in Strategic Planning and has strong program, sales and budget monitoring capabilities. At times, our employment and training activities have helped to support our retail arm and vice versa over our history allowing for this resilience and longevity.”

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Food For Thought

In the process of integrating programs, it is crucial to be aware of the capacity of staff and resources to handle increased and diverse responsibilities.  There is a point where the efficiencies and effectiveness of program integration is nullified by over-extension of resources and the overwhelming of staff. A commitment to ongoing monitoring and program evaluation is necessary, and it is also important to encourage and respond to staff input and have them directly involved in program design. The primary driver of program design must be quality and impact of programs, not cost savings.

Project PartnersONESTEP OAYEC ACTEW
Special Thanks to Our SponsorsTHE ONTARIO TRILLIUM FOUNDATION EMPLOYMENT ONTARIO