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DEFY VENTURES INC

NEW YORK, NY · EIN 273611908 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE B90 · Education · Medium ($1M-$10M) · defyventures.org
revenue
$4.6M
expenses
$4.3M
net assets
$2.9M
employees
60
volunteers
904
program ratio
80%
mission · from form 990

TO SHIFT MINDSETS AND GIVE PEOPLE WITH CRIMINAL HISTORIES THEIR BEST SHOT AT A SECOND CHANCE.

profile · synthesized from sources

Defy Ventures provides entrepreneurship training and personal development programs for individuals with criminal histories to support their reentry and economic empowerment. The organization operates both inside correctional facilities and in community settings, fostering a supportive network for justice-impacted entrepreneurs. It emphasizes mindset transformation, business skills, and community building to create second-chance opportunities.

named programs · 3 · from sources

What they call their work

CEO YNL (You're Never Late)
Personal development and entrepreneurship program for individuals in prison and during reentry
Defy Pennsylvania
Expansion of Defy’s entrepreneurship and reentry support programs to Pennsylvania
Entrepreneurship Training Program
Provides business skills and mentorship to justice-impacted individuals, helping them launch and grow businesses
activities · 3 groups

What they do

  • Workforce Readiness Training 4 activities
    • Community and prison-based engagement events
      Hosts regular events that connect currently or formerly incarcerated individuals (EITs) with volunteers for mentorship, teaching, and inspiration, fostering community building and support networks.
    • Entrepreneurship and reentry training programs for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals
      Offers a comprehensive suite of entrepreneurship and employment-readiness programs, including the "CEO of Your New Life" curriculum, Entrepreneur Bootcamp, and Business Accelerator, delivered in prison and community settings to reduce recidivism and support successful reentry.
    • Post-release employment and alumni support services
      Provides ongoing transitional and alumni support including resume and interview workshops, technology training, individual action plans, and networking opportunities to help formerly incarcerated individuals maintain stable employment and business development after program completion.
    • Social enterprise employment initiatives
      Supports employment of formerly incarcerated individuals through social enterprises such as Inside-Out Bars, a snack company founded by a Defy Ventures graduate, which has provided jobs to 25 formerly incarcerated people.
  • Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
    • Program cost efficiency and operational metrics
      Monitors program delivery costs, reporting $2,000 spent per in-prison program graduate during the reporting period.
  • Reentry Support Services 1 activity
    • Recidivism reduction and employment outcome tracking
      Tracks and reports strong program outcomes, including an 80% employment rate among post-release participants in 2022 and a recidivism rate of less than 10% among program graduates over nearly a decade.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$4.63M
Contributions & grants$4.44M96%
Program service revenue$96K2%
Investment income$81K2%
Other revenue$13K
expenses
Total expenses$4.31M
Program expenses80%
Admin / overhead12%
Fundraising8%
Salaries & benefits$3.39M
Grants paid out$130K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$3.95M
Cash$1.82M
Investments$0
Liabilities$1.05M
Net assets$2.91M
Liquid reserves5.1 mo
4 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +15.1%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 8
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
JOHN GAROFOLO CFO (THROUGH 12/24) 50 $175K
ANDREW GLAZIER PRESIDENT & CEO 50 $150K
JULIE JACKSON-FORSBERG VP, LEARNING 50 $143K
YEHUDAH PRYCE SR. PROGRAM DIRECTOR, NMHP 50 $143K
CHRISTINE CASTILLO VP, PROGRAMS 50 $132K
QUAN HUYNH ED, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 50 $131K
MARIAH DICKINSON VP SITE OPERATIONS 50 $130K
AMITA PARIKH DR. OF FIN. & ADMIN. (AS OF 12/24) 50 $8K
board members · 14
  • APRIL TAM SMITH — DIRECTOR
  • ARIEL JADUSZLIWER — TREASURER
  • BRIAN KORB — CHAIRMAN
  • COLE RICHMAN — DIRECTOR
  • COSS MARTE — DIRECTOR
  • DAVID SPROTT — DIRECTOR
  • JENNIFER LOTITO — DIRECTOR (AS OF 9/24)
  • JOHN DVOR — DIRECTOR
  • JONATHAN NEIL — DIRECTOR
  • KERRY BENNETT — SECRETARY
  • MARCUS GLOVER — DIRECTOR
  • NICOLE MILLER — DIRECTOR
  • PRAVEEN SESHADRI — DIRECTOR (AS OF 6/24)
  • SONIA KAHLON — DIRECTOR
relationships · 39

Who they work with

  • American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact Funder — Corporate social impact arm providing funding to Defy Ventures
  • Betterhelp Partner — Program partner
  • California Government — State government entity supporting Defy Ventures
  • California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Government — Government partner
  • Checkr Partner — Corporate funder supporting Defy Ventures
  • Connecticut Department of Correction Government — Government partner
  • Crimcheck Partner — CEO of Crimcheck is a volunteer and supporter of Defy Ventures, indicating organizational affiliation or engagement.
  • Defy Entrepreneurs in Training (EITs) Partner — Participants in Defy Ventures programs who contribute to and benefit from the organization's reentry programming.
  • Department of Corrections Washington State Government — Government partner
  • Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Government — Government partner in New York
  • Department of Juvenile Justice Government — Government agency partnering with or funding Defy Ventures
  • Drucker School of Management Partner — Program partner
  • Firme Coding Partner — Recruitment partner
  • Health Right 360 Partner — Program partner
  • Illinois Department of Corrections Government — Government partner
  • Illinois Equity Staffing Partner — Program partner
  • Impact Justice Partner — Program partner
  • Justice Care and Opportunities Partner — Program partner
  • LegalZoom Partner — Program partner
  • Mass Liberation Partner — Program partner
  • Nasdaq Foundation Funder — Foundation providing financial support to Defy Ventures
  • New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission Government — Government partner
  • Next Chapter Partner — Recruitment partner
  • P.S. Kitchen Partner — Employment partner in New York City, NY
  • Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Government — Government partner
  • Pure Beauty Partner — Partnership with the cannabis company to use profits to support investment in communities most affected by the war on drugs.
  • Senator Chris Murphy Government — Endorsed Defy Ventures' mission to strengthen communities and end the cycle of descent into the criminal justice system.
  • Sol Marketing Partner — Web-build partner
  • Start Small Think Big Partner — Program partner
  • Telzio Partner — Program partner
+ 9 more
strategies · 2

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Entrepreneurship-Based Reentry
    methodology: entrepreneurship-based reentry
    By providing entrepreneurship training and pathways to business creation, we build skills, personal agency, and economic independence among justice-impacted individuals, because developing entrepreneurial capacity enables long-term recidivism reduction and self-sufficiency.
  • Identity Transformation Through Engagement
    methodology: identity-transformation-through-mentorship
    By facilitating meaningful connections with volunteers and mentors, we help incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals redefine their identities and sense of purpose, because humanizing engagement fosters internal transformation and motivates sustained reentry success.