As one of the nation’s largest volunteer centers, VolunteerNow is widely recognized for its impact in mobilizing 500,000 volunteers to strengthen over 4,200 nonprofits and a network of 1,000 school campuses. Our Donated Goods and Community Service Restitution programs are equally impactful, though less well-known. Across all of our programs, the VolunteerNow mission is to unite people with heart and empower them with community, goods, and ideas so that together, we will create the change we want to see in the world.

For 35 years, our Donated Goods program has accepted new goods at the end of their retail life cycle and redistributed them to low-to-moderate-income communities and nonprofits serving those populations. In May 2024, VolunteerNow’s Donated Goods program received the prestigious 2024 Texas Impact Enterprise Award from Southern Methodist University’s Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity and the Inclusive Economy Consortium in recognition of our trailblazing efforts in scaling sustainable solutions for a climate-smart, inclusive economy. Annually, we redistribute 800 tons of goods and serve over 50,000 households.

Over the past year, we redistributed goods valued at $1.5 million to 189 nonprofit and educational partners through our Goods Giveaway initiatives. Goods not distributed through our giveaway or grant services are sold at deeply discounted prices in our storefronts, which are open to the public. Our Dallas location is housed in the Wilson Historic District. Nonprofits like Bonton Farms utilize the Dallas storefront for field trips, allowing their program participants to shop with dignity and pride, selecting quality items they can afford.

VolunteerNow also serves justice-impacted citizens directly. We coordinate with Dallas County probation offices, matching court-ordered community service volunteers with appropriate nonprofit partners. Over the past 15 years, we have served over 50,000 justice-impacted citizens who have completed over 2 million volunteer hours. In January 2024, we launched a study with The University of Texas at Dallas’s Criminology Department to investigate whether community service reduces recidivism and the severity of repeat offenses, and whether court-ordered volunteers report the same benefits as the general volunteer population.

For over half a century, VolunteerNow has been dedicated to moving people to action, driven by the belief that we can do better together. We are proud to have mobilized over 1 million people in service to others since our founding. We remain committed to empowering communities through the power of volunteerism, donated goods, and research driven solutions.