Having lost her own father at an early age, Melissa Kushner founded Goods for Good to ensure that orphans in impoverished countries were not left without support. In 2003, while interning at the United Nations, Kushner traveled to Malawi, arranging 4,000 pounds of items from Toys R Us and other American companies to donate to an AIDS orphanage and other relief centers there. After earning a master’s degree in international development from New York University, Melissa felt drawn to return and help the million orphans she had seen struggling in Malawi. In response to this crisis, she founded Goods for Good (now called Yamba Malawi) in 2006 with the goal of transforming orphan care. The nonprofit organization trains adults in marketable skills such as chicken farming and offers them the tools they need to create their businesses. These businesses then use their profits to care for orphans in their communities. As of 2024, Yamba Malawi has launched six community-level and 400 household-level businesses, creating more than 450 jobs. The organization has also helped over 2,000 children receive psychosocial care and provided over 23,000 children with food.  Determined to maximize the impact nonprofits could have abroad, Kushner also founded Nonprofit Share in 2011, which coordinates efforts between nonprofits and ensures that aid gets where it needs to go.  

Melissa Kushner is a grantee of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York (JWFNY), and is featured as part of a partnership between JWA and JWFNY spotlighting Jewish women social entrepreneurs.