Certainly, there's a growing number of accelerators for social enterprise startups sprouting up. But it's hard to find one specifically and solely for ventures aimed at creating jobs for people facing barriers to employment, like former drug addicts or ex-inmates.
That's why the nonprofit REDF, which supports organizations targeting employment, decided to start its own, jobs-focused accelerator.
Christina Gilyutin (Photo: Peter Lippman)
Called SE4Jobs Acelerator, the program, which is partnering with Points of Light Civic Accelerator, is targeting both for-profits and nonprofits. And the enterprises can involve just about any product or service, as long as they meet REDF's definition of addressing barriers to employment and serving people who typically have trouble finding a job.
Today is the last day to apply for the accelerator.
The program lasts for seven months, considerably longer than the typical program. That's to encourage serious bonding among entrepreneurs and address a problem peculiar to this type of venture. "Often leadership in these enterprises feels quite isolated and doesn't have a really deep network to lean on," says Christina Gilyutin, director of leadership programs. "So a major component is making sure we're building strong relationships among members of the group and, because of that, it made sense to go longer."
The curriculum will include lessons in marketing, fundraising, workforce development, strategic planning and operations and leadership skills. The cohort will meet three times for three-and-a-half days, in San Francisco, New Orleans and Baltimore; the rest of the work will be done virtually, with a significant emphasis on peer-led presentations and discussions, the better to develop and reinforce that bonding.
REDF isn't funding the startups. But after the program is over, they can apply to the organization's strategic grant-making pool; that financing typically ranges from $10,000 to $40,000. REDF also runs a grant program funded by the federal government's Social Innovation Fund that only supports nonprofits.
Gilyutin and REDF first planned on starting a fellowship program for social entrepreneurs emphasizing leadership development. Then they took a closer look and realized they needed to change tracks.
The reason: Often, the organization works with nonprofits that create a social enterprise to employ a group of people they're helping.But REDF wanted to offer a program for entrepreneurs starting from scratch--and that called for a different approach. "These are people with a round- the-clock obsession with building a business from the ground up," says Gilyutin. "This is a completely different type of person." So they ultimately decided to start an accelerator that would include a leadership development component.
The first cohort is accepting 15-20 entrepreneurs. This time around, there will be only one person per enterprise. But down the line, it's likely the program will accept more individuals from each venture. That's considered best practice, according to Gilyutin.
