One of the major challenges employment social enterprises like DePaul Industries face is quantifying impact. While we often use figures like wages paid and permanent positions gained, the overall and long-term impact can be difficult to express. That’s one of the reasons we were so pleased to see the results of REDF’s Mathematica Jobs Study, released last month.
The study, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, tracked results at seven REDF-supported employment social enterprises over the course of a year. These enterprises employ people with various barriers to employment, such as people who have been in prison or homeless, or those with mental health disabilities.
Benefits for individuals who gained work through REDF’s social enterprises:
• 268% increase in income
• 19 percentage point increase in employment a year later (compared to those not hired by the social enterprise)
• 90% received training to build skills
The study also quantified the benefits to society of employment social enterprises; see a few highlights in the video below.
