REDF Programs Interest Form


TLDR: Hi and welcome! This form should take about 10 minutes to complete.

Thanks for your interest in REDF. We’re so excited to learn more about you. Please fill out the following Interest Form so REDF can learn more about your organization and its alignment with our programs. This survey should take you about 10 minutes to complete, and it can even be completed on any device. This questionnaire is a “Hi, nice to meet you!” and a first step in the process to become a grantee or borrower. We strive to be a transparent and relational funder, and we hope that your responses to this form are just the beginning of our work together. 


About Us: REDF is a venture philanthropy that invests in businesses that reveal and reinforce the talent of people breaking through barriers to employment.

We do this through our grant making, lending, and leadership development programs to organizations we call “Employment Social Enterprises” or ESEs. These are non-profit or for-profit businesses that sell a product or service, employ AND support individuals facing barriers to work in that business, and pay those workers a wage. You can find examples of these businesses on our website.


Instructions:

  1. Survey format: At the bottom of this page there is a button "Next Page" to begin the questionnaire. Click "Next Page" and "Previous Page" to navigate between form pages. Questions include instructions about how to respond (e.g. enter a number, select all that apply, etc.) as well as explanatory notes. For accessibility purposes, you can download a Microsoft Word version of the questionnaire here, however, we ask you to complete and submit the form online.
  2. Submit: Once you are finished with the questionnaire, hit the SUBMIT button on the last page of this form. 
  3. Support & questions: If you are unsure about how to respond to a question, encounter technical difficulties, or have general questions about the interest form and this process, please email connect@redf.org.


Information collected in this form will be maintained in a safe and secure manner by REDF, and all REDF staff members will have access to the information you provide in this form. We will not disclose individual level data outside of REDF without your permission, but we reserve the right to share anonymized, aggregate level data that does not identify the individual(s) completing this form. 

Contact & Organization Basic Info

Contact Information
Parent Organization Information

i.e. A larger non-profit entity that oversees the social enterprise. For example: Homeboy Industries is the parent organization that runs Homegirl Café, the enterprise.
(Format XX - i.e. CA)
Social Enterprise Information
If your parent organization operates multiple businesses, please answer the questions below on the business for which you are seeking REDF's support. If you are seeking support for more than one business, please fill out this LOI again.
(Format XX - i.e. CA)

Employment Social Enterprise

REDF supports employers serving the following communities. For more detailed definitions on these lived experiences, click here.
  • People with Justice System Involvement (i.e. individuals who have been arrested, convicted of a crime and/or spent time in prison)
  • People with Experiences of Homelessness/Housing Instability (i.e. people who are or have been homeless, sought emergency shelter, or do not have a fixed/regular residence)
  • People with a Mental Health Challenge (i.e. major depression, anxiety, mood disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or schizophrenia)
  • People with a Substance Use Issue (i.e. those whose substance use impacts/impacted their daily functioning, including ability to work, and those who seeked treatment)
  • Opportunity Youth/Emerging Adult (i.e. young adults between the ages of 16-24 who have been disconnected from work and school),
  • Refugees/Asylees
  • People Who Have Experienced Domestic Violence (i.e. experienced behaviors meant to maintain power and control, including violence, abuse, threats, intimidation and financial control)
  • People Who Have Experienced Trafficking (i.e. forced, coerced, or deceived into working)

We define "employer of record" as the employer who hires and employs W-2 or 1099 employees.

(mm/dd/yyyy)



Examples of supportive services include: training and skill development initiatives, resources and supports such as mental health counseling, financial education, access to food, housing, transportation assistance, work-related supplies, etc.

Business Model







Business Stage and Revenue

If your organization operates under a parent organization, answer the following questions for your social enterprise, NOT the parent organization.


$
.00
Earned revenue is defined as revenue generated by selling goods or services, and tied to the employment provided by your ESE. This does not include revenue that is contributed, such as donations or grants, or revenue generated by activities that do not include employment of individuals with barriers, such as rental income. Government funding can qualify as earned revenue depending on the type of funding. If it is a government contract that procures business services from your ESE, then REDF would consider that as earned revenue. If it is a government grant or contract that subsidizes wages or other program costs NOT in return for products or services, then REDF does not consider that as earned revenue.

Lending

One of REDF’s programs is Impact Lending, which funds lines of credit, bridge loans, and term loans to help grow your business. The following questions are specific to that program’s eligibility.


Government Partnerships







Demographics

The next questions are about your race/ethnicity as a leader and about the makeup of your company’s leadership team.

You’ll see terms like “leadership team” and “lived experience” referenced below. “Leadership Team” represents whatever you could consider the top decision making body of your organization. “Lived experience” means life circumstances that represent a barrier to employment.

Why do we ask this? REDF envisions an economy that works for everyone. Our funding is open to everyone who runs an employment social enterprise, and we are seeking to actively engage with leaders who identify as BIPOC or having lived experience (see definitions below). This supports REDF’s equity goals through a commitment to increasing representation and inclusion to those who have been historically underrepresented in the field.

BIPOC: BIPOC-led businesses are those entities where the CEO/Executive Director identifies as Black, Indigenous, or other person of color; OR at least 50% of the leadership team identify as Black, Indigenous, or persons of color.

Lived Experience (LE): LE-led businesses are those entities in which the CEO/Executive Director has one or more lived experience (i.e. having been justice system involved) like populations REDF focuses on; OR at least 50% of the leadership team has lived experience like populations REDF focuses on. For more detailed information about lived experiences, click here.

Data Privacy: Information collected through this process will be maintained in a safe and secure manner by REDF. REDF will not disclose individual level demographic information but does reserve the right to share anonymized, aggregate level data that does not identify the individual(s) providing this information.






CEO/Executive Director Information
Please provide the following for your CEO or Executive Director:






Contact Information
Your Rights Under GDPR