REDF (formerly the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund) provides leadership and investment to a portfolio of nonprofit social enterprises, changing the lives of people who face poverty, homelessness, and other barriers to employment. Through its annual Farber Interns Program, REDF offers MBA students a unique opportunity to use their business and management skills within social mission-driven enterprises. See examples below of Farber Internships from prior years.
Samra Haider (Wharton)
REDF
REDF works with a portfolio of San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit organizations that run social enterprises to employ very low-income and homeless individuals. Samra helped to codify REDF’s due diligence lessons learned; the tool that Samra worked on during her internship will be published on REDF’s website in 2008. Samra also led a REDF research project on employment in the green sector. (Learn more about REDF.) (Summer 2007)
Giselle Leung (Columbia)
San Francisco Conservation Corps
(REDF Portfolio social enterprise)
The San Francisco Conservation Corps (SFCC) provides job and academic training to young people ages 18-26. Corpsmembers develop their job skills through employment in social enterprises that offer recycling, playground construction and trail maintenance services. Giselle helped SFCC create a model for calculating the cost per program participant. She also helped REDF assess how social return on investment (SROI) is currently understood and applied in the nonprofit sector. (Learn more about SFCC and REDF.) (Summer 2007)
Minakshi Radhakrishnan (Darden)
St. Vincent de Paul
(REDF Portfolio social enterprise)
St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County (SVdP) serves more than 100,000 homeless and low-income people a year, offering assistance such as clothing, access to health care, educational classes and job training. Minakshi helped SVdP optimize their thrift store profitability using operations analysis and implementation of a management dashboard. She and her supervisor at SVdP, Melanie Anguay, will be presenting the results of Minakshi’s summer project at the Social Enterprise Alliance Summit in Boston in March, 2008. (Learn more about St. Vincent De Paul, and REDF.) (Summer 2007)
Tim Scheu (Fuqua)
Community Vocational Enterprises (CVE)
(REDF Portfolio social enterprise)
CVE's mission is to provide opportunities, training, and support to individuals with mental health disabilities. Tim worked with CVE enterprise Industrial Maintenance Engineers, a professional janitorial company, to expand job opportunities for CVE clients. (Learn more about CVE and REDF.) (Summer 2006)
Lauren Scopaz (Harvard)
Golden Gate Community, Inc./Pedal Revolution
(REDF Portfolio social enterprise)
Rated by San Francisco Weekly as “Best Bike Shop” for three years in a row, Pedal Revolution is a social enterprise run by Golden Gate Community, Inc. (GGCI), which serves at-risk youth and young adults. Lauren created a business development plan for this rapidly growing enterprise. (Learn more about Golden Gate Community, Inc., now known as New Door Ventures, and REDF.) (Summer 2006)
Kyle Stanzel (Fuqua)
Rubicon Bakery
(REDF Portfolio social enterprise)
As an enterprise under Rubicon Programs, the social mission of Rubicon Bakery is to create jobs in the community and provide training opportunities for individuals who are homeless, disabled, or otherwise economically disadvantaged. Kyle worked on a number of projects including a personnel management system. (Learn more about Rubicon Programs and REDF.) (Summer 2006)
Kelly Greenwood (Kellogg)
Juma Ventures
(REDF Portfolio social enterprise)
Juma Ventures operates Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shops and concessions for the primary purpose of providing employment opportunities, job training, and support services to very low-income youth. Kelly worked with Juma's senior management team to create an expansion plan for their enterprises. (Learn more about Juma Ventures and REDF.) (Summer 2006)
Tara Mohr (Stanford)
Community Gatepath
(REDF Portfolio organization)
Community Gatepath provides a range of services to children, adults, and seniors with disabilities. Tara developed a business plan for Community Gatepath’s Group Staffing Services enterprise. (Learn more about Community Gatepath and REDF.) (Summer 2005)
Raul Shah Slovik (Yale)
Rubicon Bakery
(REDF Portfolio social enterprise)
As an enterprise under Rubicon Programs, the social mission of Rubicon Bakery is to create jobs in the community and provide training opportunities for individuals who are homeless, disabled, or otherwise economically disadvantaged. Raul helped develop Rubicon Bakery’s training program and inventory management system. (Learn more about Rubicon Programs and REDF.) (Summer 2005)
Beth Sutkus Thompson (Stanford)
Grow Cafe
(REDF Portfolio social enterprise)
Grow Café is a social enterprise run by Golden Gate Community, Inc., a nonprofit that serves at-risk youth and young adults. Beth developed a plan to help Grow Cafe expand its catering services. (Learn more about Golden Gate Community, Inc., now known as New Door Ventures, and REDF.) (Summer 2005)
Caroline Tuan (Stanford)
Golden Gate Community, Inc./Pedal Revolution
(REDF Portfolio social enterprise)
Pedal Revolution is a bike sales and service shop operated by Golden Gate Community, Inc., a nonprofit agency that transforms the lives of at-risk youth through jobs, training, housing, and communities of support. Caroline developed a merchandising plan for Pedal Revolution and analyzed the feasibility of new product lines. (Learn more about Golden Gate Community, Inc., now known as New Door Ventures, and REDF.) (Summer 2004)