Stimulus, Swings and Social Enterprise

by Carla I. Javits, President, REDF

Amidst the news of stock market gyrations, rising unemployment and relentless foreclosures, I heard a CNN commentator suggest a great metaphor for the timing of ‘stimulus’ and its effect on the economy.

He said that fiscal stimulus can be compared to a parent pushing a swing. If your child is flying up in the air on the other side of the bar and you push, nothing happens. If they’re heading your way, poised right in the middle and you push, the swing may keep coming and hit you in the chin. But if you push when the swing is right at that sweet spot – at the top of its arc toward you – your push has real impact and you hear the giggles all the way up the other side.

Click here to read more »

2008 REDF Portfolio Roundup

A Year in Review

2008 will be remembered for many things. Here at REDF, we are extremely proud of the accomplishments of our four current portfolio organizations over the last twelve months. Against our goal of putting 1,000 people into jobs by the end of 2010, the REDF portfolio has already employed 223 people in this first full year of our three-year strategy.

In the face of an economic downturn, new businesses and business lines have been launched and are successfully competing in sectors that we believe will continue to be in demand while adding value to growing environmental efforts, including: recycling, re-use, urban maintenance and greening, and third-party property management services. We enter 2009 keenly aware of the challenges we face, but we are building on a solid foundation.

To read highlights of the accomplishments of our portfolio organizations in 2008, click here »

Give the Ultimate Gift This Holiday Season…A Job

When Ramses Peña got out of jail, he found himself with no work and little hope. But this year, with the help of REDF and supporters like you, he is enjoying the ultimate gift: a job.

Ramses works at Ashbury Images, a nonprofit screen printing business employing at-risk youth. REDF helps Ashbury Images and other businesses like it here in the Bay Area successfully employ people who would otherwise remain unemployed.

This holiday season, give the ultimate gift…a job.

Make an online donation to REDF of $250 or more and receive this limited-edition messenger bag designed by San Francisco’s Rickshaw Bagworks and screen-printed at Ashbury Images.

Does REDF’s assistance make a difference? Ramses thinks so. “I’m a hard worker and I’m determined to do a good job. I stay focused on work. Right now I want to concentrate on the positive and see how far I can go.”

Make an online donation of $250 or more to REDF through December 31, 2008 and you will receive a limited-edition messenger bag designed for REDF by San Francisco’s Rickshaw Bagworks and screen-printed by the youth at Ashbury Images.

This season, put your holiday gift to work.

Help others like Ramses get the kind of job that transforms a life.

Click here to learn more and donate today!

The Next Generation of Social Enterprise Leaders

REDF attracts young, Bay Area professionals to achieve greater social enterprise success

 

 

 

 

 

In September, REDF hosted a well-attended reception for young professionals interested in learning about social enterprise here in the Bay Area*. Guests left inspired by the stories they heard and motivated to engage with us and to become more involved in the amazing organizations in our portfolio.

Click here to learn about how REDF is engaging these future leaders » 

 

Comings and Goings

 

 

 

 

Staff
Enterprise Development Manager Emily Bolton left REDF to return to the U.K. in September. REDF thanks Emily for her invaluable contributions to REDF’s due diligence approach, social enterprise business assistance, and the Farber Program. Emily will be joining Social Finance, a social investment bank in London, and we encourage everyone to stay in touch with her via the Farber Forum!

REDF is thrilled to welcome back Samra Haider, who was a Farber Intern in 2007 and returns to REDF as Enterprise Development Manager.

Samra provides hands-on business assistance to organizations in REDF’s portfolio and the portfolio pipeline. Prior to joining REDF, Samra was a Consultant with Oliver Wyman (formerly Mercer Management Consulting). She also worked as an Investment Banking Analyst for JPMorgan Chase. Samra holds a BA in Economics from Columbia University, an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from the Wharton School.

REDF’s Board of Directors
After four years of dedicated years of service, Talbott Simonds, Managing Director of Tondern Capital in New York, is leaving REDF’s board.We are deeply grateful for Mr. Simonds’ support and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

We are delighted to welcome Elizabeth Y. A. Ferguson to the REDF Board of Directors.

Ms. Ferguson is the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Bay Area Family of Funds. She manages three private equity funds with over $175 million: the Bay Area Equity Fund, the Bay Area Smart Growth Fund I, and the California Environmental Redevelopment Fund. The Family of Funds are “double bottom line” funds created to simultaneously deliver market rates of return and significant social and environmental returns to low- and moderate- income neighborhoods in the Bay Area.

In Memory

Stuart G. Moldaw

 

We would like to recognize the commitment and contribution of Stuart G. Moldaw, a member of the REDF Board of Directors, who passed away earlier this year.

Stuart joined the board in 2005 and, drawing from his experiences as a successful retailer and venture capitalist, made many valuable contributions to REDF’s work. Stuart's many and great achievements are admirable and instructive for all of us. His presence is dearly missed.