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

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.

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

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.