Defy Ventures

Defy Pennsylvania is a chapter of Defy Ventures, a national nonprofit organization that provides personal development, career readiness, and entrepreneurship training to currently and formerly incarcerated adults. Our mission is to give people with criminal histories their best shot at a second chance. Our vision is to cut the recidivism rate in half by leveraging entrepreneurship to improve economic opportunity and transform lives. In Delaware County, the Defy Pennsylvania team (based in Philadelphia) is providing our CEO of Your New Life program, which provides entrepreneurship, personal development, career-readiness and well-being programming, to incarcerated people at the State Correctional Institution in Chester who are preparing to return to their communities. We have already completed two cohorts and graduated more than 40 people from the program. Fifteen graduates have returned home and none have returned to prison.

What sets us apart? Defy’s approach to reentry preparation  and economic opportunity has a few components. First, we provide both inside and outside program support to EITs—from incarceration through reentry. Second, Defy’s focus on entrepreneurship fosters a skill set that prepares EITs to access economic opportunity, whether that means a career or starting their own businesses. Finally, Defy’s programs shift mindsets among both EITs and the business community, in part through transformative volunteer events. In fact, we have already hosted more than 90 volunteers at SCI Chester since launching our programs!

Graduates of the Defy Ventures program return to prison at a rate that is less than 10% after one year, compared to the Pennsylvania average recidivism rate of more than 60%. Defy has also observed that 85% of program graduates found employment within 6 months of returning home and beginning a job search. Finally, Defy has supported the launch of more than 200 businesses by formerly incarcerated people.

Our next cohort will begin at the end of April and your support through Delco Gives will allow us to continue to bring this transformative program to the men at SCI Chester who are preparing for their return to the community!