Fair Chance Collaborative

Our Goal

A quarter of all Americans have a criminal record. Yet, without access to second-chance employment opportunities, this vast pool of potential talent remains on the sidelines, unable to contribute their skills as employers struggle to fill workforce gaps.

By supporting Fair Chance employers, this Collaborative aims to increase the number of justice-involved individuals who secure family-supporting jobs.

Our Rationale

✔ Many companies have policies that explicitly exclude justice-involved individuals from consideration, creating significant barriers to employment for these job seekers.

✔ Securing well-paying entry-level jobs can reduce recidivism among justice-involved job seekers, studies have shown.

✔ Offering quality employment to individuals with criminal backgrounds is vital for fostering safer communities and a thriving workforce.

Our Partners

The Collaborative was catalyzed by an investment from the JPMorganChase Foundation. It will be supported by Envoy, a social impact consulting firm that has led Fair Chance employment initiatives nationwide, including with the Second Chance Business Coalition.

Grant Awards

In 2025, Valley of the Sun United Way awarded $120,000 in grant funding to seven nonprofit organizations that are advancing Fair Chance programs and initiatives for justice-impacted individuals in Maricopa County.

A New Leaf
Funded Program: Greater Economic Mobility Program
A New Leaf’s Greater Economic Mobility (GEM) Program’s goal is to assist low- to moderate-income justice-involved individuals in Maricopa County with overcoming barriers to gaining and maintaining self-sufficiency and stability and reduce recidivism.

Arouet Foundation
Funded Program: Reentry Prosperity Program: Fair Chance Townhalls
A new offering of Arouet’s holistic Reentry Prosperity Program, Fair Chance Townhalls will work to increase Fair Chance hiring/retention in Maricopa County by providing technical workforce development assistance to 120 justice-impacted individuals, as well as to 5-10 local employers.

Dress for Success Phoenix
Funded Program: The HOPE Center
The HOPE Center at Perryville Correctional Facility can serve up to 100 women leaving Perryville with life-changing career development services and support in the first year.

Foundation for Blind Children
Funded Program: Entrepreneurial Pathways for the Incarcerated (EPIC) Program
Entrepreneurial Pathways for the Incarcerated (EPIC) is a workforce development program that provides meaningful, sustainable work for Arizona’s prison population and parolees while supporting the profession of braille transcription. EPIC participants learn new skills and secure higher-paying jobs.

Fresh Start Women’s Foundation
Funded Program: Fresh Start Justice-Involved Women Initiative
The Justice-Involved Women Initiative provides success coaching, education and training, and career services to prepare justice-involved women for long-term personal and professional success.

St. Mary’s Food Bank
Funded Program: Skills Center Program
St. Mary’s Skills Center Program prepares unsheltered, formerly incarcerated and/or other vulnerable individuals for jobs in the food industry and warehouse jobs, both of which provide many opportunities for advancement and pay increases.

Televerde Foundation
Funded Program: PATHS to Professionalism
PATHS to Professionalism introduces incarcerated women to the fundamentals of business and technology. Designed for those lacking experience, it builds confidence, courage and initiative, inspiring them to start their learning journey and pursue further growth through our other PATHS programs.