The First Chance Campaign
Approximately 100 million people in this country are affected by incarceration, making it one of the most significant societal issues we face today. The First Chance Campaign is a $50 million fundraising effort chaired by World Wide Technology Founder and Chairman David Steward to expand our re-entry model to 11 additional U.S. cities by 2025.
Most incarcerated individuals have experienced horrific trauma at a young age, which is the result of being born in neighborhoods that have been devastated by inequity and often lack social capital and positive support systems. With the imprisonment rate of Black males at nearly six times that of white males, this is a problem disproportionately impacting the Black community.
Concordance is working to break the cycle of reincarceration and forge a path toward equality by supporting people who have been released from prison and are re-entering society.
Our holistic, evidence-driven re-entry program is the first of its kind, working to dramatically reduce the rate of reincarceration.
Given the transformations we experience as we partner with participants on their journey, we are reminded, time and again, that our participants never needed a second chance.
They needed their first.
Help us make lasting change across the U.S.
What We’re Up Against
Reincarceration has a devastating impact on not only individuals but also their families, communities and our society as a whole. This ripple effect includes increased unemployment, homelessness, mental health and substance use disorders, utilized social services, ongoing crime, and more.
77%
of individuals are rearrested within five years.
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Nationally, 77% of individuals who return to their communities after being released from prison are rearrested within five years.
This number has not changed in more than 30 years, revealing the lack of a successful re-entry approach. We are working to break this cycle with the first holistic, integrated and evidence-informed re-entry model in the country.
10M
children have experienced parental incarceration.
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The generational trauma of reincarceration is astounding.
Children of incarcerated parents are six to nine times more likely to go to prison themselves. Moreover, these children are also more likely to experience depression, anxiety, poor academic performance, school absenteeism and homelessness.
30M
U.S. citizens have been convicted of a felony.
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There are approximately 30 million individuals in this country who have been convicted of a felony.
This devastates communities all over our nation. Arrest rates for crime are 30 to 45 times higher for the formerly incarcerated than the general population, making failed prisoner re-entry a major contributor to the exceedingly high incarceration rates in the U.S.
Get more information in our printable brochure.
Download the Concordance BrochureConcordance Academy has reduced the rate of reincarceration among its participants by more than
40%
Help us make this change across the U.S.
We offer the first set of holistic and evidence-informed
re-entry services in the country.
Each participant receives an integrated, individualized plan to help them heal from trauma and substance use, learn the skills needed to earn a sustainable living, and put daily practices into place that reduce their likelihood of reincarceration.
Derrick's Story
Watch our short video to see how Concordance is changing participants' lives for good.
Faces of Perserverance
Watch our short video to see how Concordance is changing participants' lives for good.
Participant Gratitude
Watch our short video to see how Concordance is changing participants' lives for good.
Aaron's Story
Watch our short video to see how Concordance is changing participants' lives for good.
Leading the Charge to $50 Million
David Steward
Founder and Chairman of World Wide Technology
Chair of Concordance First Chance Campaign
“
The generational cycle of people returning to prison has enormous, negative impacts on all Americans, especially the family members of incarcerated people. By addressing generations of trauma, especially in the Black community, Concordance helps people released from prison achieve significant change and lasting success for themselves, their families and society at large.
Danny Ludeman
President and CEO of
Concordance Academy
“
Over the last five years, we have developed a successful, holistic and evidence-driven approach that gives people their ‘first real chance’ — healing them first so they don’t commit crimes that send them back to prison.
Co-Chairs
Steve Bartlett
Senior Policy Advisor, APCO Worldwide, Former President & CEO, Financial Services Roundtable , Former U.S. Congressman and Former Mayor of Dallas
Warner Baxter
Chairman, President & CEO, Ameren Corporation
Brett Begemann
COO, Bayer Crop Science
Oliver Bell
CEO, Oliver Bell Inc.
Adam Berlew
Executive Director of Americas Marketing, Google Cloud
Carl Bouckaert
Entrepreneur
Corey Bradford
President, Harris-Stowe State University
Beau Brauer
President, Hunter Engineering
Lynn Britton
President & CEO, Mercy
Karoom Brown
CEO, OptumServe Technology Services
Robert Brown
Founder, Chairman & CEO, B&C Associates, Inc.
Bob Clark
Executive Chairman & Founder, Clayco
Jim Crane
Chairman, Crane Worldwide Logistics and Owner & Chairman, Houston Astros
Ronald Crutcher
President, University of Richmond
Craig Cuffie
Senior Vice President & Chief Procurement Officer, Salesforce
Bill DeWitt III
President, St. Louis Cardinals
Arnold Donald
CEO, Carnival Corporation
David Eichhorn
President and Head of Investment
Strategies, NISA Investment Advisors
Jim Fish, Jr.
President & CEO, Waste Management
Wayne Frederick
President, Howard University
Mark Gambill
Chairman Emeritus, Cary Street Partners and Former President, Wheat First Butcher Singer Inc.
Ernest LaMont Greer
Co-President, GreenbergTraurig
Robert Hermann
Chairman & CEO, Hermann Companies
Rick Holton
COO, Hermann Companies
Rusty Keeley
CEO, Keeley Companies
David Kowach
Head of Community Banking, Wells Fargo
Ron Kruszewski
Chairman & CEO, Stifel Financial Corp.
Willie Lanier
Former CEO, TDS/US and Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee
Anna Manning
President & CEO, Reinsurance Group of America
Steve Maritz
Chairman & CEO, Maritz
Kathy Mazzarella
Chairman, President & CEO, Graybar
Rich McClure
Former CEO, UniGroup
John McDonnell
Former Chairman & CEO, McDonnell Douglas
Jim McKelvey
Founder, Invisibly and Co-Founder & Director, Square
Charles J. Meyers
President & CEO, Equinix
Michael Neidorff
Chairman, President & CEO, Centene Corporation
Robert O’Loughlin
Chairman & CEO, Lodging Hospitality Management
Jack Oliver
Managing Partner, Dock Square Capital and Attorney & Practice Group Leader, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Kathy Osborn
President & CEO, Regional Business
Council
Larry Otto
President, St. Louis, U.S. Bank
George Paz
Former Chairman, President & CEO, Express Scripts
Dave Peacock
President & COO, Schnuck Markets Inc.
Steve Phelps
President, NASCAR
Charles Phillips
Chairman & Former CEO, Infor
Craig Schnuck
Former Chairman & CEO, Schnuck Markets Inc.
Rachel Seward
Vice President of Enterprise Communications & Philanthropy, MiTek
Ruth J. Simmons
President, Prairie View A&M University
Suzanne Sitherwood
President & CEO, Spire
Joseph Sivewright
CEO, Nestle Purina PetCare Company
Michael Staenberg
CEO, The Staenberg Group
John Strangfeld
Chairman of the Board, Microsoft and Venture Partner, Lightspeed Venture
Esta Stecher
Senior Advisor, Goldman Sachs
Pat Stokes
Former Chairman & CEO, Anheuser-Busch Companies
Donald Suggs
Chairman & Publisher, The St. Louis American
Diane Sullivan
CEO, President & Chairman, Caleres
Mark Thom
Chairman & CEO, MiTek Inc
David Thomas
President, Morehouse College
John Thompson
Chairman, Microsoft
Steve Trulaske
Owner, True Manufacturing
Jim Turley
Former Chairman & CEO, Ernst & Young
Bobby Ukrop
Chairman & CEO, Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods
Dwaun Warmack
President, Claflin University
Thom Weisel
Founder, Former Chairman & Former CEO, Thomas Weisel Partners Group and Founder & Former Chairman, Montgomery Securities
Tim Wentworth
President, Express Scripts and Cigna Services
Jimmy Williams
President and CEO, Estel Foods d/b/a
McDonalds
Greig Woodring
Retired President & CEO, Reinsurance Group of America
Mark Wrighton
Professor & Chancellor Emeritus, Washington University in St. Louis
Jackie Yoon
President, YFB Consulting
Advisors
Mary Schmidt Campbell
President, Spelman College
Shari and Garen Staglin
Co-Founders, Staglin Family Vineyard
Chairman, Mental Health Innovation
Co-Founders, One Mind, a Public Nonprofit Organization
Thriving Alumni
Carl
Class 15 Graduate
“I’ve waited for this opportunity for over two decades, to prove myself worthy of being a productive member of society.”
Michael
Class 14 Graduate
“Who I’ve become in the last three months of being free is three times more of a man than I became in the last 15 years of being in and out of prison.”
Join Us in Creating Lasting Change
Concordance is working to break the cycle of reincarceration and forge a path toward equality by supporting individuals who face many of life’s greatest challenges — and your contribution will directly impact their path to success.
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