Coalfield Development Corporation

We have three core capabilities:
1) incubate and invest in employment-based social enterprises
2) Personal, professional, and academic development for people facing barriers to employment
3) Community-based revitalization projects

We use the enterprises and projects to create direct employment for people facing barriers. We recruit from four main community partners: local TANF office, local SUD recovery services, local unemployment offices, and local vocational programs. Hired recruits start out in our WRAPS program (Workforce Readiness and Professional Success), which is a paid 6 month on-the-job training cohort. Trainees have in-depth human support to stabilize their lives and establish goals. They complete community agriculture, light repair, and deconstruction projects. At least four professional credentials are earned during these six months. At completion, trainees have two options: 1) become a crew member on one of Coalfield's social enterprises or 2) work with Coalfield staff on a placement in our Employer Network earning at least what was earned as a WRAPS trainee.

For trainees who are placed with a Coalfield enterprise, they officially become a "Crew Member," which entails a 2.5 year contract. The contract commits the crew member to our 33-6-3 model: 33 hours of paid work, 6 hours of community college classroom time, and 3 hours of personal development (life skills/soft skills) support. Crew members complete their commitment once a) a Associates Degree has been earned, b) at least four more professional certificates have been earned, and c) once all four Personal Development Certificates have been earned (Employment Basics, Employment Excellence, Care for Self, and Care for Others).
Forces driving generational poverty are complex and interconnected. Therefore, our employee supports are holistic and mutually reinforcing. The structure detailed above is an important vehicle for effective case management. Monthly evaluations, weekly facilitated reflections, and weekly participation scorecards are helpful tools for accountability.

33-6-3 began in 2010 as a grassroots effort to address housing affordability in one rural county: Wayne, WV. Our resilient idea was born in the Great Recession and will adapt and lead through COVID-19. The idea grew directly out of community conversations with residents lamenting how their children seemed to only have two options: stay locally and suffer or leave to find work. Housing affordability was important, but housing alone in such a depressed economy was not enough of a social return on investment. Strategies that directly employed residents were needed. Our first social enterprise responded by hiring unemployed residents on construction crews to rehab affordable housing to be more energy efficient. We organized the work-week according to a 33-6-3 model: 33 hours of paid work, 6 hours of higher education, 3 hours of life-skills.

Achieving housing stability and empowerment out of generational poverty proved complex. One service for one need was not sufficient. We had to evolve to do more than just job-training. We had to be not only the job-trainer, but the job-creator. We also had to learn to mentor and address trauma. This is why we now emphasize the “6” and “3.” We create the supportive, flexible work environments which patiently support a resident’s agency, their rise out of the complexities of poverty. As 33-6-3 gained traction the main industry in our community (coal) was collapsing, leading to unemployment not seen since the Great Depression. We expanded to meet the dire need.

We are emerging out of rapid growth which stretched our internal systems but ultimately left us stronger and more efficient. In growing, we have started ESE’s in multiple diversified sectors. While valuable to our communities, this has often led to a lack of focus and clarity (both externally and internally). We are now taking steps to consolidate some of our smaller enterprises

Our CEO has a Masters Degree in Nonprofit Management from Indiana University, Bloomington. Our staff has more than 100 years combined experience in public and non-profit management. Our development team is focused on making these various supports work for our people. This team consists of four full-time employees with experience and passion in these human development fields. In addition to extensive special supports, we also just try to be a solid employer. Everybody starts at no lower than $12/hour. All crew members (including trainees and crew members) receive health, dental, vision, and life insurance. All receive paid-time-off time. Our board is 1/3 represented by low-income census tracts and has extensive professional experience represented.

-1200 people trained
-over 250 new jobs created
-over $20 million leveraged
-over 200,000 square feet revitalized
-over 50 new businesses started