REDF: Investing in People, Powering an Inclusive Economy for the Bay Area and Beyond
The San Francisco Bay Area is a global engine of innovation, yet it faces pervasive issues of economic inequity and housing instability. REDF (Roberts Enterprise Development Fund), headquartered here since 1997, provides a systemic solution by redefining how business operates. REDF’s mission is to enable a thriving society where all people have the jobs and support necessary to realize their full potential.
They achieve this by backing Employment Social Enterprises (ESEs)—businesses whose core function is to reveal and reinforce the talent of individuals breaking through significant barriers to employment, such as homelessness or incarceration.
REDF accelerates the impact of these businesses through a combination of capital, capacity building, and community support.
Defining Economic Power Through Quality Work
REDF’s strategy centers on building economic power, defined by three fundamental drivers: Dignified Work, Sound Financial Resources, and a Quality Standard of Living (Work, Wealth, and Well-being). ESEs are uniquely positioned to offer individuals facing barriers unconditional earnings early in their return to the workforce, providing income and recognition for their labor that government cash assistance programs cannot.
The 7 Core Elements of a Quality Job
To ensure that employment leads to lasting, transformative outcomes, REDF has sharpened its focus on job quality, which it defines as synonymous with Dignified Work. In September 2025, REDF published the 7 Core Elements of a "Quality Job":
Recent Highlights: Incentivizing Quality and Equity
REDF has dedicated its most recent initiatives (launched in late 2025) to embedding these definitions into its funding models, showing a deep commitment to accountability and equity.
The Growth & Mobility Fund
The REDF Impact Investing Fund (RIIF) launched the Growth & Mobility Fund in early 2025, specifically to deepen investment in ESEs while sharpening the focus on job quality. Central to this fund is the new Quality Job Offerings Assessment.
This assessment evaluates an ESE against the seven core job quality elements, generating a score that directly informs the organization’s loan terms: The higher the job quality score, the lower the interest rate offered by RIIF. This financial incentive system rewards strong employment practices and supports businesses in improving their practices over time.
Piloting Participatory Grantmaking
In a major step toward centering equity and inclusion, REDF launched a pilot Participatory Grantmaking (PGM) fund. This approach redistributes power by putting funding decisions directly in the hands of the individuals closest to the challenges—a group of ESE leaders known as the "Power 20".
The pilot fund focuses on three key allocation areas determined by the Power 20:
- Leadership Opportunities for People with Lived Experience ($180,000).
- Innovative Ideas ($180,000).
- A Care Benefit ($40,000) for the people doing the work within ESEs.
This initiative affirms REDF’s commitment to the value of lived expertise.
Impact in California and Beyond
REDF’s model has proven effective in tackling California’s most complex challenges, particularly homelessness.
Success in LA: The LA:RISE Partnership
Through the LA:RISE (Los Angeles Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise) partnership, employment is leveraged as a critical tool to end homelessness.
The 2025 Point-in-Time Count showed hopeful declines in LA homelessness for the second consecutive year, including a 4% decrease overall and nearly a 10% drop in unsheltered homelessness countywide.
Employment social enterprises participating in LA:RISE provide transitional jobs, training, and wraparound supports (like counseling and transportation). Nearly half of LA:RISE participants transition into unsubsidized jobs, demonstrating a critical step toward lasting independence and housing stability.
The Power of Lived Expertise
The work is driven by leaders with lived experience. Patrick Arney, Executive Director of Weld Seattle (a Growth Portfolio grantee and Accelerator alum), emphasized that his background cycling through incarceration and homelessness gives him perspective that has real value.
He stated that Weld Seattle, which serves 750 to 1,000 people annually, would not achieve the majority of that impact without the community and collective solutions offered by REDF.
Connecting to Purpose: People, Place, and Path
REDF's work is deeply connected to the themes of impact and community discovery:
- People: REDF is fundamentally committed to elevating people with lived expertise and supporting ESEs that prioritize holistic worker well-being.
- Place: While national in scope, REDF’s work drives state and local impact. It is headquartered in the Bay Area, and the network includes California organizations like:
- Homeward Bound of Marin (Novato, CA) - Provides shelter, housing, job training, and support services for people experiencing homelessness in Marin County. Each year they shelter hundreds, serve 15,000 meals a month, and train dozens via their Fresh Starts Culinary Academy and social enterprises. HBOFM builds stability, dignity, and new pathways to independence in their community.
- Urban Furniture and Boutique (Oakland, CA) - An Oakland-based nonprofit building economic mobility for low-income individuals, especially single mothers. Since 1997, uu has prepared 2,000+ people for employment through coaching, training, and job opportunities. Its urban furniture & boutique social enterprise reinvests profits to fund programs that empower women, families, and community resilience.
- Purpose & Path: The launch of the Growth & Mobility Fund and the Quality Job Assessment provides a clear, measurable Path toward achieving REDF’s Purpose—ensuring capital flows to enterprises that create high-quality, dignified jobs that build true economic power.
Connect and Support the Movement
REDF is building an investment strategy that uses business as a force for good. For Bay Area locals committed to equitable and inclusive economic solutions, REDF offers clear pathways to engage.
Learn: Visit REDF.org to explore the Impact Report, learn about the Quality Job Offerings Assessment, and support enterprises that are creating lasting economic power for everyone.
Support: Shop from ESE's at the REDF Social Enterprise Shopping Guide
