NFTE and BUILD Announce Merger to Drive Systemic Change in Education
New York, NY and San Francisco, CA, July 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and BUILD.org today announced plans to merge, pending regulatory approval, creating an organization that will serve more than 350,000 students annually. BUILD will become the first organization in NFTE's family of brands, a longer-term vision to strengthen entrepreneurship education through collaboration and collective action. By unifying, they are making a bold investment in the future of learning by preparing young people, particularly those in under-resourced communities, to thrive in a world where AI and other emerging technologies are transforming how we learn, work, and create opportunity.
As industries, careers, and pathways to opportunity continue to evolve, the entrepreneurial mindset, including skills such as creativity, collaboration, adaptability, problem-solving, and opportunity recognition, becomes increasingly valuable. NFTE and BUILD have spent a combined 67 years helping young people develop these uniquely human capabilities through entrepreneurship education. Now they are uniting to expand that impact at scale and help more students harness technology as a tool for innovation, learning, and economic opportunity.
"By bringing together NFTE and BUILD, we are creating the foundation of a family of brands that can accelerate innovation and deepen impact across entrepreneurship education," said Dr. J.D. LaRock, President and CEO of NFTE. "Together, we can reach more students, deliver more transformative experiences, and combine NFTE's entrepreneurial mindset with BUILD's Spark Skills through the project-based learning experiences that are central to both organizations, helping young people develop the creativity, resilience, and leadership skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world."
"For years, both of our organizations have understood that preparing young people for the future requires more than great programs; it requires systemic change," said Thais Rezende, President and Interim CEO of BUILD. "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."
A New Model for Nonprofit Growth
The merger reflects a broader shift in how mission-driven organizations can scale. Rather than growing through traditional expansion alone, NFTE and BUILD are pioneering a new model for impact in the entrepreneurship education nonprofit sector. They are preserving what makes each organization unique while unlocking greater reach and efficiency. With a projected annual operating budget of approximately $18 million, the combined organization unites NFTE's national and global reach, educator training, and research capabilities with BUILD's relationship-centered, experiential learning model.
"The nonprofit sector is entering a period of transformation," said Patty Alper, President of the Teach to Work Foundation and Co-Chair of the NFTE Board of Directors. "Organizations are increasingly being challenged to think beyond traditional structures and find new ways to create impact at scale. This partnership demonstrates how mission-aligned organizations can come together to build something larger than any one organization could achieve on its own."
"Education is at an inflection point," said Anthony Salcito, General Manager, Enterprise at Coursera, Inc. and Co-Chair of the NFTE Board of Directors. "Young people are preparing for a future that will require continuous learning, adaptability, and the ability to create opportunity in changing environments. Education must do more than prepare students for a first job; it must equip them to think critically, solve problems, collaborate with others, and shape their own paths. Bringing our organizations together gives us a greater ability to help make that shift at scale."
Connecting New York and Silicon Valley
The merger brings together two organizations built in two of the country's most influential economic centers. NFTE, founded in New York City, the world's biggest financial capital, and BUILD, founded in Silicon Valley, the global epicenter of innovation, have spent decades helping young people develop the entrepreneurial mindset needed to navigate change and create opportunity. By combining, they are connecting the nation's financial and innovation anchors to help shape the future of education.
"BUILD was founded on a simple but powerful idea: when young people are given the opportunity to create, lead, and solve real-world problems, they develop skills and confidence that last a lifetime," said Suzanne McKechnie Klahr, Founder of BUILD. "Joining NFTE’s family of brands brings together BUILD’s project-based, experiential approach with NFTE’s global reach. What began in Silicon Valley and New York City can now come together to help shape how young people around the world learn to create, lead, and own their futures."
"Bringing together an organization born in Silicon Valley with one founded in New York connects two of the world’s most influential centers of innovation and finance around a shared goal: ensuring that young people, particularly those too often left out of these networks of opportunity, have the skills, relationships, and confidence to help shape and participate in the future economy,” said David Peinsipp, Partner and Co-chair of the global capital markets group at Cooley, a global law firm, and Chair of the BUILD Board of Directors.
The First Chapter of NFTE's Family of Brands
This merger marks the first chapter in NFTE’s larger vision to bring together mission-aligned organizations, expand access to entrepreneurial learning, and build a stronger national and global ecosystem dedicated to helping young people own their futures.
For media inquiries, contact Denise Berkhalter Miller, APR, at mediainquiries@nfte.com or (917) 281-4362. To learn more, visit nfte.com/subscribe.
About NFTE
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) brings the power of entrepreneurship education to learners, educators, and decision-makers so all young people can own their futures. A global nonprofit founded in 1987, NFTE leads the movement for equitable access to entrepreneurship education, having reached nearly 2 million learners worldwide through school, community, out-of-school, and digital programming. Learn more at nfte.com.
About BUILD
Founded in 1999, BUILD is a national nonprofit that ignites the potential of youth from under-resourced communities through entrepreneurship education. BUILD has served more than 400,000 students across 2,000+ communities nationwide. Learn more at build.org.
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