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Jordan33962273zvrx
Participant
February 3, 2026
Answered

GoodStack Denying Nonprofit Discount Based on Criteria Not in Adobe's Policy

  • February 3, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 192 views

I'm requesting clarification—and frankly, accountability—regarding GoodStack's denial of our nonprofit application for Adobe products.

Our Organization

Adult & Teen Challenge of Central Canada is a registered Canadian charity operating long-term residential programs. We are not a hospital, clinic, or medical facility. We employ no medical staff. We provide no clinical treatment, detoxification, or healthcare services of any kind.

Our program is a faith-based discipleship community where individuals live and work in a supported environment while rebuilding their lives. Residents participate voluntarily. The model is closer to a residential training program than anything resembling medical care.

The Denial

GoodStack denied our application on the basis that we are a "treatment organization." However, Adobe's published ineligibility criteria state:

"Hospitals, clinics, or facilities providing direct medical care"

We are none of these. The word "treatment" does not appear in Adobe's eligibility policy. GoodStack appears to be applying an internal interpretation that exceeds Adobe's actual guidelines.

The Broader Concern

In Canada, drug and alcohol dependence is a recognized disability under federal and provincial human rights legislation. Categorically excluding nonprofit organizations because they serve people with addiction histories—while framing it as a "treatment" exclusion—raises serious questions about disability-based discrimination.

A literacy charity serving formerly incarcerated individuals qualifies. A job-training nonprofit serving refugees qualifies. But a discipleship program serving people rebuilding their lives after addiction does not? The distinction isn't based on Adobe's published policy—it's based on who our residents are.

What I'm Asking

  1. Where in Adobe's nonprofit eligibility criteria does "treatment organization" appear as an exclusion?
  2. What specific evidence led GoodStack to classify ATC as a "facility providing direct medical care"?
  3. Is there an appeal process for organizations that have been miscategorized?

I'm happy to provide documentation of our programming, staffing model, and charitable status to demonstrate that we do not meet the "direct medical care" exclusion.

      Correct answer Jordan33962273zvrx

      Update — Issue Resolved: GoodStack has now resolved this and our classification has been corrected.

      The original denial appears to have been driven by an assumption that we are a medical facility / hospital / direct-care treatment provider. We are not. Adult & Teen Challenge of Central Canada is a registered Canadian charity and community service organization.

      We serve the wider community through multiple charitable programs that reduce the impact of addiction locally, including:

      • Skills training and employment readiness for people rebuilding their lives after addiction

      • A long-term residential recovery program designed as a live-in community

      • Community offices where people can seek help and connect with us and other community supports

      • Outpatient support groups for families and individuals

      • A soup kitchen feeding hundreds daily

      • Housing supports for vulnerable people

      I’m thankful this was reviewed and corrected. I also encourage greater clarity in the application/category fields—because supporting people who struggle with addiction does not automatically make an organization a medical facility. We are supported by the existing public healthcare system and help individuals access clinics and hospitals when medical care is needed, while we provide a safe community, support, and housing as people pursue freedom from addiction.

      Final note: I suspect some of the confusion may come from differences between the U.S. and Canadian healthcare contexts. In the U.S., many addiction-related residential programs are operated as clinical “treatment facilities” within private or insurance-based healthcare models. In Canada, healthcare is delivered through the public system, and community charities often provide non-clinical residential recovery supports, housing, navigation, and wraparound services while medical care (clinical treatment, physicians) remains with hospitals and clinics. From a U.S. lens, “residential recovery” can be assumed to mean “medical treatment,” but that isn’t how our programs operate here.

      4 replies

      greg_7565
      greg_7565
      Participant
      March 12, 2026

      I have been very frustrated by a similar issue.

      Adobe’s terms (https://www.adobe.com/nonprofits/express.html#nonprofit-terms) for nonprofit product offerings include U.S. public libraries listed in the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services, https://www.imls.gov/) database (as most public libraries in the US are not 501c(3)s). The Goodstack website, however, does not include the IMLS database as one of the eligibility sources.

      After multiple rounds of back and forth with Goodstack urging them to read Adobe’s policy and to review the documentation I had submitted (including evidence of our listing in the IMLS database), the response I got (in November 2025) was:

      “Please note that we are still setting up the application process to allow public libraries listed in the Institute of Museum and Library Services database to apply.

      At this stage, we do not have a specific timeframe to provide, but we are looking into this.

      Please let us know if there is anything else I can look into for you in the meantime - we're here to help.”


      This response was from 4 months ago, and there appears to have been no changes to the Goodstack website. Public libraries are apparently still unable to register for and receive the donations that Adobe makes available. The licenses we previously received when Adobe registration were handled through TechSoup (which had a very easy registration process that understood how public libraries work) are going to expire later this month, and we have no way of renewing them via Goodstack. I hope someone at Adobe or Goodstack will prioritize getting this resolved. 

       

       

       

      J
      Jordan33962273zvrxAuthor
      Participant
      March 12, 2026

      That is quite concerning. In our own experience, the process involved several months of back-and-forth emails before a manual verification was finally completed. Because of that, I cannot help but wonder whether Goodstack and Adobe are operating from different approved lists, which may be creating a miscommunication between the two.

      If that is the case, it is something that really ought to be addressed so that organizations like ours do not slip through the cracks. I also wonder whether some kind of automated or AI-based system is being used to sort applications, which could help explain the discrepancies we are seeing. On the other hand, it may be that there is an actual difference in policy between Goodstack and Adobe. If so, that would be especially concerning, since Adobe is the one donating the software, and its policy should ultimately govern the process.

      greg_7565
      greg_7565
      Participant
      April 1, 2026

      Latest update. Tried following up with Goodstack again, still no progress on getting public libraries validated.
       

      Hi Greg, 

      Thank you for getting back in touch. 

      We do apologise but as of now we are not able to verify nonprofits for this discount that are US Public Libraries listed with IMLS to register. 

      In the meantime I have saved your organizations details and once we have more updates to share we will be sure to let you know. 

      Thank you for your continued patience and understanding. 

      In the meantime, all of our organization’s Adobe Express accounts (which were easily purchased last year when TechSoup was handling the validation) have now expired, and we apparently have no mechanism to renew under the Adobe donation program. 

      This is quite unsatisfactory. TechSoup has handled these types of registrations/validations for public libraries for years. I do not understand why Goodstack (after months of  being aware of the issue) has not addressed it, nor why Goodstack can’t/won’t assist with manually processing a renewal.

       

      J
      Jordan33962273zvrxAuthorCorrect answer
      Participant
      February 12, 2026

      Update — Issue Resolved: GoodStack has now resolved this and our classification has been corrected.

      The original denial appears to have been driven by an assumption that we are a medical facility / hospital / direct-care treatment provider. We are not. Adult & Teen Challenge of Central Canada is a registered Canadian charity and community service organization.

      We serve the wider community through multiple charitable programs that reduce the impact of addiction locally, including:

      • Skills training and employment readiness for people rebuilding their lives after addiction

      • A long-term residential recovery program designed as a live-in community

      • Community offices where people can seek help and connect with us and other community supports

      • Outpatient support groups for families and individuals

      • A soup kitchen feeding hundreds daily

      • Housing supports for vulnerable people

      I’m thankful this was reviewed and corrected. I also encourage greater clarity in the application/category fields—because supporting people who struggle with addiction does not automatically make an organization a medical facility. We are supported by the existing public healthcare system and help individuals access clinics and hospitals when medical care is needed, while we provide a safe community, support, and housing as people pursue freedom from addiction.

      Final note: I suspect some of the confusion may come from differences between the U.S. and Canadian healthcare contexts. In the U.S., many addiction-related residential programs are operated as clinical “treatment facilities” within private or insurance-based healthcare models. In Canada, healthcare is delivered through the public system, and community charities often provide non-clinical residential recovery supports, housing, navigation, and wraparound services while medical care (clinical treatment, physicians) remains with hospitals and clinics. From a U.S. lens, “residential recovery” can be assumed to mean “medical treatment,” but that isn’t how our programs operate here.

        DavidHenry1993
        DavidHenry1993
        Participant
        February 12, 2026

        It is good to hear that this was resolved. Our church in Winnipeg, Manitoba where your main office is, and we have seen an impact in our community from Teen Challenge of Central Canada. We support you in your work, thank you for what you do, it is a very tough field to work in at times, but it is so very much needed!

          Ash @ Goodstack
          Ash @ Goodstack
          Participant
          February 12, 2026

          Hi Jordan,

          I hope you have been keeping well.

          I’m happy that we were able to review your application and was able to determine that your organization is eligible for Adobe for Nonprofits.

          Please be sure to contact us directly if there is anything else we can look into for you.

          Ashley

          Sydney Ellis
          Sydney Ellis
          Participant
          March 19, 2026

          Ash, 

           

          I need your help getting a Nonprofit client of mine reclassified on GoodStack. They are encountering the same roadblocks as these Adobe Community members. This process has been extremely frustrating. 

           

          Please advise!

          kglad
          Community Expert
          kgladCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          March 20, 2026

          ​@Sydney Ellis 

           

          contact goodstack.

          DavidHenry1993
          DavidHenry1993
          Participant
          February 3, 2026

          This really doesn’t sit right with me.

          I’m part of a small church and I know Adult & Teen Challenge as an organization. What you’re being described as here just doesn’t match what you actually are. ATC isn’t a hospital, a clinic, or a medical program. It’s a voluntary, faith-based residential community where people are given time, structure, and support to rebuild their lives.

          Labeling that as “direct medical care” feels like a stretch at best. And the bigger issue is how this seems to hinge on who you serve rather than what you do. People with addiction histories shouldn’t be treated as a reason for exclusion, especially when other nonprofits serving marginalized groups are clearly eligible.

          I appreciate how clearly and calmly you’re asking for answers. Wanting to know where this classification came from, and whether there’s a way to appeal it, is more than reasonable. I really hope GoodStack and Adobe take another look and give you a fair response. 

          I’ll be keeping an eye on this post to see what transpires. 

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