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    Urban Alchemy

    Mission

    Urban Alchemy has ONE mission: to create quality jobs for people who have been incarcerated, improving their reentry while reducing recidivism. We solve TWO problems: people falling through the social safety net, and the resulting turmoil this creates in public places. And we offer THREE groundbreaking initiatives: Safe Communities, Housed Communities, and Clean Communities. These initiatives foster health, safety, and peace through relationship-building rather than traditional enforcement and outdated social service programs.

    Proceed with Caution — Reported Other Material Lawsuit

    On July 6, 2024, The San Francisco Standard reported on the operations of Urban Alchemy in an article titled, "Lawsuit: Urban Alchemy workers at homeless camp dealt drugs, had sex with residents." For more information, please see The San Francisco Standard article.

    • On May 14, 2025, San Francisco Chronicle published an article titled "Dozens of S.F. street ambassadors laid off as Urban Alchemy loses BART contract." For more information, please see San Francisco Chronicle article
    • On January 26, 2026, The San Francisco Chronicle published an article titled "Urban Alchemy will walk away from major S.F. homeless shelter. Here’s why." For more information, please see The San Francisco Chronicle article

    On September 16, 2025, CBS Austin reported on the operations of Urban Alchemy in an article titled, "City of Austin ends nonprofit contract over alleged record tampering at homeless shelters." For more information, please see CBS Austin article.

    For more information about our alerts methodology, see here.

    SAN FRANCISCO CA | EIN: 82-5408579
    Profile managed by nonprofit | Is this your nonprofit?
    501(c)(3) organization

    Urban Alchemy

    Mission

    Urban Alchemy has ONE mission: to create quality jobs for people who have been incarcerated, improving their reentry while reducing recidivism. We solve TWO problems: people falling through the social safety net, and the resulting turmoil this creates in public places. And we offer THREE groundbreaking initiatives: Safe Communities, Housed Communities, and Clean Communities. These initiatives foster health, safety, and peace through relationship-building rather than traditional enforcement and outdated social service programs.

    Proceed with Caution — Reported Other Material Lawsuit

    On July 6, 2024, The San Francisco Standard reported on the operations of Urban Alchemy in an article titled, "Lawsuit: Urban Alchemy workers at homeless camp dealt drugs, had sex with residents." For more information, please see The San Francisco Standard article.

    • On May 14, 2025, San Francisco Chronicle published an article titled "Dozens of S.F. street ambassadors laid off as Urban Alchemy loses BART contract." For more information, please see San Francisco Chronicle article
    • On January 26, 2026, The San Francisco Chronicle published an article titled "Urban Alchemy will walk away from major S.F. homeless shelter. Here’s why." For more information, please see The San Francisco Chronicle article

    On September 16, 2025, CBS Austin reported on the operations of Urban Alchemy in an article titled, "City of Austin ends nonprofit contract over alleged record tampering at homeless shelters." For more information, please see CBS Austin article.

    For more information about our alerts methodology, see here.

    SAN FRANCISCO CA | EIN: 82-5408579
    Profile managed by nonprofit | Is this your nonprofit?
    501(c)(3) organization

    Beacon Report

    • Great
    • Good
    • Needs Improvement
    • Poor
    • Not Scored
    • Additional Information
    Evaluation area metrics
    ScoreMetric
    100%
    Program Expense Ratio:90.53% of total expenses
    0%
    Liabilities to Assets Ratio:76.63% of total assets
    Science behind the numbers(opens in new tab)