As nonprofits face increasing pressure to diversify revenue and deepen impact, social enterprise has emerged as a powerful strategy to advance mission while building financial resilience. In this new column, Social Enterprise in Action, TANGO will feature nonprofit organizations that have successfully integrated earned-income models into their work—sharing candid insights on what they built, what they learned, and how social enterprise has strengthened both their financial sustainability and social outcomes. Our goal is to inspire other nonprofits to explore whether social enterprise could be a viable path for advancing their mission. We launch this series with EMERGE Connecticut™, a statewide leader demonstrating how mission-driven business can create meaningful economic opportunity and lasting community impact.

A big thank you to Jasmine Sams, Director of Organizational Development at EMERGE for sharing their story with the TANGO community:

EMERGE Connecticut™ is a nonprofit social enterprise based in New Haven that creates pathways to economic mobility for people that have experienced incarceration.
Founded in 2011, EMERGE was built on a simple but powerful belief: when people returning home from incarceration are given real employment, consistent coaching, and a supportive community, they can rebuild their lives and strengthen the communities around them.

As a social enterprise, EMERGE blends mission with earned income.
A social enterprise is a mission-driven organization that uses business strategies to generate revenue in service of a social goal. Rather than relying solely on grants or donations, social enterprises earn income through products or services—and reinvest that revenue back into their mission. For EMERGE, this means operating a transitional employment program where participants complete community contracts in construction, landscaping, and property maintenance. These projects generate earned revenue that supports programming, reduces dependence on fundraising, and demonstrates a sustainable model for community impact.

Participants are hired as paid Crewmembers and gain hands-on experience while contributing to neighborhood beautification and local improvement projects. Beyond employment, they receive intensive coaching, barrier-removal support, and access to educational and career pathways—ensuring they build stability and long-term independence.

In 2025, EMERGE expanded into Fairfield County with the launch of its Bridgeport site, bringing our proven reentry model to a region where employment opportunities and wraparound support for members in our community that are justice-impacted remains limited. This move has deepened our statewide impact and strengthened partnerships with local nonprofits, city agencies, and employers.

Today, EMERGE continues to grow as a statewide leader in reentry innovation—showing how social enterprise can be a powerful tool for economic mobility, neighborhood revitalization, and second chances.

Call to Action
Do you lead or work with a nonprofit that operates a social enterprise or earned-income program? We invite you to share your story. TANGO Trends is seeking brief, practitioner-written features that highlight how nonprofits have launched, grown, or refined social enterprises in support of their mission. If your organization has lessons learned, insights to offer, or a model worth exploring, we would love to hear from you. Please contact TANGO to be considered for a future issue.

Thank you,
Rollin Schuster