Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids

The president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids Inc. (Goodwill) was analyzing a staff proposal to begin selling donated books online. Her initial response to the proposal had been to approve the idea without any reservation; however, some pointed questions raised during discussion at a recent board meeting caused her to revisit her support for the project. The CEO determined that to make a thoughtful recommendation about the proposal, she needed to evaluate three main criteria: 1) The strategic and financial fit of the proposal in relation to the current salvage buyers of Goodwill's books; 2) The operating and revenue needs of Goodwill's retail stores, and; 3) Alignment of the proposal with Goodwill's mission statement.