Institute for Excellence & Ethics moves toward self-sustaining growth

MANLIUS — Fresh off a 25 percent revenue increase in 2012, the Manlius not-for-profit education consulting organization, Institute for Excellence & Ethics (IEE), is moving toward self-sustaining growth.

IEE’s revenue increased from $435,000 in 2011 to $540,000 in 2012. This growth stemmed from thriving partnerships with organizations both inside and outside Central New York, according to Richard Parisi, director of communications and operations at IEE.

IEE, on its website, describes itself as a nonprofit “dedicated to the development and dissemination of research-based tools and strategies for building intentional cultures of excellence and ethics.” It develops learning resources, conducts professional development, designs assessment tools, and provides organizational consulting services. IEE works with school districts, colleges, athletic organizations, nonprofits, and businesses.

“We continue to explore opportunities to expand the work and to do the things we think are important,” says Parisi. “We want to help make a difference for students, staff, athletic organizations, families and businesses.”

In December, IEE moved from its prior 3,000-square-foot headquarters in LaFayette to a new 2,400-square-foot office at 216 Fayette St. in Manlius, Most employees of IEE live near Manlius, Parisi says, and the relocation makes it more convenient for them to do their work. Besides, the large number of hotels and restaurants in the Syracuse, DeWitt, and Manlius areas can better meet the needs of IEE’s clients who come to the office for meetings and professional development,

Along with the relocation, IEE has started new partnerships with school districts in New York state, Iowa and Singapore.

Matt Davidson and Vladimir T. Khmelkov co-founded IEE in 2006. Before starting the 501(c)(3), Davidson had worked almost 20 years for various research organizations at Cornell University, Le Moyne College, and the University of Notre Dame. He decided to find a solution to better integrate academic research with real-world education practice.

 “We wanted the rigor of a university setting, but we also wanted the flexibility and the entrepreneurial approach to doing good,” says Davidson. “Being a not-for-profit organization allows us more flexibility.”

Davidson described the business model of IEE as “social entrepreneurship.” It usually has a paying customer who asks the organization to develop a mentoring program for a specific institution. When the program is developed, IEE seeks funding to put it into practice in more schools and workplaces.

IEE received $1.5 million in funding from the Templeton Foundation from 2007 through 2010 and $300,000 funding from the McDonnell Foundation over a three-year period. But, since both grants ran out about a year and a half ago, IEE is trying to become more self-sufficient with other funding sources.

As a nonprofit organization, IEE uses its revenue and funding to not only develop products, but also to fully or partially underwrite the delivery of training tools for schools that can’t afford the services, says Davidson.

IEE now has five employees, 12 board members, and more than 300 partnerships with schools, workplaces, and athletic departments in the U.S. and Mexico, according to Parisi.

Education organizations in New York state that have already adopted the survey tools and curriculum systems developed by IEE include the Liverpool School District, LaFayette School District, LaFayette Big Picture School, Le Moyne College, Pittsford Central School District, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse.

In November 2012, after working with IEE for more than four years, Allen Creek Elementary School in Pittsford was selected as a NY State School of Character and a National School of Character by the Character Education Partnership.  Allen Creek used the Culture of Excellence and Ethics Assessment (CEEA) system developed by IEE to begin its work. After reviewing the CEEA data, the school worked with IEE for professional development and the purchase of Power2Acheive curricular resources developed by IEE. In January, the Pittsford School District purchased the usage rights of Power2Achieve resources for all nine of the district’s schools from K-12. 

“The work we’ve done with IEE has contributed greatly to where we are right now,” says Sue Gager, school counselor at Allen Creek Elementary and instructional area leader for the counseling department at the Pittsford Central School District. Gager believes that those instruments IEE provided integrate character development with academic education.

IEE is also maintaining a long-time collaboration with schools outside New York state, including the Kansas Department of Education, various high schools in Iowa, and Drake University athletic department.

This January, IEE launched a new mentoring evaluation system, titled “Power2Achieve Seeds of Success,” in the Des Moines School District in Iowa. “Seeds of Success” is a program designed to use college student-athletes to “plant the seeds of success” in the hearts and minds of students in grades 6-8. 

The program was initially funded by the Drake Bulldogs athletic department with a $10,000 grant over a two-year period. Two pilot versions of this program were implemented at Drake in 2011 and 2012.

At the same time, IEE is also expanding into the international education market. It launched a program in cooperation with The Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Mexico in 2012 and is about to implement a curriculum program in partnership with the Ministry of Education in Singapore this spring.

Contact The Business Journal at news@cnybj.com