Damascus

What Damascus does

Damascus is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based non-profit organization (founded 2002; formally incorporated 2015) that operates an integrated prison reentry and staffing platform serving formerly incarcerated individuals and manufacturing/industrial employers across Ohio and Kentucky. The organization's portfolio spans five product lines: the Damascus Reentry Program (a proprietary 10-week, 40-hour trauma-based curriculum delivered inside prisons, jails, halfway houses, and sober-living facilities); Community Mobility (free transportation via a proprietary fleet plus 24/7 social support); Workforce Solutions (a temp-to-permanent staffing agency that places Damascus workers with employer partners); Damascus INployment (an in-facility piecework program launched in 2022 that brings manufacturing jobs inside correctional and treatment facilities); and Damascus Village (a planned tiny-house reentry community co-designed with Stanford University's 2022 Design School Action Lab).

The underlying technology is the proprietary Damascus Trauma Reentry Curriculum and the "Damascus Model," an evidence-based stack that combines curriculum, social support, transportation, and workforce placement under one organization. The organization reports a 99% first-day show-up rate, a 93% program completion rate at all security levels, and a 70% lower recidivism rate for graduates, with less than 1% of Trauma Reentry graduates returning to incarceration. Operational scale includes 5,000+ individuals placed since 2002, 1,500+ Reentry Program graduates since 2017, 480 graduates through the Damascus Trauma Reentry Class, and 490 INployment participants generating $1.1M in gross earnings and 5.6 million pieces completed between 2022 and 2025.

Damascus makes money primarily as a staffing agency: employer partners (43-45 across Ohio and Kentucky, including Worthington Industries and Nissen Chemitec America) pay contractually based on employees provided and work performed, with success fees on permanent conversions and Work Opportunity Tax Credit availability for hiring partners. Revenue is supplemented by foundation grants (Greater Cincinnati Foundation) and individual donations via Donorbox. The go-to-market combines direct sales to HR, CEO, CFO, plant manager, and shop supervisor buyer personas with a community-led, referral-driven pipeline anchored by partner facilities (e.g., Talbert House) and former-program participants. Damascus holds an official Enterprise Partner designation with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (since 2016) and received the ODRC Impact Award in 2022.

Name

Damascus

Legal name

Damascus

Website

https://teamdamascus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Damascus is a Cincinnati-based non-profit that delivers an integrated prison reentry, transportation, and temp-to-permanent staffing platform serving formerly incarcerated individuals and manufacturing employers across Ohio and Kentucky, with a proprietary trauma-based curriculum, in-facility piecework (INployment), and a planned reentry housing community (Damascus Village).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Staffing & Prison Reentry Services

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Reentry, Rehabilitation & Reintegration Programs (Education, Vocational, Case Management) (BPAKANAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Workforce Reentry Programs (Justice-Involved) (EDAAAOAG), Reentry & Justice-Involved Support Services (BPAGAEAN), Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE), Correctional Education Programs (Community College-Delivered) (EDAHADAN)

Keywords

• Prison reentry services
• Workforce staffing solutions
• Correctional programming
• Second-chance employment
• Community mobility support

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Staffing Services: Damascus operates like a traditional staffing agency and is paid contractually by employment partners based on the employees they provide and the work those employees complete. Employees begin as temporary workers on Damascus's payroll, with the goal of permanent placement at the employer partner. Once employees transfer to the employer's payroll, Damascus may receive a success fee. Damascus is a 24/7 operation providing ongoing support regardless of shift times.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Damascus operates a non-profit prison reentry and staffing continuum spanning inside correctional facilities to post-release employment. It delivers a 10-week trauma-based reentry curriculum inside prisons, jails, halfway houses, and sober living facilities, provides 24/7 social support after release through a proprietary transportation fleet, and runs a temp-to-permanent staffing agency placing returning citizens with manufacturing and industrial employers. Its differentiated INployment model brings piecework manufacturing inside correctional facilities so individuals nearing release can earn wages and gain work readiness before returning home.

Product overview

Damascus is a non-profit prison reentry and staffing organization offering a continuum of services starting inside correctional facilities and continuing through transition home and into employment. The core portfolio includes the Damascus Reentry Program (trauma-based curriculum), Community Mobility (transportation and support services), Workforce Solutions (staffing placement), Damascus INployment (in-facility work opportunities), and Damascus Village (planned housing). Together, these products form an integrated reentry model addressing incarceration, employment, transportation, and housing needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Damascus Reentry: Non-profit prison reentry program providing trauma-based curriculum and social support inside correctional facilities
• Damascus INployment
• Damascus Staffing Solutions
• Damascus Village

Products and services

• Damascus Reentry Program A 10-week (40-hour) trauma-based curriculum delivered inside correctional facilities (prisons, jails, halfway houses, and sober living facilities) that addresses the root causes of incarceration and prepares men and women for successful reentry into society, culminating in a personally constructed Life Plan.
• Community Mobility Post-release social support service that includes free transportation for all Damascus workers via the proprietary Damascus Transportation Fleet, social support, and community resources to empower individuals returning from incarceration to pursue employment and stable reintegration.
• Workforce Solutions Temp-to-permanent staffing agency service placing formerly incarcerated individuals with manufacturing and industrial employer partners. Includes candidate preparation, Day-1 accompaniment by Damascus Client Representatives, ongoing 24/7 support, and liaison services between employers and employees; Damascus has placed more than 5,000 individuals into the workforce since 2002.
• Damascus INployment In-facility workforce model that brings piecework manufacturing inside correctional and treatment facilities for regional manufacturers. Individuals nearing release complete piecework while earning a living wage (held until release), with Damascus managing the workforce and collaborating with manufacturers on product details, quality, and logistics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% first-day show-up rate
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Talbert HousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Talbert House is a behavioral health and reentry services organization in Ohio. Since partnering with Damascus, hundreds of Talbert House clients with felony records have gained employment through Damascus. Damascus serves as a workforce pipeline for Talbert House clients, providing job readiness, placement, and ongoing support. This is described as a 'win for the client, for Talbert House, and for society.'
• Worthington IndustriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorthington Industries is a major manufacturing employer with two large facilities in the Columbus, Ohio area. They have become Damascus's main hiring source for these facilities. Damascus employees have proven to be some of the hardest working, dedicated, and loyal employees. Worthington Industries describes Damascus as setting 'a new standard for companies to not only hire motivated and capable employees but to give back to our community.'
• Nissen Chemitec AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNissen Chemitec America is a manufacturing company located in London, Ohio. They have hired Damascus workers through the staffing partnership and have reported that Damascus workers are 'some of the best employees we have had to date.'
• Stanford University 2022 Design School Action LabflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerDamascus Village, the country's first planned Reentry Tiny House Community, is being co-designed in partnership with the Stanford University 2022 Design School Action Lab. Stanford students and faculty collaborated on the design of Damascus Village, which will include tiny houses, a manufacturing facility, social enterprises, and community spaces for formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (Enterprise Partner)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2016, Damascus became an official Enterprise Partner with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. This formal partnership enables Damascus to deliver its reentry curriculum inside Ohio state prisons and halfway houses. The partnership is the foundation of Damascus's correctional programming operations.
• Xavier UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Cheryl Lero Jonson, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Xavier University, has publicly endorsed the Damascus Model, stating it incorporates evidence-based practices for successful reentry supplemented by professional experience essential in achieving stated outcomes.
• Various Halfway House and Treatment Facility PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDamascus works closely with various halfway house partners, jails, and sober-living facilities throughout Ohio to deliver reentry programming and workforce placement services. These partners refer individuals into the Damascus pipeline. Since 2015, Damascus has placed over 5,000 individuals into the workforce directly from partner facilities. Specific partner names are not disclosed publicly.
• Various Regional Manufacturers (INployment Program)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDamascus partners with regional manufacturers in the Cincinnati area for the INployment program. Manufacturers provide products that can be transported and completed by an entry-level workforce inside correctional and treatment facilities. Damascus manages the workforce and delivers completed products to the manufacturers.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Safer Foundation: Illinois-based nonprofit providing comprehensive reentry services including correctional in-facility programming, workforce training, and post-release placement. Directly comparable to Damascus's in-facility curriculum and employment placement services, at larger scale.
• Talbert House: Ohio-based behavioral health and reentry services nonprofit that is both a Damascus partner (referral source for hundreds of clients with felony records) and a peer operating overlapping reentry and workforce programming in the same Cincinnati/Ohio geography.
• Roca: Massachusetts-based nonprofit addressing reentry, young adult violence, and recidivism through long-term programming, workforce development, and behavioral change curricula. Comparable to Damascus's trauma-based reentry curriculum and intensive post-release support model.
• The Fortune Society: New York-based nonprofit providing reentry services including housing, education, employment, and behavioral health to formerly incarcerated individuals. Comparable continuum-of-care model overlapping with Damascus's curriculum + transportation + employment + planned housing approach.
• Rubicon Programs: California-based nonprofit delivering reentry services, workforce development, and housing for formerly incarcerated individuals. Comparable integrated model spanning reentry programming, employment placement, and supportive housing.
• Osborne Association: New York-based nonprofit providing reentry, housing, and family services to currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. Comparable full-continuum reentry model with stronger emphasis on advocacy and family programming.
• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): National nonprofit providing employment services to people with recent criminal convictions. Operates transitional employment with a daily-paid work model and post-placement retention support — closely mirrors Damascus's Workforce Solutions and INployment approaches, with a stronger geographic footprint.

Emerging players

• 70 Million Jobs (now part of Checkr): Tech-enabled second-chance employment platform connecting justice-involved job seekers with employers. Operates as an employment marketplace for the same population Damascus serves, but is technology-mediated rather than in-person reentry-curriculum based.
• Defy Ventures: National nonprofit focused on entrepreneurship and employment pathways for people with criminal histories, operating in-prison programs and post-release support. Overlaps with Damascus's in-facility curriculum and workforce focus, with a narrower entrepreneurship emphasis.

Broad incumbents

• Heartland Alliance: Large national human services nonprofit including reentry, housing, healthcare, and workforce programming for justice-involved populations. Overlaps with Damascus's reentry and workforce services but operates at much greater scale across multiple service lines.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/DamascusReentry
• YouTubevimeo.com/user91696056
• Facebookfacebook.com/DamascusStaffing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/team-damascus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Damascus