Learn About CVE
Vision
We believe everyone should have the opportunity to work.
Mission
To provide opportunities, training, and support to individuals with mental health disabilities, empowering them to fulfill their employment potential.
Approach
CVE is a social enterprise located in the heart of the South of Market District of San Francisco. Since 1986, CVE has served and empowered individuals with mental health disabilities to reach their full employment potential through a broad range of training and support programs and hands-on work experience. CVE believes that self-determination is the key to success in any person’s life and, as a result, allows clients to choose their own paths. This choice on the part of the client means that clients have ownership and responsibility for their progress and their success in finding, securing and keeping a job.
The Social Enterprise Model
so•cial en•ter•prise (n.)
An organization or venture that advances its social mission through entrepreneurial, earned income strategies (The Social Enterprise Alliance)
A social enterprise is an organization that focuses on performing an essential social role in the community, while operating income generating businesses to encourage self-sustainability and drawing upon the best thinking in both the business and non-profit worlds to achieve its mission.
As a social enterprise, CVE operates three businesses to employ clients (transitional employment). These businesses in turn, generate revenue that feeds back into the organization to help fund training programs. In fact, one third of CVE’s operating revenue comes from its enterprises. Employment itself is a core training component for CVE clients. This employment allows the client to build essential workplace skills, in a supported environment, and acquire real-world experience for their resume.
Being a social enterprise, however, stretches beyond solely operating businesses. Drawing on the experience and knowledge of industry leaders in both the for-profit and non-profit communities, CVE models its internal operations after established best practices. This includes robust financial controls, sophisticated tools to measure the effectiveness of its work (visit our Outcomes Section), and recruitment of the most experienced staff and board (visit our Board and Management Section).
Click here to find out more about CVE’s history
Please feel free to contact CVE for more information about how we work, and how you can help.