Seed Funding for Hidden GEMS

GEMS = Generating Employment for the Marginalized and Skilled

Hidden GEMS is a visionary new initiative of the Three Feet High Foundation. We are creating a first-of-its-kind digital platform that connects highly skilled, justice-involved professionals with employers who value talent, resilience, and second chances. Our mission is to uncover and elevate a hidden talent pool that is routinely excluded from traditional hiring pipelines.

The platform allows individuals with criminal records—including arrests without convictions—to anonymously share their skills, resumes, and stories, helping them access meaningful employment while allowing employers to make informed, values-driven decisions before gatekeeping processes like background checks screen candidates out.

This initiative is in its conceptual development phase. We are actively seeking founding funders, strategic partners, and mission-aligned collaborators to bring Hidden GEMS to life.

The Issue

Ban the Box and Fair Chance Hiring Initiatives were intended to help justice-involved individuals get a fair shot at employment. While well-intentioned, these policies often fall short. In many cases, job seekers feel pressure to hide their past, only to be disqualified late in the process. This can leave employers feeling misled—undermining trust before an employment relationship even begins.

Meanwhile, HR departments and risk management teams often serve as the first and final gatekeepers in the hiring process, filtering out applicants with records before hiring managers or executives ever see their qualifications or hear their stories.

Hidden GEMS addresses this problem directly. It puts hiring decision-makers in direct contact with high-potential talent and provides the context necessary for fair, equitable evaluation.

Our Solution

We are building a web-based clearinghouse for skilled professionals who are justice-involved. The platform will:

• Allow anonymous profile posting with validated resumes, portfolios, and lived experience.

• Provide contextual storytelling and optional background narratives.

• Enable employers to browse and request contact, circumventing automated disqualifiers.

• Provide pre-screening and support services for both candidates and employers.

Empower second-chance hiring without hidden surprises.