The Institute for Enquiring Minds

What The Institute for Enquiring Minds does

The Institute for Enquiring Minds is an Australian nonprofit Public Benevolent Institution (PBI), registered with the ACNC (ABN 47627730116) and headquartered in Brunswick, Victoria. Founded around 2018 (with a full transition to online operations in 2020), it provides free one-on-one mathematics mentoring to high school students experiencing financial disadvantage, with scholars receiving up to 18 hours of tutoring per scholarship term across VCE Mathematics Methods and Specialist Mathematics.

Its core products are the 1-on-1 Mentoring program (delivered via approved online platforms with recording and child-safety protocols developed with pro-bono legal advisors), the Industry Mentoring Program (partnering with organisations such as NAB and CBA so that quantitatively trained employees mentor students on real-world applications), and a supplementary Student Resources library covering secondary and tertiary mathematics. Mentors are sourced primarily through the University of Melbourne and community networks; scholars are referred through partner foundations including Western Chances, Harding Miller Education Foundation, and Skyline Education Foundation.

The organisation has delivered over 5,000 hours of free mentoring to date and is staffed by 14 employees with the majority of delivery capacity supplied by volunteers. It is funded entirely through tax-deductible donations (preset tiers of $50, $1,000 or custom amounts, plus the option to cover processing fees) and receives no disclosed venture or private equity backing. The volunteer-driven, donation-funded model means there is no per-seat pricing; instead, the operating model is a charitable scholarship program sustained by individual donors, institutional partners, and a board comprising credentialed mathematicians and education specialists.

Name

The Institute for Enquiring Minds

Legal name

The Institute for Enquiring Minds

Website

https://enquiringminds.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Institute for Enquiring Minds is an Australian nonprofit providing free, online, one-on-one mathematics mentoring to financially disadvantaged high school students, supported by volunteer mentors from the University of Melbourne and industry partners including NAB and CBA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Tutoring Services (Nonprofit)

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual Tutoring & Academic Intervention (K–12) (EDAJADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Math Intervention & Numeracy Support Programs (EDAJAGAG), Academic Support & Learning Assistance (Tutoring Centers) (EDALABAF), Education & Teaching Volunteer Programs (EDAIAGAD), Math Remediation & Numeracy Intervention (EDAKADAB), Math Homework Support (Problem-Solving & Practice) (EDANADAE)

Keywords

• Online maths mentoring
• Secondary maths tutoring
• Education scholarships
• Volunteer mentoring programs
• Disadvantaged student support

Headquarters

HQ city

Brunswick

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Tax-Deductible Contributions: The Institute is a Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) registered with the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission (ACNC). Donations are tax deductible. Revenue comes from individual donations via bank transfer or credit card, with preset amounts of $50, $100, $500, $1000 or custom amounts. Donors can optionally cover processing fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Institute for Enquiring Minds provides free, one-on-one online maths mentoring to financially disadvantaged Australian high school students. Scholars receive up to 18 hours of weekly tutoring per term from volunteer mentors drawn from university students, academics, and industry professionals, with subjects covering up to VCE Methods and Specialist Mathematics. The service is delivered entirely through approved online platforms with built-in session recording and child-safety protocols, enabling nationwide reach across Australia.

Product overview

The Institute for Enquiring Minds operates as a unified educational mentoring platform centered on providing free, high-quality, one-on-one maths mentoring to high school students experiencing disadvantage. The core offering consists of the 1-on-1 Mentoring program, which connects scholars with volunteer maths mentors (undergraduates, academics, and industry professionals) for weekly online sessions. This is supplemented by the Industry Mentoring Program, which pairs students with professionals at organizations like NAB and CBA for real-world mathematics exposure. All mentoring is delivered through the Enquiring Minds Online platform, which incorporates child-safety protocols and session recording. The organization also offers Student Resources as a supplementary educational content library covering secondary and tertiary mathematics topics. Additionally, the Jim Cross Award recognizes exceptional volunteer mentors annually. The organization has delivered over 5,000 hours of free one-on-one maths mentoring since its inception.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 1-on-1 Mentoring Scholarship Program Flagship offering providing motivated high school students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds with a minimum of one term of one to two hours per week of online study time with a mathematics expert mentor. Scholars receive up to 18 hours of free one-on-one maths mentoring per scholarship term, covering topics up to VCE Methods 3/4 and Specialist Mathematics 3/4.
• Industry Mentoring Program Program partnering with organizations employing mathematically trained graduates (such as NAB and CBA) where high school students work one-on-one with industry professionals, gaining real-world insight into opportunities afforded by a strong mathematical education and applications in banking, finance, and engineering.
• Enquiring Minds Online (Online Mentoring Delivery Platform) The online delivery platform for all one-on-one mentoring sessions, enabling students and mentors from across Australia to connect via approved platforms with recording capabilities and best-in-class child-safety protocols. Supports nationwide reach across Australia with no geographic constraints.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5000+ hours of free one-on-one maths mentoring delivered

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University of MelbournecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Institute works closely with the University of Melbourne to source exceptional, socially engaged young maths mentors. University students serve as volunteer mentors in the 1-on-1 mentoring program.
• Western ChancescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Western Chances for recruiting deserving students into the scholarship program. Western Chances refers students from disadvantaged backgrounds who may benefit from free maths mentoring.
• Harding Miller Education FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Harding Miller Education Foundation for student recruitment, providing access to their network of deserving high school students seeking educational support.
• Skyline Education FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Skyline Education Foundation for recruiting deserving students into the scholarship program.
• NAB (National Australia Bank)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with NAB to run Industry Mentoring Programs where NAB employees (quantitatively trained professionals) mentor high school students, providing real-world exposure to mathematics in banking and finance.
• CBA (Commonwealth Bank of Australia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CBA to run Industry Mentoring Programs, connecting students with banking professionals who use mathematics in their daily work.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Western Chances: Australian charity providing scholarships and educational opportunities to disadvantaged youth in Melbourne's western suburbs; comparable nonprofit model and an existing referral partner.
• Schools Plus: Australian education charity connecting donors with schools in disadvantaged communities to fund student support programs; comparable nonprofit philanthropy model addressing educational inequality.
• Smith Family: Large Australian children's education charity providing learning support and mentoring to disadvantaged students; comparable nonprofit model serving similar demographics through education-focused programs.
• Harding Miller Education Foundation: Australian foundation supporting high school students experiencing disadvantage with educational resources and scholarships; closely comparable mission and beneficiary base, and is already a referral partner.
• Raise Foundation: Australian youth mentoring charity pairing young people with volunteer mentors; comparable volunteer-led mentoring model serving at-risk youth across Australia.
• Skyline Education Foundation: Australian nonprofit supporting high-achieving students from low socioeconomic backgrounds with university preparation and mentoring; comparable mission and an existing referral partner.
• Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF): Australian nonprofit providing secondary and tertiary education scholarships and support for Indigenous students; comparable charity-driven education support model targeting disadvantaged youth.

Broad incumbents

• Mathspace: Australian edtech company providing adaptive online mathematics learning for schools and students; overlapping online maths education domain at significantly larger scale as a commercial player.
• Cluey Learning: Commercial Australian online tutoring provider serving K-12 students across subjects including mathematics; comparable online K-12 tutoring delivery model but as a paid incumbent rather than free charity.

Emerging players

• Australian Maths Trust: Australian nonprofit promoting mathematics enrichment, competitions, and education; overlapping maths-education mission but focused on enrichment rather than disadvantage-targeted tutoring.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-institute-for-enquiring-minds

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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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 The Institute for Enquiring Minds