LOUISVILLE, KY. – Goodwill Industries of Kentucky announced it raised more than $1 million in the last 45 days to support the construction of its $50 million Opportunity Center in West Louisville.
The announcement came at a donor appreciation event that allowed the nonprofit organization’s financial contributors to get an early look at the 125,000 square-foot, multi-faceted resource center that is currently under construction in one of Louisville’s most underserved communities.
“Nearly a year ago, we asked the philanthropic community to contribute to a $15 million capital campaign to support the construction of a facility that will be used to help thousands of people create pathways out of poverty,” said DeVone Holt, chief external affairs officer for Goodwill Industries of Kentucky. “It’s encouraging to know that we now only need to raise $2.4 million to reach our goal.”
To date, the “Opportunity is Knocking” capital campaign has generated approximately $12.6 million from a collection of donors that recently include the Harshaw Family Foundation, the UPS Foundation, the Ford Fund, the Hearst Foundation, Wasteology, Baird Financial and AT&T.
The nonprofit organization also noted that the capital campaign has generated approximately $188,000 from its employees and more than $253,000 from its current and former board members who all have made personal financial investments in the largest capital construction project in the 100-year history of Goodwill in Kentucky.
“It’s important to know that our staff and board members haven’t asked the philanthropic community to do anything that we haven’t been willing to do ourselves,” said Holt. “In many cases, our staff and board members are giving greater proportions of their disposable income than our external donors. And our Goodwill organization has invested more money and resources than any single individual, foundation or company to lead the charge in bringing this project to fruition.”
Goodwill officials announced that construction on the West Louisville Opportunity Center is scheduled to conclude in early 2024 and will be followed by a grand opening celebration in March.
In addition to celebrating the ongoing progress of the construction of its West Louisville Opportunity Center, Goodwill noted the success it has had in exceeding the minority participation goals it established for the project, which is being conducted in a nine-neighborhood community where 85 percent of the population is African American.
In 2021, Goodwill announced a goal to spend 20 percent of its construction costs on the West Louisville Opportunity Center with minority vendors. Today, the organization revealed that it has spent approximately 33 percent of its construction costs with minority vendors – with several months remaining on the construction calendar to improve that percentage even more.
Last year, Norton Healthcare joined Goodwill in announcing a $100+ million commitment to build the “Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Campus” on 20 acres in the Parkland neighborhood that will include Goodwill’s multi-faceted resource center and the first comprehensive hospital in West Louisville in more than 100 years. The Norton Healthcare hospital is currently under construction and is expected to open in late 2024.
About Goodwill Industries of Kentucky
Goodwill Industries of Kentucky is a 100-year-old nonprofit organization that operates in 103 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. The organization is committed to using resources from its 67 retail stores to help build pathways out of poverty for individuals who need a hand up in life. In 2022, Goodwill helped place 2,368 Kentuckians into jobs with 877 of its employer partners and inside its own retail stores. Goodwill uses approximately 90 cents from every dollar generated in its retail stores to operate programs and services that help Kentucky’s hardest-to-serve job seekers build the life they desire.