Hope vs. Optimism

By Carla I. Javits, REDF President

With unemployment in California stuck around 12%, prospects for increased employment of individuals with significant barriers might seem dimmer than ever. Putting a fine point on it, “I think the unemployment rate will be permanently higher,” noted Mark Sandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, “or at least higher for the foreseeable future.” The Congressional Joint Economic Committee just reported that the unemployment rate for youth between age 16 and 24 is—at close to 20%—the highest since it began tracking the data in 1947.

It is hard not to consider whether REDF’s relentless focus on bringing those with significant barriers into the workforce is still relevant in this context.

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Portfolio Updates

REDF welcomes new portfolio member based in San Rafael, CA. With the entry of Buckelew Programs into REDF’s portfolio, REDF continues its mission to create jobs and pathways to employment for people facing the greatest barriers to work. Buckelew Programs is a nonprofit organization operating in Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties in California.
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Bedbugs are big business in San Francisco. Supportive housing provider Community Housing Partnership (CHP) runs three social enterprises through CHP Enterprises, including a bedbug remediation business that launched just this year.
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Recyclable material collection at The President’s Cup. San Francisco Conservation Corps (SFCC) recycled 90% of the total waste produced at The President’s Cup last fall in San Francisco, diverting more than 42 tons of recyclable waste. For calendar year 2009, SFCC and its young people recycled more than 300,000 tons of materials from San Francisco’s waste stream.
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E-waste collected by St. Vincent de Paul. St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County (SVdP) is in the second year of operation with WasteNot, their electronic waste recycling business. While this is their first employment-focused social enterprise, SVdP has been running revenue-generating enterprises – such as their thrift stores - for many years.
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2010 REDF Benefit + Social Enterprise Expo
September 30, 2010
The Bently Reserve, San Francisco

Top MBA Students Intern at REDF

For the 14th year, MBA candidates from top business schools across the country will spend their summer conducting feasibility assessments, developing marketing plans and otherwise analyzing opportunities for social enterprise growth and success through REDF’s Farber Program.

This year’s cohort includes students from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Stanford Graduate School of Business, University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Harvard Business School and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

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Announcements

REDF and Mathematica Release Evidence Scan of Work Experience Programs
Mathematica and REDF present evidence on the effectiveness of interventions that include work experience as a strategy to improve employment outcomes for populations with barriers to employment. REDF commissioned this work asking Mathematica to screen studies using stringent impact and evidence standards. The study reviewed 26 years of rigorous research, gathering information from 27 evaluations. Key findings distinguish results between adults vs. youth, paid vs. unpaid work, and length of work opportunity. Evidence suggests that work experience of six months to one year—whether paid or unpaid—is a vital component to improving outcomes for adults.

Podcast: Seventh Generation Co-Founder Challenges a REDF Audience on ‘The Responsibility Revolution’
Last month, 85 people joined REDF and Jeffrey Hollender, Chief Inspired Protagonist for Seventh Generation—the nation's fastest growing brand of natural home and personal-care products—at a thought-provoking event where Jeffrey spoke on issues related to green consumerism and discussed his latest book The Responsibility Revolution: How the Next Generation of Businesses Will Win. Listen to a podcast of the event.

Federal Reserve Publishes REDF Article on Job Creation
Carla Javits’s article At the Crossroads: where Economic Development, Job Creation and Workforce Development Intersect was published in the Federal Reserve of San Francisco’s Community Development Investment Review.

Did you know you can post publications, resources, and job descriptions to REDF’s website?
More than 4,000 online visitors come to our website every month and find a rich library of information with the answers they are searching for. We invite you to access and post articles, reports, tools, job descriptions and more in the From the Community section of our website. We value the contributions of those who are "fueling" the field.

 

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