Community Resources for Justice
www.crjustice.org 

Community Resources for Justice (CRJ) is a private nonprofit organization promoting a safe and just society through direct care programs, public education, and advocacy. CRJ provides comprehensive residential and day services and assistance to male and female adult offenders, juvenile delinquents and other at-risk youth, and developmentally disabled adults.

CRJ’s Crime and Justice Institute designs and implements pilot projects to test innovative criminal justice and public safety strategies, conducts research and evaluation, and disseminates information through publications, forums and professional assistance.

Venture: Property Maintenance Resources
Property Maintenance Resources (PMR) provides an array of facilities maintenance, general construction, and building management services, including painting, flooring, basic carpentry, and landscaping. PMR also provides job skills training and employment opportunities for CRJ clients re-entering the community as well as improves the reliability and quality of property maintenance services internally at the 26 properties owned and operated by CRJ.

Human Resources Unlimited
www.hru.org 

Human Resources Unlimited is a 33 year old private, human service organization with a mission to provide the highest quality community rehabilitation services to adults with developmental and psychiatric disabilities.  Through an array of employment training, vocational, and practical skill-building services, HRU offers program members individual, flexible options to build upon their strengths and pursue their own goals.  Currently HRU serves nearly 10,000 people with disabilities in Western and Central Massachusetts.

HRU works in partnership with area employers to meet their business needs, while opening up employment opportunities for program members.  As a result, each year hundreds of people with disabilities use and develop their skills, earn wages, and contribute to their communities as proud members of the workforce.

Venture: Fresh Air Cleaners
Fresh Air Cleaners provides a menu of non-toxic residential cleaning services in Hampshire and Hampden Counties in Massachusetts.  Fresh Air’s distinctive use of non-toxic cleaning products and procedures improves the health of residents.  Fresh Air provides regular weekly or biweekly housecleaning, prescriptive cleaning for allergen removal and maintenance service, mold remediation and duct cleaning.

JFYNetWorks
www.jfyboston.org

JFYNetWorks is a private, nonprofit workforce training organization with 25 years of experience in developing innovative education and job training programs for low-skilled, low-income youth and adults. The agency’s programs bracket the range from adult literacy, GED and MCAS prep to job-readiness and industry-specific technical skills. The focus is on high school-level literacy and entry-level technical job skills.

Since 2000, JFYNetWorks has been establishing computerized literacy programs in high schools and community agencies.  The organization believes computerized instruction is the only way of delivering education and training services at the scale of the actual need. JFYNetWorks has established more than 20 of these programs in the past few years and views computerized education and training as the principal growth opportunity for the organization in the next decade.

Venture: JFYNet
JFYNet provides educational software and support services to teachers and students.  Through computerized instruction in core academic subjects, JFYNet helps schools meet federal, state and local academic performance standards.  Services include teacher coaching, training and skill building, curriculum development, student assessment and reporting, software installation, and ongoing classroom support. 

Mass Energy Consumers Alliance
www.massenergy.com

Mass Energy is a 21- year old nonprofit organization with a dual mission of making energy affordable and environmentally sustainable.  Mass Energy serves as both an advocate for consumers and the environment, as well as a market participant.  Mass Energy’s longest standing program is a heating oil buyer's group, serving 7,000 households in eastern and central Massachusetts.  In recent years, Mass Energy has launched programs promoting renewable energy.  For more information, see www.solarboston.org, and www.newenglandwind.org.

Venture: Heating Oil Buyer's Group
Massachusetts Energy Consumers Alliance’s Heating Oil Buyer’s Group is a membership organization that aggregates the buying power of heating oil consumers to negotiate reduced prices on heating oil.  Today, the heating oil program serves 7,000 residential households and non-residential organizations in two hundred communities in eastern and central Massachusetts.  In exchange for its aggregator role, the heating oil program receives a $15 annual membership fee from each member and a $0.03-$0.05 per gallon commission on every gallon of heating oil delivered to a member.

Mental Health Association

The Mental Health Association, Inc. (MHA) provides residential and support services to enhance the quality of life for adults challenged with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and traumatic brain injury.  Utilizing a broad base of professional knowledge, MHA strives to develop and deliver flexible, effective, and efficient services.  Affordable quality housing, advocacy, and public education support the agency’s dedication to enabling and empowering individuals to develop the fullest potential and become valued community members.

Venture: Association Properties Group, Inc.
Association Properties Group, Inc. (APG) is a specialized property management company delivering full management and maintenance services to property owners in Greater Springfield, Massachusetts.  APG’s property management expertise is built on 15 years of experience as an internal department of the Mental Health Association, Inc. (MHA), currently managing 51 properties housing 149 residents.  In addition, APG manages MHA’s 25,000 square feet of commercial space.  Throughout the years MHA has developed the ability to deliver high quality, efficient and affordable property management to residents with special needs – a unique service that is unparalleled in the marketplace.

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries
www.goodwillmass.org  

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries serves individuals who face a variety of barriers to employment, including physical and/or cognitive disabilities, illiteracy, homelessness, inadequate education, and welfare dependency. Through three program areas, Work and Job Training Programs, Youth Services, and Community Services, Goodwill assists thousands of people each year. The Work and Job Training Programs have a strong on the job training component that is provided through Goodwill’s Retail and Recycled Goods Enterprise and other Worksite Enterprises. Goodwill helps to equip individuals with the tools necessary to meet new challenges and create more rewarding and independent lives by providing not charity, but a chance.

Venture: The Outsource Resource
The OutSource Resource provides product assembly, packaging, direct mail and fulfillment services to companies in eastern Massachusetts who view outsourcing as a strategic profit tool.  Its efforts focus on providing a solution for the small to medium sized projects – project-based and lower volume jobs – jobs not accepted or offered by our competition. The Outsource Resource employs close to 100 individuals with disabilities.

North Bennet Street School
www.nbss.org

North Bennet Street School, incorporated in 1885, is located in the North End of Boston.  Its mission is to preserve and advance craft traditions, promote excellence in craft, and train students for careers in traditional trades that use hand skills in concert with developed technology.  The school offers full-time courses in Bookbinding, Cabinet and Furniture Making, Carpentry and Preservation Carpentry, Jewelry Making and Repair, Locksmithing, Piano Technology, and Violin Making and Restoration.  In each program, highly skilled instructors teach students in small classes, sharing their knowledge and talent.  Students graduate with proficiency in a chosen trade or craft as well-qualified professionals, ready for employment in their fields.

In addition to its full-time programs, North Bennet Street School offers intensive short- term workshops.  They are held on weekends, in the evenings, and during the summer, ranging from one-day sessions to sessions that span a two-month period.  Professional and beginning craftspeople work side-by-side to strengthen their technical understanding and develop new skills in an environment that is challenging and supportive.

Venture: North Bennet Street School Retail Gallery
NBSS plans to launch a retail gallery selling graduate craft items and services to the general public, specialized tools to workshop and full-time students, as well as books and North Bennet Street School logo items.  The retail gallery will be located in a storefront space within the school, one block from the Freedom Trail and Old North Church. 

Project Place
www.projectplace.org

Project Place is a community-based human service agency that promotes social and economic self-sufficiency by offering a continuum of educational, employment and support services.  Its mission is to promote hope and opportunity for homeless and low-income individuals by providing the skills, opportunities, and resources needed to obtain stable employment and housing.  Over 500 men and women seek support and 200 of those individuals participate in one of six structured programs. 

Currently Project Place offers job training, supportive employment through the operation of two social enterprises, transitional housing, and adult education programs that have the flexibility and range to work with people at various skill levels.  All programming is coupled with case management to help clients address the many barriers they face in their transition to self-reliance.  

Venture: HomePlate
HomePlate will distribute a line of wholesome, homemade foods through pushcarts located in Downtown Boston, local markets and restaurants, and independent, regional, and national groceries. HomePlate will not only provide customers with convenient and quality meal alternatives, but will also provide job opportunities to homeless individuals in the Boston area.  The products in the Home Plate line will be created by Boston-area chefs and selected through annual cook off events; the initial products are vegetarian and meat chili meals with cornbread. 

Springfield Neighborhood Housing Services
www.springfieldnhs.org

Springfield Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. transforms families and revitalizes distressed neighborhoods in Springfield, MA through sustainable homeownership development, rehabilitation of blighted properties, and resident empowerment. Services are provided to low- and moderate-income families through the Full-Cycle Lending system that includes:

• Targeted neighborhood revitalization;

• Pre-purchase counseling and education;

• Home purchase and rehabilitation technical assistance;

• Affordable lending products for home purchase and/or repair; and

• Post-purchase counseling and education.

Venture: Homeownership Center
Through its NeighborWorks® HomeOwnership Center, Springfield NHS will operate as a mortgage broker and lender to create sustainable homeownership opportunities for families, and to combat predatory lending practices. The HomeOwnership Center’s target market is first-time homebuyers and existing homeowners with 60-115% of annual median-level household income in the cities of Springfield and Holyoke.  Many families in those cities are emerging minority and immigrant populations.