About REDF:

REDF provides seed and growth capital in the form of grants and loans to the country’s most effective and innovative employment social enterprise. To amplify that investment, we provide specialized consulting services to help these unique businesses and their employees thrive. Click here to learn more about REDF and our work.

REDF CONSULTANT POOL OVERVIEW:

The purpose of this RFI is to provide consistency and structure in how we source and engage with consultants.

REDF is seeking U.S.-based consultants to enter REDF’s Consultant Pool (Pool). The Pool will serve as a source of qualified experts who may be solicited to provide advisory services to REDF employment social enterprises. REDF will then issue solicitations restricted to Pool members on an as-needed basis. Please note: Entering the Pool does not guarantee future solicitation or contracts with REDF.

What areas of expertise are we looking for?

Program Development (e.g., logic model design, program evaluation, employee supports, job retention, employer engagement, etc.)
Business Planning (e.g., product/market fit, biz dev/sales, marketing and branding, pricing, growth strategy, etc.)
Development (e.g., fundraising strategy, public funding opportunities, etc.)
Human Capital (e.g., executive coaching, HR, board development, leadership transitions, DEI, employee engagement, organizational culture building, etc.)
Finance, Accounting, & Administration (e.g., IT, data systems, asset planning, accounting, financial management, legal)
Strategy & Planning (e.g., general strategy planning, offsite/meeting facilitation, project management, etc.)

Why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) matters in our work

At REDF, we envision a thriving and inclusive society where all people have the jobs and the support they need to realize their full potential. The unique perspectives and lived-experiences* that our staff, consultants, and partners bring inform our work and help us move towards this vision. With these points in mind, this RFI includes a few optional demographic and identity questions to help us build a diverse consultant pool.

*ESEs work with people who are/have: justice-impacted, history of homelessness, history of mental illness including substance use disorder, opportunity youth, people with refugee or asylee status, survivors of domestic abuse and/or trafficking.

Leadership Demographics and Identity

REDF has a goal to increase the diversity of our partners, including our consultants/consulting practices, particularly along the parameters of race and lived experience (LE) related to the employment barriers REDF’s work addresses. We believe that consultants who identify as BIPOC and/or have lived experiences can provide a unique understanding that can increase the effectiveness of the capacity building project and the ESE model.

Demographic Data Storing & Sharing
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 consultant and/or consulting entity.

Is your organization a BIPOC-led business?

REDF defines BIPOC-led business as those entities where the CEO identifies as Black, Indigenous or Person of Color (BIPOC); and/or at least 50% of the Senior Leadership identify as BIPOC.

Is your organization a Lived Experience-Led business?

REDF defines Lived Experience-Led Businesses as those entities where the CEO and/or least 50% of the leadership team share a lived experience with ESE participants or any lived experience that represents a barrier to employment identified by REDF. We define lived experience as people with justice system involvement, people with a mental health challenge, people with a substance use issue, people with experiences of homelessness or housing instability, opportunity youth or emerging adult, refugee or asylee, people who have experienced domestic violence and people who have experienced trafficking. More detailed definitions here.

REDF Consultant Request for Information