What REDF does

Redefine Alliance (formerly REDF) is a San Francisco-based nonprofit founded in 1997 that invests in employment social enterprises (ESEs) — businesses whose primary mission is to hire people facing significant barriers to employment, including formerly incarcerated individuals, people experiencing homelessness, and youth disconnected from school and work. The organization operates an integrated platform of programs: a six-month cohort-based Accelerator, catalytic grantmaking, an Impact Investing Fund providing flexible loan capital, a Farber Fellowship placing graduate students with ESEs, a Community program for peer connection and leadership development, and the open-access Workshop capacity-building toolbox. It also runs three regional ecosystems in Los Angeles (established), Illinois (fast-expanding), and Appalachia (emerging), and co-developed CA RISE, a flagship statewide ESE initiative with the State of California now in its second cohort.

Since 1997, Redefine Alliance has invested in over 363 employment social enterprises which, per the 2024 Impact Report, collectively earned $3.1 billion in revenue and employed more than 157,000 people. The organization is funded primarily by philanthropic capital from institutional foundations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Blue Meridian Partners, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the CDFI Fund, alongside individual donors. Its leadership team includes founder and chairman George R. Roberts, president and CEO Maria Kim, chief program officer Carrie McKellogg, and chief financial and administrative officer David Samuels. The organization does not sell products or services; its operating model is grant-funded programmatic and capacity-building support.

The business model is foundation grantmaking combined with impact investing returns. Grants and philanthropic donations fund operations, the Accelerator, the Farber Fellowship, and grantmaking to ESEs at key inflection points, while the Impact Investing Fund provides flexible loan capital whose returns are reinvested into mission-related activity. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: outreach occurs through the Workshop digital platform, cohort-based recruitment for the Accelerator, regional ecosystem convenings, and government partnerships. Customers are not purchasers but beneficiaries — 363+ ESEs nationwide — while the de facto revenue counterparties are a small set of institutional philanthropic funders.

Name

REDF

Legal name

Redefine Alliance

Website

https://redf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Redefine Alliance (formerly REDF) is a nonprofit founded in 1997 that invests capital, capacity building, and community support into employment social enterprises that hire people facing barriers to work. Since inception it has backed 363+ ESEs across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development / Social Enterprise Support

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG Integration / Responsible Investment Funds (Broad ESG) (FSANAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical Assistance, Policy Lending & Capacity Building Programs (BPADACAN), Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

Keywords

• Employment social enterprises
• Impact investing fund
• Workforce development
• Capacity building programs
• Nonprofit philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants & Philanthropic Funding: Redefine Alliance operates as a foundation receiving grants and donations from funders including the Gates Foundation, Blue Meridian Partners, and Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation to support their mission of investing in employment social enterprises.
2. Impact Investing Returns: The Impact Investing Fund provides flexible loan capital to employment social entrepreneurs, generating returns that are reinvested into the mission.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Redefine Alliance (formerly REDF) invests in employment social enterprises (ESEs) — businesses that hire people breaking through barriers to employment such as formerly incarcerated individuals, people experiencing homelessness, and youth disconnected from school and work. The organization provides a combination of catalytic grant capital, flexible loan capital through an Impact Investing Fund, a six-month cohort-based accelerator, government policy advocacy, and community programming to help these enterprises scale.

Product overview

Redefine Alliance operates as a platform of interconnected programs supporting employment social enterprises (ESEs). The portfolio includes an Accelerator (six-month cohort-based learning experience), Grantmaking (catalytic investments), Impact Investing Fund (flexible loan capital), Gov. Partnerships & Policy (advocacy), Community (resources and networking), Farber Fellowship (graduate student program), and Workshop (free virtual capacity building toolbox). Regional ecosystems in Los Angeles, Illinois, and Appalachia provide place-based support. CA RISE is a statewide initiative in California. The Economic Power Hub provides research and insights. These programs collectively help ESEs build capacity, access capital, and achieve systemic change for people breaking through barriers to employment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Workshop: An open, free virtual capacity building toolbox to help build, grow, and sustain high-impact employment social enterprises.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.1B in Revenue Earned by supported enterprises
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• CA RISE ProgramflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalifornia's CA RISE (CA Rising Initiative for Social Enterprise) is a statewide employment social enterprise initiative that Redefine Alliance helped develop. Following strong early results from the first cohort, California has launched a second cohort in 2026. This represents a core government partnership and policy achievement.
• Government Partners (State of California, Regional Agencies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRedefine Alliance engages in government partnerships and policy advocacy to advance the employment social enterprise field. The CA RISE program represents a flagship statewide initiative developed in partnership with California's government.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Acumen: Global impact investing fund and patient-capital provider investing in early-stage social enterprises serving low-income communities; directly comparable to Redefine Alliance's Impact Investing Fund and accelerator-style capacity building.
• Skoll Foundation: Major philanthropic funder backing social entrepreneurs through grants, investments, and ecosystem programs including Skoll World Forum; mirrors Redefine Alliance's grantmaking plus field-building approach.
• Echoing Green: Provides fellowships and seed funding to emerging social entrepreneurs, with a cohort-based model analogous to Redefine Alliance's Accelerator and Farber Fellowship programs.
• Omidyar Network: Philanthropic investment firm combining grants and impact investments across social enterprises; closely parallel to Redefine Alliance's blended-capital structure.
• Living Cities: Place-based collaborative of philanthropic and financial institutions working on inclusive urban economic opportunity; comparable to Redefine Alliance's regional ecosystem strategy in LA, Illinois, and Appalachia.

Broad incumbents

• Jobs for the Future: Larger national workforce-development intermediary focused on employment outcomes for underserved populations; operates at broader workforce scale than Redefine Alliance's ESE-only niche.
• SEEP Network: Membership-based learning network for organizations working on economic inclusion and small-enterprise development; comparable community-building function but broader scope than employment-only ESEs.
• Calvert Impact Capital: Impact investing intermediary managing community investment notes and loan capital; overlap with Redefine Alliance's Impact Investing Fund but at greater asset scale and broader thematic remit.

Regional players

• Social Enterprise Alliance: U.S. membership organization promoting the broader social enterprise sector; overlaps with Redefine Alliance's field-building work but addresses all social enterprise types, not just employment-focused ESEs.

Others

• The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF parent context): Listed here only as a historical name reference; Redefine Alliance itself is the subject. No separate peer entity beyond the historical name to add additional comparison value.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/REDFvideo
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/REDF/97332209201
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/redf
• Instagraminstagram.com/redefinealliance
• Xx.com/REDFworks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about REDF