By Katy Chen, President & CEO Goodwill Hawaii
But like any other charity, securing enough funding for all the help we want to provide hasn’t come easy. Goodwill Hawaii — along with so many other nonprofits — provides a safety net to the vulnerable, but that safety net is unraveling. In 2023, we helped almost 2,000 people in Hawaii County with job counseling, training and placement for the unemployed or under-employed. Working together with the entire nonprofit sector, we combat poverty, unemployment, drug abuse, food insecurity and homelessness problems that affect every community, while our own nonprofits struggle to make ends meet.
Many nonprofits today are at a crossroads due to insufficient funding for government contracts at a time when demand for these vital programs and services is only growing. Government contract rates are often below the true cost of providing these services.