Jobs for the Future Backs Fair Chance Sports

A Competitive National Selection

The JFFLabs Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program is built around one idea: that the people closest to the problem are best positioned to solve it. The cohort is selected through a competitive national recruitment process and brings together early-stage founders whose work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence and worker-informed design.

What JFFLabs Is

JFFLabs is the innovation arm of Jobs for the Future, one of the most respected workforce development organizations in the United States. JFF has embraced an ambitious North Star goal: in 10 years, 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement will work in quality jobs. JFFLabs is where that mission meets early-stage innovation, giving founders direct access to JFF's research, networks, and field expertise.

For Fair Chance Sports, the connection is direct. The referee workforce is one of the fastest-shrinking sectors in youth sports, and returning citizens represent one of the most underutilized talent pools in the country. This partnership situates that work inside the infrastructure of an organization that has spent thirty years moving the needle on workforce equity.

Worker-Informed Design at the Core

The cohort's specific focus, AI and worker-informed design, is central to what Fair Chance Sports is building. Worker-informed design means the people who will actually use a tool, navigate a system, or benefit from a program are involved in shaping it from the start.

Back in the Game was built that way. The peer facilitation model, the curriculum sequence, and the workbook structure were co-designed by Will Taylor and Larry Stephens, the program's peer facilitator. Larry is not an outside instructor. He is a product of the same system as the participants, and he brought that perspective into every design decision.

What This Means for Fair Chance Sports

JFF's backing is a signal. It tells partners, funders, and the broader workforce development field that Fair Chance Sports is not a charity project. It is an early-stage organization building something credible and durable.

It also unlocks direct access to JFFLabs' research infrastructure, a peer network of EIR cohort members, and the field expertise of an organization that has spent thirty years working on workforce equity. For a founder at this stage, that infrastructure is decisive.

The endorsement validates the specific approach. JFF did not have to select a founder building for returning citizens and incarcerated learners. They chose this work because the methodology is sound and the problem is real.

“Being selected by JFFLabs is not just a vote of confidence in Fair Chance Sports. It is a vote of confidence in the people this organization exists to serve. JFF understands what it means to build with workers rather than for them. That alignment is exactly why this partnership matters.”

Will Taylor, Executive Director, Fair Chance Sports