Mission of CIEE vs. Mission of Private Equity

In the last two months, CIEE was approached by three private equity firms interested in buying, merging, or partnering with CIEE. I write to share updates on those conversations and reflections on the inherent conflicts between the mission of CIEE and the mission of private equity.

The mission of CIEE is to help advance peace in our world through high-quality people-to-people exchange programs that build bridges between people, nations, and cultures. Founded in 1947, CIEE is our nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to international exchange programs. Equally important to our nonprofit status is our founding articles of incorporation which include a commitment to democratize study abroad so that all students from all backgrounds may participate in study abroad programs. You can see this nonprofit mission reflected in our investments in scholarships and program enhancements for students.

The mission of private equity and other for-profit investment firms is to maximize profits for their investors, which they accomplish by increasing revenue and decreasing expenses. You can see this for-profit mission reflected in recent mergers and other for-profit investments (e.g. CEA CAPA CIS Abroad, Worldstrides/ISA, API, Verto) when new owners materially increase prices with no meaningful program enhancements and dramatically cut expenses by laying off staff and closing programs around the world.  

Sooner or later, for-profit firms will sell their study abroad acquisitions to another firm so that their investors can realize multi-million dollar returns, and the cycle will repeat. I was told several times that this cycle may already be happening or will happen soon.

So, I write to share with you that the CIEE Board of Directors (a nonprofit 501(c)(3) self-governing board) and the leadership of CIEE are not open to a sale or strategic investment by a for-profit company. Instead, we are committed to advancing our nonprofit mission to promote peace in our world and to democratize study abroad for another 75 years. 

As a nonprofit, we are committed to helping students study abroad on the safest, highest quality, and most flexible suite of study abroad programs in the field.

As a nonprofit, we are committed to continuing to invest significant resources in advancing our core mission resulting in significant benefits to students. Below is a small sample of how CIEE invests our resources in students and in the overall field of study abroad:

• CIEE’s investment in $10,000,000 in student scholarships, grants, and travel support each year.
• CIEE’s investment in Leading Change in Study Abroad $1 million matching grants to four colleges – public, private, and 2-year schools – to promote innovative study abroad programs that enhance institutional and student outcomes.
• CIEE’s investment in Leading Change in Latin America $1.7 million in 100 full-semester student scholarships to encourage more students to study abroad in Latin America.
• CIEE’s investment in reduced pricing for all CIEE Latin American programs to encourage more students to access our programs in Buenos Aires, Argentina; São Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Monteverde, Costa Rica; Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic; Mérida, Mexico; or San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• CIEE’s investment in highly affordable summer and semester internship programs with over 3,500 work placement opportunities in 35 international cities.
• CIEE’s investment in 3,000+ free online courses reflecting our commitment to break down the curriculum barrier for all academic majors via our partnership with nationally renowned Arizona State University.
• CIEE’s investment in the International Program Advisory Council (IPAC), who provide advice and counsel to CIEE on program quality and innovation to ensure we deliver the highest quality study abroad programs in the field.
• CIEE’s industry leading School of Record, Tulane University, providing assurance of academic quality and transcripts for transfer credit.

For-profit companies in study abroad are not re-investing their financial margins in your students. They are returning financial margins to their investors, to private equity partners, and to bankers. It’s that basic. Private equity firms cannot invest in material student scholarships and simultaneously provide high financial returns to investors. They must choose to reward investors, not students, because that is their core mission.

In closing, I invite founders of study abroad companies who may need to retire or exit the field to contact CIEE before selling to private equity or other for-profit companies. We may be able to provide you with an appropriate exit and preserve your organization’s positive values by joining the CIEE global family.

To our university partners, thank you for your support and collaboration as we continue this important work into the next century, advancing peace in our world and helping all students become global citizens.