Erie Center for Arts and Technology

What Erie Center for Arts and Technology does

Erie Center for Arts and Technology (ECAT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Pennsylvania in 2017 and operational since October 2021, headquartered at 650 East Avenue, Erie, PA. It delivers no-cost adult career training and teen arts programs to Erie County residents, replicating the Manchester Bidwell education model founded by Bill Strickland. The core product surface includes four credentialed adult workforce programs — Construction Trades (15 weeks, NCCER/OSHA), Clinical Medical Assistant (28 weeks, CMA-certified), Sterile Processing Technician (12 weeks, CRCST), and Freedom House Foundations (5 weeks, Community Health Worker) — alongside free teen after-school arts studios, summer art and construction camps, and paid adult community art classes.

ECAT operates from the renovated 80,000-square-foot Wayne Building, a $12 million adaptive reuse project financed via New Market Tax Credits, Pennsylvania Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program funds, and foundation grants. The building functions as an integrated community hub, co-anchored by United Way of Erie County, the UPMC Jameson School of Nursing, and PHN Wayne Primary Care, which collectively deliver social services, nursing education, and primary/specialty/behavioral healthcare to 5,000+ patients in the same facility. Programs are taught by industry-experienced instructors in cohorts of 8-20 students, with externships and job placement arranged through healthcare and construction employer partners.

Revenue is dominated by foundation grants, corporate donations, and individual contributions, with paid programs (summer camps at $50-$280/student, community art classes via Eventbrite, and community room rentals at $50/hour) representing a marginal earned-income stream. The organization employs approximately 11-15 staff and is governed by an independent Board of Directors; no equity ownership or venture capital involvement is present.

Name

Erie Center for Arts and Technology

Legal name

Erie Center for Arts & Technology

Website

https://eriecat.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Erie Center for Arts and Technology is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Erie, PA providing no-cost adult career training (Construction Trades, CMA, Sterile Processing) and teen arts programs, operating from the 80,000 sq ft Wayne Building alongside anchor tenants UPMC, United Way, and Primary Health Network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Adult Education and Workforce Training

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

In-Service Professional Development (Workshops/Institutes/Short Courses) (EDACAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Assessment & Screening Tools (Developmental, Readiness, Progress Monitoring) (EDACAJAC)

Keywords

• Adult workforce training
• Teen arts education
• Construction trades training
• Medical assistant certification
• Community arts programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Erie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants and Donations: ECAT operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit relying on foundation grants, corporate donations, and individual contributions. Programs are offered at no cost to students, funded through institutional grants covering tuition, materials, and fees. Received $20,000 FirstEnergy Foundation grant in December 2025.
2. Tuition-Free Workforce Training: All adult career training and teen arts programs are provided at no financial cost to eligible students (PA residents with high school diploma/GED). Students receive institutional grants covering all tuition, materials, and fees. This is funded through donations and grants rather than student tuition.
3. Community Art Classes (Paid): Adult community art classes are offered as paid programs through Eventbrite. These include one-day workshops and multi-week classes in painting, ceramics, digital art, and fiber arts taught by local teaching artists.
4. Facility Rental: ECAT rents the Ada Lawrence Community Room to organizations for events. Room rental is $50/hour, with additional $25/hour for catering kitchen access. Space includes tables, chairs, projector, 85-inch screens, audio equipment, and wireless microphones.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Erie Center for Arts and Technology (ECAT) is a nonprofit that delivers tuition-free Adult Career Training programs in Construction Trades, Clinical Medical Assistant, Sterile Processing Technician, and Freedom House Foundations, plus free Teen Arts programs for grades 8-12; paid offerings include Community Art Classes, summer art and construction camps, and Ada Lawrence Community Room rentals. All programs operate from the ECAT Wayne Building, replicating the Manchester Bidwell education model and supported by foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and individual donations.

Product overview

Erie Center for Arts and Technology (ECAT) is a nonprofit organization offering two core program areas: Adult Career Training and Teen Arts Programs. The Adult Career Training division provides no-cost certification programs including Construction Trades, Clinical Medical Assistant (CMA), Sterile Processing Technician, and Freedom House Foundations healthcare programs. The Teen Arts division offers free after-school and summer arts programming for middle and high school students, including Teen Arts Studios, Teen Arts Club, summer art camps, and construction summer camps. ECAT operates from the renovated Wayne Building, a multipurpose community center that also houses partner organizations. The organization follows the Manchester Bidwell education model based on three core philosophies: Environment Shapes Behavior, People are Assets, and Creativity Fuels Enterprise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Adult Career Training Programs No-cost, industry-driven workforce training programs for unemployed and underemployed adults in Erie County, including full-time coursework, technical skill-building, personal growth development, externship, and career placement across Construction Trades, Clinical Medical Assistant, Sterile Processing Technician, and Freedom House Foundations pathways.
• Construction Trades Program A 4-month (15 weeks, 218 hours) carpentry apprenticeship training program preparing students for NCCER credentials in Masonry, Carpentry, Plumbing, and Electrical, along with OSHA certifications. Eligible PA residents attend at no cost through institutional grants.
• Clinical Medical Assistant (CMA) Program A tuition-free 28-week (7-month) training program preparing students to become Certified Clinical Medical Assistants, including classroom instruction, hands-on training, and externship experience for physician offices, clinics, and outpatient facilities.
• Sterile Processing Technician Program A tuition-free 12-week evening program training students to become Certified Registered Central Service Technicians (CRCSTs), with classroom instruction, hands-on lab training, and job shadow opportunities at UPMC Hamot Central Sterile Processing.
• Freedom House Foundations A 5-week introduction to healthcare careers program covering medical terminology, anatomy, CPR, First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, and job shadowing opportunities. Accredited as a Community Health Worker training program and sponsored by UPMC Health Plan.
• Teen After-School Arts Programs Free afterschool arts mentorship programs for teens in grades 8-12, including Teen Arts Studios (structured project-based learning) and Teen Arts Club (open studio time), taught by professional artists in painting, photography, ceramics, digital music, printmaking, animation, and videogame design studios.
• Middle School Summer Art Camps Week-long art camps ($125/week) for students entering grades 5-8, featuring different creative focuses each week including Character Jam, Animation Lab, Clay Worlds, and Remake Lab, taught by professional teaching artists in world-class studios.
• Teen Summer Art Club Summer arts program for grades 9-12 offering open-studio style creative work, individual and group projects, and workshops with visiting artists, with full-summer ($280) and drop-in ($25/session) pricing.
• Youth Construction Summer Camp Half-day construction camp for grades 5-8 offering hands-on projects including raised garden beds, wooden candy dispensers, birdhouses, and concrete work, priced at $50 per day camp or $80 for the 2-day concrete camp.
• Teen Construction Summer Camp Week-long construction camp for grades 9-12 featuring hands-on woodworking activities and building an optical illusion house project, priced at $200 per student.
• Community Art Classes Paid art classes and workshops for adults ages 16+ taught by local teaching artists, including one-day workshops and multi-week classes in painting, ceramics, digital art, and fiber arts, registered through Eventbrite.
• ECAT Wayne Building A renovated 80,000-square-foot community resource center on Erie's Eastside housing ECAT programs, United Way of Erie County, UPMC Jameson School of Nursing, PHN Wayne Primary Care, and Darling's Pharmacy.
• Ada Lawrence Community Room A multipurpose room available for rental to organizations for programming and events, equipped with tables, chairs, projector, TVs, audio system, and catering kitchen, priced at $50/hour plus $25/hour for catering kitchen access.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,000 patients served by anchor tenant Primary Health Network in the building
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United Way of Erie CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Anchor tenant in ECAT Wayne Building. Purchased condo space and moved entire office/operations in August 2021. Focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty in Erie County.
• Primary Health Network (PHN Wayne Primary Care)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Anchor tenant leasing 8,000+ sq ft for primary, specialty, and behavioral health care serving 5,000+ patients. Also houses Darling's Pharmacy in building.
• Jameson School of Nursing at UPMC HamotcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Anchor tenant leasing 15,000+ sq ft on top floor to operate brand new nursing school training nurses in 16 months. Addresses regional nursing labor shortage.
• UPMC HamotcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Sterile Processing Technician program sponsorship and externship opportunities. Houses Jameson School of Nursing (15,000+ sq ft) in the ECAT Wayne Building. Students shadow at Central Sterile Processing team.
• UPMC Health PlancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsors Freedom House Foundations health care training program. Provides Pathways to Work workforce assistance including resume writing, interview prep, skills assessment, and job application guidance at UPMC.
• Manchester Bidwell CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGuided the establishment of ECAT as the Erie replication of the Manchester Bidwell education model. Provides ongoing support and guidance for replication sites nationwide.
• Erie County Public LibraryminorOthersBookmobile visits ECAT every other Wednesday providing books, audiobooks, WiFi hotspots for students and community members.
• Jefferson Educational Society (JES)minorOthersECAT serves as satellite campus for JES programming promoting civic enlightenment and community progress through study, research, and discussion.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• STRIVE: Workforce development nonprofit focused on hard-to-employ adults, providing job readiness training, sector-based certifications, and placement support. Operates the same tuition-free, employer-pipeline model as ECAT, though focused primarily on entry-level sectors.
• Year Up: Large nonprofit providing workforce training and career pathway programs to young adults from underserved communities, combining skill development with corporate internships. Closely comparable target population (unemployed/underemployed adults) and tuition-free, employer-funded operating model.
• Jewish Vocational Service (JVS): Nonprofit vocational services organization (multi-site including Boston, San Francisco, others) providing tuition-supported career training, job placement, and supportive services to adults facing barriers to employment. Directly comparable in mission, training approach, and population served.
• Project QUEST: Sector-focused workforce development nonprofit in San Antonio providing tuition-free training in healthcare, IT, and skilled trades to low-income adults with strong job placement outcomes. Directly comparable in sector-based training model, tuition-free delivery, and credentialed career pathway focus.
• Inner-City Arts: Los Angeles-based nonprofit providing arts education to underserved youth in a professional studio environment. Comparable to ECAT's Teen Arts Programs component — both target at-risk youth, employ working professional artists as instructors, and emphasize studio-quality arts mentorship as a tool for graduation and life outcomes.
• Per Scholas: National nonprofit providing tuition-free workforce training (predominantly IT/tech) to unemployed and underemployed adults from underserved communities. Directly comparable business model: tuition-free, employer-aligned credentials, job placement focus, and grant/funder-supported operations.
• Bidwell Training Center / Manchester Bidwell Corporation: The original Manchester Bidwell center in Pittsburgh, founded by Bill Strickland, that ECAT directly replicates. Operates the same tuition-free adult career training and youth arts model and serves as the template organization for the national replication network of which ECAT is a member.
• NPower: Nonprofit delivering tuition-free tech and career training to underserved adults, with explicit job placement support. Comparable in offering free, employer-aligned certification programs to unemployed/underemployed populations through a grant-funded nonprofit structure.

Broad incumbents

• Goodwill Industries International: Large established nonprofit that operates workforce development, job training, and community programs across the U.S. Overlaps with ECAT on free job training for underserved adults and youth programs, but operates as a much broader retail and services enterprise with national footprint.

Others

• Catalyst Miami / National Skills Coalition: Workforce development ecosystem actors (advocacy nonprofit and policy coalitions) that shape sector-based training funding and policy at federal and state levels. Not a direct operator, but a key stakeholder shaping ECAT's funding and operating environment for sector-based credential programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/erie-center-of-art-and-technology

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Erie Center for Arts and Technology