Every once in a while we like to point out how non-profits and charitable causes can harness the Internet to better achieve their goals, and this post highlights the successful efforts of Goodwill of Greater Washington using a blog — about fashion.

True, Goodwill is about community development projects like job training for lower income folk and sales from used and thrift clothing helps fund such programs, but fashion is not one of the organization's main concerns. 

However, it understands that Napoleon Dynamite and others find cool second-hand threads at thrift shops to don.  These hipsters frequent thrift stores since they know that the fine line between "thrift" and the more haute couture adjective "vintage" is razor thin — price.  Further, many high end boutiques buy some of their stock at places non-profit second-hand stores and jack up the price.  Why can't organizations like Goodwill cash in more on "vintage" as well?

To counteract this trend, Goodwill here in DC hired Em Hall to write the DC Goodwill Fashion Blog in order to attract more customers to the stores.  Through this blog she spotlights (and, dare I say, markets) trendy items found on the racks and even auctions off higher quality and more haute items.  In some cases, these items fetch a far higher price through the on-line auction than a transaction in the store.  Thus, Goodwill gets more money to devote to its community projects.  In fact, Goodwills in other parts of the country have approached Ms. Hall to try similar blogging ventures.

This is a creative way that a non-profit organization has used a blog, and the best part of it is that blogging is cheap and easy.  But it does require some creativity and, in this case, a good sense of fashion.

Hat tip: Rachel Martin and Win Rosenfeld of NPR's The Bryant Park Project.