What are Social Enterprises?
Social enterprises are revenue-generating businesses with a twist. Whether operated by a non-profit organization or by a for-profit company, a social enterprise has two goals:
1. To achieve social, cultural, community economic or environmental outcomes
2. To earn revenue
What sets us apart?
At FREE, our mission is to form businesses that will create jobs and employ the formerly incarcerated, hence our slogan: Re-Entry That Works.
FREE’s success starts with the establishment of businesses that are ready to employ the formerly incarcerated as they exit prison and inpatient or outpatient reentry programs. We want to encourage society to make room for them in the workforce.
Where do we start?
We start by becoming our own customer. As we begin planning the construction of our Riverside, CA, Oakland, CA and Bronx, NY sites, FREE-Construction is under an agreement with our primary contractor that will revert 20% of the project builds to the enterprise.
On the surface, many social enterprises look, feel, and even operate like traditional businesses. The unique structure of a social enterprise is at the center of the business, income generation playing an important supporting role.
FREE operates as a nonprofit social enterprise organization to achieve two goals:
- Maximize profit to benefit social, cultural, community economic and environmental growth.
- Earn revenue to fund FREE social programs and social justice.
Social Enterprise
How we benefit as a Social Enterprise
A social enterprise with 501 (c) 3 partner has several advantages that make it ideal for providing employment to ex-offenders.
Some of these advantages include:
Fiscal Responsibility – It reduces the myriad costs of public supports for people facing barriers, by providing a pathway to economic self-sufficiency for those it employs.
Public Safety – It makes the community which it operates safer by disrupting cycles of poverty, crime, incarceration, chemical dependency and homelessness.
Economic Opportunity – How we generate revenue. It improves our pool of human capital and creates jobs in communities in need of economic renewal.
Social Justice – It gives a chance to those most in need.
