The Doe Fund (TDF)

George McDonald is the founder and president of The Doe Fund and co-creator of the Ready, Willing, & Able (RWA) program with his wife, Harriet McDonald. Under his leadership, the organization has grown to a renowned, $65 million human service organization, a social enterprise innovator, and a model for the nation.

Mr. McDonald previously served on the Executive Committee of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Work for Success Program and as a member of Mayor David Dinkins’ Commission on the Homeless. He played a key role in the landmark 1992 publication “The Way Home,” which set the framework for NYC’s response to the homelessness crisis. In 2014, he was appointed to the NYS Council on Community Re-Entry and Reintegration, and appointed Commissioner of The Port Authority of NY/NJ in 2017.

The Doe Fund unequivocally believes in the power of work and opportunity in elevating humanity. Our mission is to develop and implement cost-effective, holistic programs that meet the needs of a diverse population of individuals working to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism. All programs and innovative business ventures help homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals achieve permanent self-sufficiency.

TDF’s flagship Ready, Willing & Able is a 9 to 12-month transitional residential paid-work program that models a culture of work, focused on the restoration of dignity and self-sufficiency through productivity. RWA requires a regular 35-hour work week, participation in educational programs, payment of child support, abstinence from drugs and alcohol and other responsibilities. 

Graduates reintegrate into their communities and families by achieving sobriety, receiving professional career training, and securing permanent housing and employment. More than 27,000 RWA participants have obtained permanent housing and employment. 

The Doe Fund has witnessed the historical injustices experienced by men of color., evidenced by mass incarceration, drug addiction, poverty, homelessness, lack of healthcare and educational opportunities. RWA combats this through meaningful reentry programs and holistic case management, and access to basic societal entrees such as drivers’ licenses, occupational training, employment and ability to secure affordable housing. 

Locally, African Americans and Latinos occupy 89.8% of New York City’s total prison population (DOCCS, 2017), while the unemployment rate for African American men ages 20 and over (6.9%) is higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.1% (BJS, 2018). As of June 2018, 61,421 homeless people reside in NYC’s homeless shelters; of this population, approximately 58% are African American (Coalition for the Homeless, 2018).

The national poverty rate for African Americans increased 128.57% between 1974 and 2016, resulting in crippling financial insecurity and homelessness (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). Today, the United States incarcerates 698 people for every 100,000 residents, more than any other country (Prison Policy Initiative, 2018).

The moral cost and financial impact are profound and destructive to society. RWA helps to alleviate both.

The purpose of The Doe Fund and all its programs is to provide opportunity to individuals who have experienced homelessness, incarceration and addiction so they can successfully reintegrate into the community. We recognize that it is difficult for people to return to mainstream society, find employment and permanent affordable housing post-incarceration. Often, individuals find themselves on the streets or back in prison. 

TDF’s ultimate focus and mission are to prevent recidivism by supplying paths to employment, education and housing. We are driven by the power of work, opportunity, and access. Our program Ready, Willing & Able offers participants access to case management, workforce development, educational and vocational training, certification and license, and affordable housing. The program requires a commitment to sobriety and non-custodial child maintenance. Our work has brought families together, turning men into responsible fathers. 

The Doe Fund’s RWA program model is founded on a culture of work, focused on the restoration of dignity and self-sufficiency through productivity. We serve those most in need of reentry services who are physically and mentally able to work: from July 1, 2018, to April 16, 2019, 81% of clients were African American; 88% struggled with substance abuse; 57% did not have a high school diploma; 59% were fathers, and the average length of time in prison was approximately 5 years. 

RWA centers around the needs of our clients so that every possible support and opportunity is available to them.  Approximately 70% of RWA program employees are graduates of RWA and 74% of TDF’s management are people of color, resulting in an internal, self-reinforcing culture of personal responsibility and earned success.  

The ultimate goal that we are designed to meet is to assist our clients in attaining permanent housing and recession-proof employment. Our services are not focused on temporary solutions but stable, secure, long-term housing and career-track employment. Careers that help them enter the middle class and provide for their families. RWA provides the certificate and license, educational and occupational training that our clients need. 

The Doe Fund was founded in memory of a homeless woman known only as “Mama.” In the early- to mid-1980s homelessness in New York City had reached a crisis point. People sleeping on the street were sometimes mistaken for garbage, crushed to death by traffic and in the backs of sanitation trucks. They were denied fundamental rights and dignity while the city was overrun with trash, crime, and drugs. McDonald, then a garment industry executive, was determined to help in some way. He spent 700 nights handing out sandwiches and clothing to the hundreds of homeless people, including Mama, who claimed NYC's Grand Central Terminal as their home. 

The men and women George helped were grateful for the meals but expressed a desire to support themselves. On Christmas Day in 1985, “Mama” died of pneumonia after being evicted by transit police into freezing temperatures early that morning. It was a turning point for George. He founded The Doe Fund that year in “Mama’s” memory to finally tackle the root causes of homelessness: lack of opportunity, skills, and support. 

In 1990, George Co-founded Ready, Willing & Able with his wife Harriet Karr-McDonald to further realize TDF’s mission.

I have a deep abiding faith in the American Way. That Way — the dream of economic opportunity and prosperity, a noble desire for self-determination and achievement, and firm belief in the limitless potential of every human being who lives, works, and toils in our Great Society — is woven through our lives. Opening this path to those who have been excluded is my life’s work. It is my wife Harriet’s life’s work and the lifelong work of my son, John. 

RWA has uplifted tens of thousands of broken lives, reunited lost fathers with forlorn children, and restored whole communities. I remember the night around our kitchen table when Harriet, John, and I came up with the idea. We could not have predicted the success of so many men who have come through our doors. Men who have suffered in poverty their entire lives, whose life stories were written long before they spent their first night on the street, whose fates were wholly damned because of the color of their skin or the neighborhoods they grew up in. They come to us because they believe they are capable of better, and we provide the opportunity for them to prove it. 

The Doe Fund was founded by George T. McDonald in 1988 in response to New York City's homelessness crisis of the mid-1980s. Determined to help, George spent 700 nights handing out sandwiches and clothing to the hundreds of homeless who claimed NYC's Grand Central Terminal as their home.

George was inspired by the community of homeless men and women that expressed their desire to support themselves. They shared their need for a job and a home. The Doe Fund was established to provide that by tackling the root causes of homelessness: lack of opportunity, skills, and support. 

Under his leadership, the organization has grown to a renowned, $65 million human services organization, social enterprise innovator and national model. Mr. McDonald previously served on the Executive Committee of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Work for Success Program and as a member of Mayor David Dinkins’ Commission on the Homeless. He played a key role in the landmark 1992 publication “The Way Home,” which set the framework for NYC’s response to the homeless crisis. In 2014, he was appointed to the NYS Council on Community Re-Entry and Reintegration; and appointed Commissioner of The Port Authority of NY/NJ in 2017.

The COVID-19 health crisis changed how we operate adhering to the social distancing guidelines while continuing programs in operation. Our transitional housing facilities were full, our educational and occupational training programs were stalled and needed to be transitioned online. Our strategies consisted of: 

• Establishment of the Pandemic Planning Committee made up of senior leadership in early March

• Strict adherence to all CDC, NYS and NYC DOH prevention and infection control protocols

• Strict adherence to all DHS health and safety protocols, including staggered mealtimes, wellness checks and isolation when warranted

• Expeditious implementation of enhanced cleaning, sanitizing practices and PPE

• Expeditious implementation of remote and/or staggered work schedules for employees that provided less opportunities for COVID-19

• Moving of half of TDF's population in transitional housing to commercial hotels

Additionally, we acquired funds to purchase tech to transition our educational and occupational training classes online and worked hard to find and obtain PPE including masks, gloves, and sanitizer for our staff and trainees. From sanitizing vehicles and equipment to reinforcing the need for hand washing, there was a constant emphasis on best practices. 

TDF began its work in the 1990’s through a contract with the city’s Dept of HPD. When that contract was suddenly terminated, the organization lost 60% of its revenue and faced bankruptcy. At the same time, NYC was losing its battle with trash. Streets were besieged by garbage, overflowing trash cans and rodents. George McDonald came up with the innovative idea to employ the men to clean city streets. The program began with one crew of men on one upper east side block. George used his last funds to purchase bright blue uniforms and sewed the American flag on the sleeves. New Yorkers began to take notice and responded overwhelmingly with generous donations.  

Eventually, the Business Improvement Districts began to take notice and offered contracts for supplemental sanitation services. RWA’s Community Improvement Project is the first step towards self-sufficiency. The men in RWA begin CIP earning $15/hour, a new title -The Men in Blue, and a new sense of dignity, purpose, and responsibility. That one cleaning crew on one city street has grown to hundreds of men cleaning over 100 miles of city streets every day.

The Doe Fund was the first New York City-based organization to develop an innovative solution to address homelessness, poverty, and incarceration: immediate, paid job training experience combined with housing. Organizations such as The Fortune Society, The Osborne Association, and Get Out Stay Out (GOSO) provide re-entry services but do not offer housing or paid job training. Organizations such as BRC provide housing and some job training, but no intensive, structured programming or paid transitional work.

The Doe Fund partners with the following organizations: government agencies (DHS, DOCCS and parole officers, HUD and DoL), financial organizations (Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and Raza Development Fund), not-for-profit organizations that augment service offerings for clients, and local businesses that become employer partners and hire RWA graduates. Through collaborations with city councils, community-based organizations, and local constituents.

The Doe Fund will continue to support RWA through government, foundation, corporate and individual funders: RWA’s projected program expenses for FY2020 total approximately $33M. Approximately 80% comes from public agencies. 7% comes from program service fees. The remaining 13% is funded through existing and new funders from state and city government, private and corporate foundations, and individuals.