Business Plans Offer Pathway Beyond Prison
This article explores an innovative program, The RIDGE Project, that provides an entrepreneurship course for incarcerated men in Franklin County, Ohio.
From the editor: Meet the 2025 Everyday Kindness Heroes who are serving central Ohio.
Dispatch editor Michael Shearer discusses the 2025 Everyday Kindness Heroes with reporter Sophia Veneziano.
The RIDGE Project, an Ohio-based nonprofit, offers a unique six-month program to help inmates develop business plans. The program culminates in a pitch competition where winners receive financial support to launch their businesses after release.
Many participants are designing businesses with a community-focused mission.
Inside the Franklin County Community Based Correctional Facility, a room of nearly 20 incarcerated men gather for their weekly entrepreneurship course. This is a non-typical prison, serving as a diversion program for first-time, nonviolent offenders.
The course structure includes three phases:
- Phase 1: Fundamental business training.
- Phase 2: Equal time dedicated to developing business plans and hearing from local business professionals.
- Phase 3: A public pitch competition where six finalists present their plans to a panel of judges.
Winners receive capital investments, potentially transforming their lives after release.
Project manager Timothy Snoke and project associate Matt Eiting have witnessed the participants' dedication to the program. They believe in empowering ex-offenders with skills and opportunities to rebuild their lives.