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A Solid Strategy
Autumn 2002 In This Issue:
I love my job.
Where else but at REDF can I use my business consulting, nonprofit management and start-up experience, MBA, and my passions for improving nonprofit performance and working with the poor and homeless all in one job? I feel incredibly blessed to work with the organizations and enterprises in the REDF Portfolio and to be able to call them partners, and more importantly, friends.
People often ask me why REDF only supports nonprofit-run social purpose enterprises. “Why not fund for-profit companies that have a social mission? Why not fund businesses that are scalable? These nonprofit ones will never get really big!” My answers are: “Why mess with what works?” and “I know we’re having an impact — six hundred lives are being transformed in positive, lasting ways each year — that’s pretty impressive if you ask me!”
Our strategy at REDF has always been to invest in nonprofit-run social purpose enterprises and our strategy has proven to be effective (see What a Difference a Job Makes). At the end of the day, we’ll bet our money on the nonprofit sector to stay true to its mission to transform the lives of the most vulnerable members of our society.
Each quarter, we will highlight one of our portfolio members that is successfully managing the double bottom line of people and profits. We are pleased to introduce to you REDF’s first investment and oldest partner in social purpose enterprise, our friends:
New Door Ventures (then known as Golden Gate Community, Inc.)
Since its founding in 1981, New Door Ventures (then known as Golden Gate Community, Inc.) has grown from a start-up nonprofit running a single business out of its basement in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco into a multi-service, professional organization with a portfolio of social purpose enterprises. These enterprises include Ashbury Images, Pedal Revolution, and Einstein’s Cafi. Each of these enterprises has made a lasting, positive impact on the lives of the disadvantaged youth and young adults they employ (see New Door Ventures (then known as Golden Gate Community, Inc.) Social Outcomes). In addition to these enterprises, New Door Ventures (then known as Golden Gate Community, Inc.) also runs a transitional shelter for homeless women and their children and is about to open an outreach program to provide integrated support services among homeless and low-income youth and young adults. 2002 has been a great year for the New Door Ventures (then known as Golden Gate Community, Inc.) enterprises:
We look forward to continuing our partnership with New Door Ventures (then known as Golden Gate Community, Inc.) and celebrating their accomplishments with them!
What Happened to Youth Industry?
The New Door Ventures (then known as Golden Gate Community, Inc.) story cannot be told without talking about Youth Industry, a former member of the REDF Portfolio. When Youth Industry closed its doors in December 2000, the board of directors granted New Door Ventures (then known as Golden Gate Community, Inc.) Pedal Revolution and Einstein’s Cafi as well as two buildings in San Francisco’s Mission District to ensure Youth Industry’s mission of employing disadvantaged youth would live on. The Youth Industry case study serves to demonstrate why REDF remains committed to the nonprofit-owned and operated social purpose enterprises, as well as the challenges inherent in pursuing the double bottom line of people and profit. We invite you to download “From Opening Doors to Closing Shop: A Case Study on Youth Industry’s Impact on Homeless Youth and the Organization’s Decision to Close” to read about this amazing organization and the legacy it has left behind.
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