EALgreen

What EALgreen does

EALgreen (legally Educational Assistance, Ltd.) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1982 and headquartered in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The organization operates a surplus-inventory donation platform that connects corporate donors holding excess inventory and returns with colleges and universities, which convert the value of donated goods into scholarships for students with demonstrated financial need. The model is structured as a three-sided exchange: corporations receive no-cost pickup, storage cost relief, tax deductions, and ESG reporting benefits; colleges receive recurring scholarship funding and access to discounted products (up to 83% off) through the EALgreen College Catalog Store (store.ealgreen-catalog.org); and students with financial need receive scholarships funded by the donated inventory value. Named enterprise donors include United Airlines, Cole-Parmer, Grainger, and CDW, and the organization reports cumulative impact of $40M+ in financial aid, 23,300+ student scholarships, and 100,000+ tons of surplus diverted from landfills, with 87% of organizational dollars flowing directly to colleges and universities.

The core technology is a donation logistics and scholarship allocation system rather than a software product; no proprietary features, APIs, SDKs, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. GTM is community-led and direct: corporate donors schedule calls to design custom turnkey donation programs, while college partners are managed through a dedicated Director of Educational Partnerships. The organization is led by President and CEO Claudia Freed (the first EAL scholar, who joined as Executive Director in 1995) with founder Verlyn 'Swede' Roskam and co-founder Dan Mickelson establishing the original model. The organization rebranded from EAL to EALgreen around 2021 to emphasize its sustainability and circular-economy positioning, and was featured in a July 2025 NBC5 segment with its CEO. It holds a Charity Navigator Four-Star rating, a GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency, and a 2024 Great Nonprofits Top-Rated Award.

Name

EALgreen

Legal name

Educational Assistance, Ltd.

Website

https://ealgreen.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EALgreen (Educational Assistance, Ltd.) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1982 that connects corporate surplus inventory donations with colleges and universities to fund scholarships for students with financial need.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Glen Ellyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Surplus Inventory Donations: Companies donate excess inventory and returns at no cost to EALgreen. The organization converts the value of donated goods into college scholarships for students with financial need. Donors receive tax deduction benefits.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EALgreen (Educational Assistance, Ltd.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that accepts donated surplus inventory and returns from corporations at no cost, then converts the value of those goods into college scholarships for students with demonstrated financial need. The organization also operates an e-commerce catalog store where college partners can purchase donated products at up to 83% discounts, creating a circular economy model that benefits corporate donors (tax deductions, ESG outcomes), colleges (resources and scholarship funding), and students (affordable higher education).

Product overview

EALgreen operates a charitable platform connecting corporate donors with educational institutions. The core offering consists of three interconnected programs: (1) the Inventory Donation Program where corporations donate surplus inventory at no cost, (2) the College Partnership Program enabling schools to purchase donated goods at up to 83% discount while receiving scholarship funding, and (3) the Scholarship Program converting inventory value into financial aid for students with need. These programs work together in a circular economy model: corporations reduce waste and gain tax benefits, colleges receive resources and scholarships, and students access affordable education. The EALgreen College Catalog Store serves as the e-commerce platform where college partners shop for donated products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Inventory Donation Program Corporate surplus inventory donation program enabling companies to divert excess goods from landfills while funding college education for students in need. Donors receive tax deduction benefits and ESG impact reporting.
• College Partnership Program Partnership program connecting colleges with corporate inventory donors, providing discounted products (up to 83% off) and scholarship funding for students with financial need.
• Scholarship Program Scholarship program converting corporate inventory donations into financial aid for students with demonstrated financial need. To date has awarded 23,300+ scholarships totaling $40 million+.
• EALgreen College Catalog Store E-commerce platform at store.ealgreen-catalog.org for college partners to purchase donated inventory at discounted prices (up to 83% off), with proceeds funding scholarships.

Quantifiable outcome

• $40 million+ in financial aid for students
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• United AirlinescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor corporate donor contributing surplus inventory to EALgreen's scholarship program. United Airlines logo appears prominently on the website as a supporting partner.
• Cole-ParmercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerScientific equipment company serving as corporate donor, contributing surplus inventory to support college scholarships.
• GraingercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerIndustrial supply company contributing surplus inventory donations to fund EALgreen's educational mission.
• CDWcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTechnology solutions provider donating surplus inventory to support EALgreen's scholarship program for students with financial need.
• Colleges and Universities (Nationwide)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNationwide network of college and university partners receiving donated inventory and providing scholarships to students with financial need. Partners benefit from up to 83% discounts on products and recurring scholarship funding.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources (NAEIR): NAEIR accepts surplus industrial and office inventory from manufacturers and distributes deeply discounted goods to member schools and nonprofits. It directly mirrors EALgreen's surplus-to-education conversion model with overlapping donor categories like Grainger.
• Good360: Good360 redistributes corporate product donations to a network of nonprofits and schools. Like EALgreen, it converts surplus inventory into social impact through institutional partners, making it the closest direct peer in the corporate-donation-to-mission bridge.

Emerging players

• DonationMatch: DonationMatch connects nonprofits with in-kind corporate donations including surplus inventory. It is an adjacent platform facilitating the same kind of corporate-to-nonprofit inventory flows EALgreen orchestrates, but does not run its own scholarship program.
• Kids In Need Foundation: Kids In Need Foundation redistributes corporate donations of school supplies to teachers and students in need. It is an adjacent model focused on K-12 supplies rather than higher-ed scholarships, but competes for similar corporate product-donation budgets.
• AdoptAClassroom.org: AdoptAClassroom.org channels corporate and individual donations directly to K-12 teachers for classroom supplies. It overlaps with EALgreen's mission of converting corporate giving into educational resources, but targets K-12 rather than higher education.

Others

• B-Stock Solutions: B-Stock runs online B2B liquidation marketplaces for retailer and manufacturer surplus and returns. It is thematically adjacent as an alternative disposition channel that competes with EALgreen for the same corporate inventory pool.
• Liquidity Services (Liquidation.com): Liquidity Services operates a B2B marketplace for surplus and returned inventory. While for-profit rather than nonprofit, it competes for the same surplus inventory that EALgreen relies on for donations, influencing the available supply of corporate surplus.

Broad incumbents

• Scholarship America: Scholarship America is one of the largest U.S. scholarship administrators, partnering with corporations, foundations, and individuals to fund need-based scholarships. It overlaps with EALgreen on the scholarship-administration function but operates a much broader, donor-funded model rather than a surplus-inventory bridge.
• United Negro College Fund (UNCF): UNCF administers scholarships and institutional support for students at member HBCUs, combining corporate donations, institutional grants, and scholarship administration. It is comparable as a nonprofit scholarship administrator serving financially needy college students, though funded differently.
• DonateGoods.com (by The Salvation Army): The Salvation Army accepts corporate surplus goods and resells or distributes them to fund social programs. While much broader in scope, it competes for the same corporate surplus donation pipeline and channels inventory toward social impact.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Xx.com/EALgreen_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 EALgreen