Unwavering Resolve for America's Talent Pipeline

Why it Matters; How it Happens: Issue #3

A Conversation with

REDF CEO, Maria Kim

Today we turn our attention to bridging the gap of millions of Americans being unable to secure employment, and the deep-rooted paradigms of talent and hiring that exist within corporations.?We have become a nation of credential-loving employers with explicit expectations of qualifications needed in order to secure employment, even in low-paying jobs.?This divide contributes to our increasing economic challenges, undermines the ability of millions of individuals without existing credentials to be great employees, and furthers the growing societal division in our country.

We must recognize and respect the fact that not every person has the same opportunities available to them, perhaps from birth, rather than adopt an incorrect belief system that people are lazy, don’t want to work and would rather receive public support.?I am troubled by the number of times that I have heard this over the years, and it simply is a case of misinformation. Many workforce development programs exist with billions of dollars invested by philanthropy and government programs. Still, we have not solved the enormous problem.

It is my pleasure to explore one organization realizing compelling results. REDF is an organization breaking the cycle of poverty and unemployment by investing in Employment Social Enterprise and "Building an economy that works. For everyone."

Maria Kim, CEO of REDF and former CEO of CARA Chicago has dedicated her career to helping individuals prepare for employment and for a better life through social enterprise experiences and wrap-around services to remove barriers to success.?Today, it is exciting to see Maria and REDF partnering with the State of California, and expanding the program with numerous partners across with country. ?

You might think that this is a nice non-profit thing to do, however REDF has created jobs for 100,000 people and generated revenue that exceeds your expectations.?(Read on!). ?This solution is innovative, is evidence based, and is making a remarkable difference in the economy and our country.?Most importantly REDF is improving life for thousands of individuals and families.

Enjoy this conversation with REDF CEO, Maria Kim, and consider how you and your company can support these efforts!

DS:?Maria, it’s great to reconnect after your years at the helm of Cara, and now as CEO of REDF. Your passion and commitment to employment for individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness have been a constant in your career which I’ve always admired. ?

As I’ve shared, “Why it Matters; How it Happens” is a brief newsletter highlighting innovative individuals and organizations that are realizing positive change in a big way. As our challenges increase in complexity, it is imperative that we take bigger bets on innovative solutions.

Today’s topic is workforce development.?You and I know why efforts in this area are critically important, but there are many who don’t. There are many reasons that obtaining employment is a challenge for many people. As an esteemed leader in preparing individuals for gainful and sustainable employment, I know everyone will enjoy reading your insights.

MK:?I love it. Happy to Diana. Thanks for reaching out and reconnecting in this way. Just to level set, the challenge in front of us is that there are 10 million people across the US who are boxed out of the economy. 10 million people, because they face various employment barriers, everything from justice system impact and housing insecurity to the challenges affronting transition-age youth, refugees or asylees, or survivors of human trafficking or domestic violence.?

These populations experience a disproportionate exclusion from the economy at a time when we not only need the labor to fuel our economy, but also to heal it too.?

DS:? This number is absolutely staggering and the potential collateral effects that sustained, gainful employment has on their families, communities, and ultimately our country are enormous. Gainful employment has the potential to end generational poverty while improving the economy and most importantly people’s lives.

MK:?Our angle on this challenge is that there is this unique kind of business called an employment social enterprise that exists to not just provide a market-competitive good or service, but to create jobs or onramps to economic mobility for folks in these target populations. ?

In these enterprises, people build skills while receiving wrap around services that help them block and tackle barriers to employment (like childcare, transportation, and even recovery from personal trauma) so that they can stay on the job and ultimately ascend into a more mobile career. REDF’s role is to invest in these enterprises through capital and capacity building that help them grow.?

Our technical assistance runs the gamut – it can cover anything from their business model or their program design and strategy – all in service of helping these businesses grow; because if they grow, they create more opportunities for more people facing these barriers to employment.?

The companies in the REDF portfolio have created jobs for over 100,000 people and have generated revenue in excess of two billion dollars. This is a sector that is on the rise. And it comes at a moment when we really need multiple types of players to build a more inclusive economy. Our hope is to fuel those entrepreneurs that are doing it particularly well and help them to sustainably grow.

DS: There is a positive shift in the way employers are investing in people today. ?While it may in part be fueled by the need for skilled workers, I believe leaders beyond the non-profit sector are embracing social responsibility, and are seeing that this is good for their business and of course for society.?Your efforts are contributing to a changing direction in employment patterns.

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MK:?I think we are. What we’ve tried to do over the last 27 years is elevate an evidence-based solution. Data shows that for individuals coming through an employment social enterprise, their economic mobility on the other side is on the rise – through at least 8 years of increased income, a 250% increase in housing stability, and a 66% reduction in reliance on government benefits. These may be three small proxies for economic mobility, but still strong proxies nonetheless for what is possible in positive health and economic outcomes over the long-term.?

DS:? I believe these are not small proxies, rather important milestones that emphasize what can be accomplished through intentional priorities and strategies. In recent years, some large organizations have begun focusing more on upskilling.?Is this something that your entrepreneurs also focus on?

MK:?The thing that the entrepreneurs hold in common is a dual aspiration, not just to have a really vibrant business, but to have a platform where the people in their employ are “on their way”. They're able to climb the career ladder.?As one example, some entrepreneurs are in high growth industries like renewable energy so we see the natural fit between the jobs that they're working at in the enterprise, and careers at solar companies who want to scoop folks up and have them continue on their career in the green economy.

DS:?This is a nice example of how upskilling organically occurs in your cohort.?Public/private partnerships are highly desired in philanthropic efforts today, and are not easy to navigate. ?Can you talk about the new contract with the State of California?

MK:?We have a strategic partnership with the California Department of Transportation that engages social enterprises in two ways – as subcontractors helping to clean highways and beautify neighborhoods while also connecting employees of those social enterprises with apprenticeship roles in high growth sectors and eventually with the Department of Transportation itself, as part of a larger upskilling journey. ?

DS:?I want to turn our attention to trust.?For so many years the trust in our country has spiraled downward.?My hope is that when people see results realized by REDF that this type of program will scale and replicate and will be a step forward in rebuilding trust. I would argue that your work contributes to restoring trust in our country for under represented individuals.

MK: I appreciate that. If I were to distill down the goals of REDF, I think they are largely two-fold. One is the aspiration and intention of spurring an inclusive economy, and the other is to do so by building a climate of belonging. I want everybody to feel that our humanity is inextricably connected. If we can build a culture of belonging with the enterprises in our portfolio, and they build a cultural belonging with the individuals they have the honor to serve, imagine what happens when private industry then starts to pay attention to them as a model for what inclusive employment truly looks like.

DS:?Beyond REDF’s stated mission, you are instrumental in creating a cultural shift toward building a more inclusive economy.?Maria, we’ve talked a lot about why it matters.?Can you tell readers more about how the work happens?

MK:?At the macro level, the theory of impact at REDF is a 3 legged stool: capital, capacity and community. And how that manifests more specifically on the capital side is that we provide grants, make impact investments, and also shake the trees with the public sector by unlocking government contracts for the field.

That capital can then get paired with a certain degree of technical assistance in largely 5 key verticals:?business model, program design, people strategies, fundraising and operations. Finally, every enterprise joining our portfolio gains access to a robust community of peer entrepreneurs across the country. Think of us as a modern day trade association for employment social enterprise. When our entrepreneurs come together as peers – alum and newbies combined – the “unlock” of new ideas and new synergies is nothing short of magic.?

DS:?How are you thinking about replication and scalability??Is there a toolkit or model published for others working in this field? ?

MK: As part of our learning agenda, we are studying what I’ll call the 3 D’s: descriptors, drivers, and dosage. Think of the descriptors as the inherent traits of entrepreneurs that predispose them to be able to soak up our programming and position their enterprise for growth. The drivers are the actual interventions that REDF provides (and the dosage is the degree or depth of those interventions) that – combined with the magic of the entrepreneur – actually helps those enterprises to grow further faster.?

Once we better understand these three d’s, we are better equipped to create initiatives that are replicable and scalable, and to open source what works with the field so that all sectors can play their part in building a more inclusive economy.?

DS: Maria, providing opportunity for sustainable, living-wage employment and helping individuals and families thrive is a topic that will always be near and dear in my heart.?It’s helpful and important to share information to advance the sector. ?Is there one final point that you would like readers to know about?

MK:? I think the biggest thing I want to remind folks of is that everyone is a philanthropist. By philanthropist, I mean of course giving money to charitable causes, but also another superpower we all have, which is understanding the power of our choice and the power of our voice. On our choice, there are social enterprises are all around the country, and they deserve our conscious consumption. We should buy from them , support them, galvanize people towards them.?

And on our voice, as employees, we should scrutinize whether our employers are creating artificial barriers that unfortunately exclude certain talent pools unnecessarily. Maybe our education or experience requirements are artificially high, maybe the language we use in attracting folks to our jobs unconsciously alienates certain audiences. We can't rest on past paradigms of what it means to “have talent”. We need to redefine what talent looks like in our country, because until we do, we are truly missing out.?

DS:? Maria, thank you for sharing the REDF story. This is exciting work and I wish you and REDF continued success. Moreover, thank your passion, commitment to excellence and persistence that you bring to the sector!?You are creating a strong legacy and making such a positive impact on the world.