NFTE and BUILD plan merger to form 350,000-student education network

BUILD will become the first organization in NFTE’s family of brands, with a combined annual operating budget projected at approximately $18 million.

BUILD founder Suzanne McKechnie Klahr supported the organization’s planned merger with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship

The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship and BUILD plan to merge, bringing two US entrepreneurship education nonprofits into an organization expected to serve more than 350,000 students annually.

The deal remains subject to regulatory approval. Under the proposed structure, BUILD will become the first organization in NFTE’s family of brands, a model intended to bring mission-aligned education groups into a shared network while retaining their distinct programs.

Scale is only part of the case being made. NFTE and BUILD also argue that combining infrastructure and resources offers an alternative to nonprofits expanding separately while competing for funding.

Suzanne McKechnie Klahr, who founded BUILD in 1999 and returned to its national board last year, was unusually direct about that rationale in a LinkedIn post announcing the plans.

“When I returned to BUILD’s national board last year, I came back with one clear goal: to help us seriously explore consolidation and nonprofit M&A as a way to preserve the very best of BUILD while ending the cycle of financial starvation, duplicated infrastructure, and competition for scarce resources among organizations doing similarly important work,” she wrote.

The combined organization is projected to have an annual operating budget of approximately $18 million.

Two education models under one structure

Founded in New York City in 1987, NFTE delivers entrepreneurship education through schools, community organizations, out-of-school programs and digital programming. The nonprofit says it has reached nearly two million learners worldwide.

A 2024 overview describes NFTE’s core program as serving students in grades 5 to 12. Its project-based curriculum covers business models and skills including problem-solving, communication, critical thinking, creativity and resilience, alongside educator training, mentoring and business plan competitions.

BUILD brings a four-year high school program beginning in ninth grade. Students work with classmates and community mentors to develop business ideas, pitch to funders and start businesses. The organization also provides support with college applications, career exploration and internships.

BUILD works with 400,000 students across over 2,000 US communities. NFTE and BUILD say they have a combined 67 years of experience in entrepreneurship education.

Thais Rezende, President and CEO of BUILD, positions the merger as a route to moving the subject beyond individual programs. “Together with NFTE, we have the collective reach and capacity to pursue the broader change both organizations have long envisioned, moving entrepreneurship education from an optional elective toward a core part of how young people are prepared for their futures,” Rezende says.

BUILD is intended to be the first addition to a broader NFTE family of brands, rather than a one-off combination. NFTE says the longer-term strategy is to bring together organizations with aligned missions and expand access to entrepreneurial learning, although no further organizations have been named.

NFTE President and CEO Dr. J.D. LaRock says bringing the organizations together will extend their collective reach and create a wider network of entrepreneurship education providers. BUILD’s project-based model will sit alongside NFTE’s educator training, research and national and international delivery infrastructure.