Andy Kessler's Wall Street Journal column argues that Goodwill Industries deserves more credit than its reputation as a place to donate old clothes and furniture. Steven Preston, president and CEO, told Kessler from Rockville, Md. that the nonprofit's re-entry program for formerly incarcerated people posts a 5% recidivism rate — what he calls astoundingly low.

Preston described the challenge: people leaving prison typically have no money, no job, and often return to hostile communities. Yet Goodwill's re-entry model keeps relapse rates dramatically below national averages. Kessler frames this as a business case for viewing the nonprofit through a different lens.

The piece challenges investors and business leaders to recognize that Goodwill's social mission directly fuels its economic model — rare alignment where doing good and generating revenue reinforce rather than compete with each other.