Charity Taps New Support With Virtual Fashion Show

Most shoppers in search of an ivory Valentino jacket or black pinstripe pants from Theory probably wouldn’t think to

look in their local Goodwill store. But the Goodwill of Greater Washington has started to promote itself as a destination for the fashion-conscious, thanks to an annual runway show and a shopping blog, both showcased on its Web site.

The charity’s makeover began three years ago, when it held its first fashion show. But that event, which included a gala dinner, was costly and difficult to organize. So this year the organization held a virtual fashion show, hiring a local designer to choreograph and shoot an eight-minute video (http://fashionofgoodwill.org) featuring local models parading down a runway in clothes plucked from the racks of local Goodwill stores. The online show, which debuted in September, doubled as an auction, with viewers bidding over 10 days on clothing worn by the models.

The show was publicized by a Goodwill staff member who, two months before the show, created a fashion blog to write about current styles, local designers, and some of the more memorable pieces available for purchase online and at the charity’s thrift stores.

Those efforts have won the charity many new supporters. Approximately 13,000 people have viewed the fashion show since it went online. And 15 percent of those viewers have gone on to purchase Goodwill items, a selection of which continue to be offered online through the charity’s partnership with eBay.

In the two weeks after the show went online, the charity’s clothing sales jumped by 16.5 percent. Meanwhile, the dcfashionista blog now attracts almost 1,200 readers per week, 7.3 percent of whom become Goodwill shoppers.

Most of those new converts are from a different demographic than the stereotypical Goodwill supporter, says Brendan Hurley, senior vice president of marketing and communications. “We use the universal language of fashion to try to appeal to a new, untapped population for Goodwill — a younger, hipper population.”

Taking the fashion show online has also saved the charity money. Goodwill spent about $30,000 to produce and promote the show this year, says Mr. Hurley, and its profit margin jumped from 30 to about 90 percent. Corporate sponsors gave a total of more than $90,000, which earned them recognition in the video’s credits or a brief advertisement, with more exposure for larger sums. The minimum sponsorship fee was $3,500.

Both the fashion show and the blog remind people about the charity’s mission. At the beginning of the fashion-show video, for example, charity staff members briefly describe the organization’s goal of educating and training people who are disabled or face other challenges earning a living.

Em Hall, the Goodwill retail-marketing manager and the blogger known as “DC Goodwill Fashionista,” says she has a strict schedule so readers know when to expect new posts. On Mondays, she writes about the world of fashion. On Thursdays she blogs about tips and trends. And on Tuesdays, she says she “drives home the mission of Goodwill” with the “Goodwill Good Buy of the Week” — a posting about choice items available through Goodwill.

Ms. Hall, who had a personal blog before becoming her charity’s fashion blogger, says she has also learned that posting on other fashion-oriented Web sites and attending local fashion events help drive traffic to the Goodwill blog and draw in new customers. The blog now takes up about 15 percent of her time on the job, she says.

“For us, this was about finding a nontraditional way to talk about our organization that got people excited,” says Ms. Hall. “I think most nonprofits have something unique about their organization that they haven’t tapped into yet.”