In 2022, Art4Giving made a donation to Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP), a non-profit dedicated to uniting top business and academic talent with incarcerated individuals. Through entrepreneurship training, PEP provides prisoners with resources and real-world business skills, so they have the knowledge, tools, and support to pursue fulfilling and productive lives upon release from prison.
Since 2004, PEP has produced the nation’s leading results in the prison rehabilitation industry by dramatically reducing return-to-prison rates while considerably increasing employment rates and business ownership. According to PEP:
- 100% of PEP graduates are employed within 90 days of release from prison
- More than 500 businesses have been launched by PEP graduates
- PEP graduates have an exceptionally low 8.3% three-year recidivism rate (compared to the national average of nearly 50%)
In 2021 alone, 1,022 prisoners participated in the program.
“Our next donation from Art4Giving is going to PEP, an entrepreneurship program for incarcerated and recently freed people. They have an amazing track record of reducing recidivism and guiding prisoners toward success. Expanding this program will do a lot of good.
– Ross Ulbricht
