CEF

What CEF does

CEF (Chemical Educational Foundation), branded as "CEF in STEM" and incorporated since 1989, is a private nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, United States, that delivers free STEM education programming to K-8 students, educators, and parents in the United States and, as of 2026, the United Kingdom. Its portfolio comprises four integrated programs: the You Be The Solution Challenge (a team-based competition for grades 5-8 with regional, state, and national finals), Adventure Guides (hands-on K-8 activity guides using common, inexpensive items, compatible with Next Generation Science Standards), Essential Elements (professional development workshops for K-8 educators), and Career Conversations (online and in-person resources that connect students with STEM professionals).

There is no proprietary technology platform; the underlying "technology" is curriculum content and a structured competition operating model rather than software. Distribution combines a direct-to-educator self-serve channel (downloadable Adventure Guides, online study materials, email newsletters via Constant Contact) with a regional coordinator-driven field network that orchestrates the Challenge competitions.

The business model is a donations-and-sponsorships nonprofit: all programs are offered free to end users, and operating revenue is funded by a tiered corporate sponsor network (Presenting, Trailblazer, Innovator, Ambassador, Ally, Advocate) anchored by Brenntag and Olin at the presenting tier, plus additional contributions from Shell, BASF, Honeywell, LyondellBasell, Halliburton, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, Azelis, Corteva, and roughly 20 other chemical and industrial firms, alongside individual donations and donor-advised funds. The organization is led by Executive Director Dwayne Sattler and Director of Development Brandy Gates, with a Board of Trustees overseeing governance.

Name

CEF

Legal name

CEF

Website

https://chemed.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CEF (Chemical Educational Foundation) is a 1989-founded nonprofit that delivers free K-8 STEM education programs, including the You Be The Solution Challenge competition, hands-on Adventure Guides, educator workshops, and Career Conversations, funded by corporate sponsorships and donations across the US and UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-8 STEM Education Programs

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE)

Keywords

• STEM education programs
• K-8 science curriculum
• Student science competitions
• Educator professional development
• STEM career exploration

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: CEF operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through corporate sponsorships and individual donations. The organization categorizes sponsors into tiers (Presenting, Trailblazer, Innovator, Ambassador, Ally, Advocate) with multiple chemical and STEM industry companies contributing.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CEF is a nonprofit organization that delivers free K-8 STEM education programming through four integrated offerings: the You Be The Solution Challenge™ team-based competition for grades 5-8, Adventure Guides™ hands-on activity guides for K-8 students, Essential Elements professional development workshops for educators, and Career Conversations resources connecting students with STEM professionals. All programs are provided at no cost to schools, afterschool programs, camps, museums, educators, and parents, funded by corporate sponsorships and individual donations.

Product overview

CEF (Creating Exciting Futures in STEM) is a nonprofit organization offering an integrated portfolio of four STEM education programs targeting K-8 students and educators. The core offerings include the You Be The Solution Challenge™ (a competitive team-based STEM program), CEF Adventure Guides™ (hands-on activity guides for foundational STEM learning), Essential Elements (professional development for educators), and Career Conversations (career exploration resources). These programs work together to ignite STEM passion from early education through career awareness, with all resources designed for schools, afterschool programs, camps, and museums.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• You Be The Solution Challenge: A team-based competition for 5th- through 8th-grade students that builds interest and excitement for science and STEM-related education.
• Adventure Guides
• Essential Elements
• Career Conversations

Products and services

• CEF You Be The Solution Challenge™ A team-based competition for 5th- through 8th-grade students that builds interest and excitement in science and STEM education, with CEF supplying educators and parents online support, study materials, and step-by-step implementation resources. Delivered via regional competitions managed by Team Coordinators, with state winners advancing to national finals.
• CEF Adventure Guides™ Hands-on learning activity guides for K-8 students (formerly You Be The Chemist Activity Guides), presented by Brenntag, that use common inexpensive items so educators can provide hands-on foundational STEM learning. Experiments, lesson sheets, and supplemental resources are ready-to-use in schools, afterschool programs, camps, and museums without formal lab space, and the content is compatible with the Next Generation Science Standards.
• Essential Elements Professional development workshops for K-8 educators that equip them with methods to teach STEM concepts through hands-on activities, building educator confidence to lead STEM learning with students.
• Career Conversations Online and in-person resources that enable students to explore different STEM careers and talk to professionals about future workforce opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Program described as 'completely changed the way our young people see themselves and their future. Their journey is now completely transformed and their future seemingly boundless.'

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

32 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• BrenntagflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerBrenntag is the presenting sponsor of CEF Adventure Guides, formerly known as You Be The Chemist Activity Guides. This is a named presenting sponsorship at the highest tier, demonstrating significant commitment to the program.
• OlinflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerOlin is a presenting sponsor at the highest tier, supporting CEF's national challenge program and broader STEM education initiatives.
• ShellcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerShell appears as both an Innovator sponsor and an Advocate sponsor, supporting the challenge program at multiple levels.
• BASFcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBASF is listed as both an Ally sponsor and an Advocate sponsor, demonstrating multi-tiered support for CEF programs.
• HoneywellminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor supporting CEF's educational programs.
• LyondellBasellminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Innovator sponsor supporting the Challenge program.
• HalliburtonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Innovator sponsor supporting CEF programs.
• American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Innovator sponsor supporting the Challenge program.
• AzelisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as both an Innovator sponsor and an Ally sponsor at different levels.
• CortevaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Innovator sponsor supporting CEF programs.
• EMCOminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Innovator sponsor.
• HawkinsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Innovator sponsor.
• BarentzminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ambassador sponsor.
• ICLminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ambassador sponsor.
• Third CoastminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ambassador sponsor.
• AlbaughminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• American Chemistry Council (ACC)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• CatalyntminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as both an Ally sponsor and an Advocate sponsor at different levels.
• InnophosminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• MaysminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• Mission ChemicalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• NECAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• PilotminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• Select ChemistryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• SolsticeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• SuperiorminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• Rierden RCTminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• Van HornminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• WICminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Ally sponsor.
• CCIminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Advocate sponsor.
• Hubbard HallminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Advocate sponsor.
• SeacoleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as an Advocate sponsor.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Science Olympiad: Science Olympiad operates team-based, tournament-style STEM competitions across elementary, middle, and high school (with signature events like Science Olympiad Invitationals and the national tournament). Direct overlap with CEF's Challenge program in audience (grades 5-8), competitive format, and teacher-coach-mediated delivery.
• MATHCOUNTS: MATHCOUNTS runs tiered (school, chapter, state, national) math competition programs targeting middle-school students, with sponsor backing from math/STEM-adjacent firms. Highly comparable to CEF's Challenge on tiered-competition structure and grades 5-8 target audience.
• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): FIRST runs team-based, tiered K-12 STEM competitions (FIRST LEGO League through FRC) culminating in national/world championships, with a sponsor-driven operating model. CEF's Challenge uses a near-identical regional → state → national competition model targeting grades 5-8, making FIRST the closest direct peer on format and audience.
• Destination Imagination: Destination Imagination runs team-based project-solving competitions for K-12 students across STEM and creative disciplines, organized through affiliate and regional tournaments culminating in a global finals. Same model archetype as CEF's Challenge with a nonprofit, sponsor-supported operating base.

Emerging players

• MIND Research Institute: MIND Research Institute (MIND.org) delivers K-8 math/STEM instructional programs and professional development to schools and districts, including teacher training. Comparable to CEF on K-8 STEM curriculum + teacher PD bundle, though MIND's product is more math-focused and game/tech-enabled.

Broad incumbents

• Project Lead the Way (PLTW): PLTW provides NGSS-aligned K-12 STEM curriculum and teacher professional development, with both free and paid components. Overlaps CEF's Adventure Guides (NGSS-aligned curriculum for K-8) and Essential Elements (teacher PD workshops), but PLTW operates at much larger scale with formal district licensing.
• Code.org: Code.org is a major nonprofit providing free K-12 computer-science curriculum and teacher professional development, heavily sponsor-funded. Overlaps with CEF on the free-to-educators K-12 STEM delivery model and on teacher PD/CE mechanics, though Code.org operates at significantly larger scale with a tech-enabled platform.
• National Science Teaching Association (NSTA): NSTA is the largest professional organization for K-12 science educators and a primary provider of teacher CE/CPD in science. Directly comparable to CEF's Essential Elements professional development workshops on audience and mission, with NSTA serving as the incumbent trade body.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chem_ed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CEF