REDF Consultant Request for Information


About REDF:

REDF (the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund) is a pioneering venture philanthropy galvanizing a national movement of employment social enterprises (ESEs)—purpose-driven, revenue-generating businesses that help people striving to overcome employment barriers get jobs, keep jobs, and build a better life. ESEs provide paying jobs and services people need to stabilize their lives, develop a work history, and build skills and confidence. When employees are ready, ESEs help them find competitive employment. Research shows this approach works. It leads to greater economic security and mobility and a significant rate of return to society—$2.23 in benefits for every $1 invested in social enterprise. REDF provides seed and growth capital in the form of grants and loans to the country’s most effective and innovative employment social enterprise. To amplify that investment, we provide specialized consulting services to help these unique businesses and their employees thrive. 


*ESEs work with people who have been justice system involved, opportunity youth/emerging adults, 

refugees and asylees, and others who have experienced homelessness/housing instability, mental health challenges, substance use issues, domestic violence or trafficking. 



REDF CONSULTANT POOL OVERVIEW:


Over the years, REDF has partnered with a small select group of talented consultants to complement our capacity, for ourselves and our social enterprise partners, mostly sourced informally through our network. The purpose of this RFI is to greatly expand and diversify the pool of consultants we work with, as well as to provide more consistency and structure in how we source and engage with consultants. 


REDF is seeking U.S.-based consultants to join REDF’s Consultant Pool (Pool). The Pool will serve as a source of pre-qualified experts who may be solicited to provide assistance and advisory services to selected REDF employment social enterprises. REDF will then issue solicitations restricted to Pool members on an as needed basis.  

What areas of expertise are we looking for? 

  • Program Development (e.g., logic model design, program evaluation, employee supports, job retention, employer engagement, etc.)
  • Business Planning (e.g., product/market fit, biz dev/sales, marketing and branding, pricing, growth strategy, etc.)
  • Development (e.g., fundraising strategy, public funding opportunities, etc.)
  • Human Capital (e.g., executive coaching, HR, board development, leadership transitions, DEI, employee engagement, organizational culture building, etc.)
  • Finance, Accounting, & Administration (e.g., IT, data systems, asset planning, accounting, financial management, legal)
  • Strategy & Planning (e.g., general strategy planning, offsite/meeting facilitation, project management, etc.)

Why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) matters in our work

At REDF, we envision a thriving and inclusive society where all people have the jobs and the support they need to realize their full potential. The unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences that our staff, consultants, and partners bring informs our work and helps us move towards this vision. We believe it can enhance the consultant/social enterprise relationship if consultants have backgrounds and/or lived experiences that are similar to the people our social enterprises employ*. We are also seeking to consciously engage with consultants who identify as BIPOC or an individual with lived experience because it more broadly supports REDF’s equity goals through a commitment to increasing representation and inclusion to those who have historically been underrepresented in the field. With these points in mind, this RFI includes a few optional demographic and identity questions to help us build a diverse consultant pool.


Note about this form

  • Some questions on this form include additional information, context or details. You can find this help-text or tooltip below the questions. The color of the help-text will change from gray to black when you click on it. 

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Leadership Demographics and Identity

REDF has a goal to increase the diversity of our partners, including our consultants/consulting practices, particularly along the parameters of race and lived experience (LE) related to the employment barriers REDF’s work addresses. We believe that consultants who identify as BIPOC and/or have lived experiences can provide a unique understanding that can increase the effectiveness of the capacity building project and the ESE model.  

Demographic Data Storing & Sharing
Information collected through this process will be maintained in a safe and secure manner by REDF. REDF will not disclose individual level demographic information but does reserve the right to share anonymized, aggregate level data that does not identify the consultant and/or consulting entity. 


REDF defines BIPOC-led business as those entities where the CEO identifies as Black, Indigenous or Person of Color (BIPOC); and/or at least 50% of the Senior Leadership identify as BIPOC.

REDF defines Lived Experience-Led Businesses as those entities where the CEO and/or least 50% of the leadership team share a lived experience with ESE participants or any lived experience that represents a barrier to employment identified by REDF. We define lived experience as people with justice system involvement, people with a mental health challenge, people with a substance use issue, people with experiences of homelessness or housing instability, opportunity youth or emerging adult, refugee or asylee, people who have experienced domestic violence and people who have experienced trafficking. More detailed definitions here.

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