Join the COFFE as an employer ready to empower job seekers who are eager to establish meaningful, safe, productive lives after prison.

We’re Changing What Hiring Looks Like.

Formerly incarcerated employees are often the most loyal, willing to learn, and eager to impress. They want to connect with you!

Access to Job Fairs

Connect in person with job seekers who are ready to commit to work and referred to events by their sponsors, parole officers, teachers and mentors. Job seekers in attendance have all done time, so it’s not taboo, which makes it easier to have candid conversations about the past, present, and future on both sides of the interview table.

Networking & Community

Everyone in the corporate world understands the importance of networking whether they make time for it or not. COFFE membership organically creates connections to other businesses who share your values, so the potential for meaningful B2B engagement is established with us.

Training

Your membership comes with specifically tailored training and support from Dr. Zavrel, The Rebel Academy founder and one of the top experts in corrections and reentry education in the country. Training helps employers prepare for cultural and behavioral (non-dangerous) factors they may encounter with staff, as well as the enormous barriers their new staff will face.

Community Impact

Hiring folks who have served time is still an opportunity that instills more fear than excitement in mainstream employment. We want to make the process less intimidating for employers while also making job searches less stressful and taboo for our reentry population. COFFE is the bridge between the two, and members in turn help positively impact the community by reducing stigma and in turn recidivism in our locale.

WOTC

There are tax benefits for your business when you hire a felon within a year of his or her release from prison. Read more here. The tax credit is per hire, so the more folks you employ, the more money in your pocket. While you can access the WOTC without COFFE membership, joining the Coalition comes with WOTC help and reminders to ensure you don’t miss out.

Loyal, Grateful Hires

Perhaps news to new members, hires from the reentry population tend to be loyal, grateful, and eager to learn new skills. Many are in recovery, are learning to be good, stable parents, and desperately need role models, including supervisors and managers, to empower them with opportunities for growth while also modeling professionalism, best practices, and workplace culture.

The Coalition of Felon-Friendly Employers (COFFE)