iEARN-USA - International Education and Resource Network

What iEARN-USA - International Education and Resource Network does

iEARN-USA (International Education and Resource Network) is a New York City–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates the U.S. node of a global virtual exchange and study-abroad network serving K-12 students and educators. Founded in the early 1990s as the U.S. counterpart to the global iEARN network (which traces to 1988), the organization administers federally sponsored programs including NSLI-Y (National Security Language Initiative for Youth) and the Kennedy-Lugar YES (Youth Exchange and Study) scholarship, alongside a portfolio of virtual exchange programs — Storytelling for Change, Compañeros de Clase Globales, Design Squad Latinx, and Learning Circles — that pair U.S. classrooms with peers in 140 countries and 30 languages. Its curriculum is mapped to U.S. Common Core standards and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the World Economic Forum has recognized iEARN as a top-16 framework for the future of education.

The organization's core product is structured, project-based virtual exchange rather than standalone software. The platform coordinates classroom-to-classroom matchmaking, project curriculum, multilingual facilitation, and program evaluation, supporting a network footprint of approximately 2 million students and 50,000 educators worldwide. Notable technical and program components include the multilingual exchange framework, country-level iEARN centers (including iEARN Mexico) that anchor international delivery, and partnerships with media producer GBH for STEM programming (Design Squad Latinx). Programs are delivered at no cost to participating schools and students, positioning the offering as a public-good service rather than a commercial product.

iEARN-USA's revenue model is grant-funded. Primary funding sources are the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (for NSLI-Y and YES), the Stevens Initiative administered by the Aspen Institute with backing from the Bezos Family Foundation (for virtual exchange programs such as Storytelling for Change), and the National Science Foundation (for STEM-oriented programs). With approximately 93 employees and headquarters in New York City, the organization's "customer" base is effectively a stack of federal agencies, foundations, school districts, and international ministries — rather than fee-paying end users. Growth is driven by grant renewals, new program launches, and expanding partnerships with state-level international education authorities, as evidenced by the 2025 collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Oaxaca.

Name

iEARN-USA - International Education and Resource Network

Legal name

International Education and Resource Network

Website

https://us.iearn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

iEARN-USA is a New York City–based nonprofit that connects American K-12 students and educators with peers in 140+ countries through virtual exchange and study abroad programs, funded primarily by U.S. federal grants and foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Global Education and Virtual Exchange Programs

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual School Course Providers (Single-Course/Part-Time Enrollment) (EDAJADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Virtual World Language & Electives Providers (K–12) (EDAJADAK)

Keywords

• K-12 virtual exchange
• Global collaborative education
• Study abroad scholarships
• International student exchange
• Cross-cultural learning programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. U.S. Department of State Cooperative Agreements: iEARN-USA operates NSLI-Y and Kennedy-Lugar YES programs under cooperative agreements with the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). These are merit-based scholarship programs for students, with program costs covered by federal funding.
2. Stevens Initiative / Foundation Grants: Virtual exchange programs (Compañeros de Clase Globales, Storytelling for Social Change) are funded through the Stevens Initiative (housed at the Aspen Institute) and supported by the Bezos Family Foundation. Programs connect students across the U.S. and partner countries through virtual exchange.
3. National Science Foundation Grant: Design Squad Latinx engineering program is funded by the NSF, developed in collaboration with GBH and iEARN Orillas, targeting Latinx students ages 10-13 with free engineering resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

iEARN-USA operates virtual exchange and study abroad programs for K-12 students and educators globally. Its core offering is the Collaboration Centre, a structured online platform where classrooms design and participate in collaborative projects aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals and Common Core State Standards. The organization also administers U.S. Department of State-sponsored scholarship programs (NSLI-Y for language immersion and Kennedy-Lugar YES for cultural exchange) and grant-funded virtual exchange programs.

Product overview

iEARN-USA is a nonprofit educational organization offering a portfolio of virtual exchange and study abroad programs for K-12 students and educators. The core platform is the Collaboration Centre, an online project hub where classrooms participate in global collaborative projects aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. The product portfolio includes two study abroad scholarship programs (NSLI-Y for language immersion and Kennedy-Lugar YES for cultural exchange), virtual exchange programs (Storytelling for Change, Companeros de Clase Globales, Learning Circles), and specialized STEM programming (Design Squad Latinx). The organization also hosts the annual Virtual Project Exhibition to showcase student collaboration outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Virtual Student Exchange: Online collaboration programs enabling students and teachers to participate in global projects as part of classroom curriculum or after-school programs through a safe and structured online Collaboration Centre.
• Storytelling for Social Change
• Compañeros de Clase Globales
• NSLI-Y
• Kennedy-Lugar YES
• Design Squad Latinx
• Meet the World
• Meet a Changemaker

Products and services

• Collaboration Centre & Project Book A safe and structured online platform enabling K-12 students and teachers to design and participate in global collaborative projects as part of their regular classroom curriculum or after-school programs. Projects align with Common Core State Standards and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• NSLI-Y (National Security Language Initiative for Youth) U.S. Department of State-sponsored merit-based scholarship program for high school students and recent graduates to study less commonly taught languages (Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Persian/Tajiki, Russian, Turkish) in summer and academic-year overseas immersion programs.
• Kennedy-Lugar YES (Youth Exchange and Study) U.S. Department of State program recruiting high school students from Arab-Israel, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Liberia, Mali, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Suriname to live with U.S. host families, attend high school, and engage in cultural exchange activities.
• Storytelling for Change International virtual exchange program where high school-aged youth from Algeria, Tunisia, and the United States explore the transformative power of storytelling aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Participants learn storytelling, communication, and technical skills through media analysis and audiovisual assignments.
• Compañeros de Clase Globales

Quantifiable outcome

• 2025 VPE: 18 students and 12 educators from 9 countries presented on 7 iEARN projects addressing UN SDGs
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Ministry of Education of OaxacamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2025The Ministry of Education of Oaxaca signed a Letter of Intent with the Stevens Initiative to partner with iEARN-USA, enabling 250 high school students from Oaxaca to participate in virtual exchange programs including Compañeros de Clase Globales in spring 2025.
• iEARN MexicocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 November 2023iEARN-USA partners with iEARN Mexico to implement the Compañeros de Clase Globales virtual exchange program, pairing U.S. classrooms with classrooms in Guatemala and Mexico to explore real-world issues aligned with the UN SDGs.
• Stevens Initiative (Aspen Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 April 2023The Stevens Initiative, housed at the Aspen Institute, provides funding and strategic support for iEARN-USA's virtual exchange programs including Storytelling for Social Change and Compañeros de Clase Globales. Created in 2015 as a tribute to Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the Initiative is a leading funder of virtual exchange programs connecting youth across borders.
• U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECA sponsors NSLI-Y (National Security Language Initiative for Youth) and Kennedy-Lugar YES (Youth Exchange and Study) programs, which iEARN-USA administers as a program partner. ECA also supports the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative (JCSVEI) that funds Storytelling for Social Change.
• GBHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGBH collaborated with iEARN-USA and iEARN Orillas to develop Design Squad Latinx, an engineering education program providing bilingual (English/Spanish) resources for Latinx students ages 10-13.
• Global Nomads GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn partnership with Stevens Initiative and the Ministry of Education of Oaxaca, Global Nomads Group delivers the Building Understanding Through Language Learning program alongside iEARN-USA's Compañeros de Clase Globales.
• Digital Promise GlobalminorStrategic or Co-development PartneriEARN Uganda partnered with Digital Promise Global on the MY World 360° project, allowing students to use 3D technology and video making to document contributions to the UN SDGs.
• iEARN-MoldovamajorStrategic or Co-development PartneriEARN-Moldova network organized a Global Education Conference in collaboration with the General Directorate for Education, Youth, and Sports and America House Cultural Center, connecting 250 educators with iEARN global projects.
• Ion Creangă State University (Chișinău, Moldova)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHosted the iEARN-Moldova Global Education Conference on September 28, serving as the venue and institutional partner for an event connecting 250 Moldovan educators with iEARN global learning opportunities.
• Greenheart (Exchange Program Partner)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGreenheart is a placement organization for YES program exchange students, facilitating host family placements such as for Eya Ammar (YES 2023-2024 from Tunisia) in Eden Prairie, MN.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange): CIEE is a major nonprofit operating high school study abroad, gap-year, and exchange programs, including State Department-sponsored scholarships. Comparable in mission and in administering federal youth exchange programs but at significantly larger scale.
• American Councils for International Education: American Councils administers multiple U.S. State Department-funded exchange and language programs (including NSLI-Y in several countries alongside iEARN-USA). A broader incumbent in government-funded international youth exchange with overlapping customer and funder relationships.
• World Learning: World Learning is an international nonprofit operating The Experiment in International Living (high school study abroad) and other youth exchange and education programs. Comparable in administering U.S. State Department-sponsored youth exchange and study abroad programs (e.g., NSLI-Y partner/competitor).
• Youth For Understanding (YFU): YFU is a longstanding nonprofit administering high school student exchange programs, including U.S. State Department-funded scholarships such as YES program implementation in some countries. Direct overlap with iEARN-USA on the Kennedy-Lugar YES program portfolio.

Emerging players

• WGBH (GBH): GBH collaborated with iEARN-USA on Design Squad Latinx, an NSF-funded STEM program. While not a direct competitor, GBH is a peer in the same K-12 educational content and grant-funded program ecosystem, especially for bilingual STEM and virtual learning resources.
• Class2Class: Class2Class is a nonprofit enabling K-12 classrooms to connect on global collaborative projects. Smaller-scale, more focused player in the K-12 virtual exchange segment with similar educator-recruitment GTM.

Direct peers

• AFS Intercultural Programs: AFS is a large international nonprofit running K-12 and youth intercultural exchange and study-abroad programs, including hosted exchange and virtual exchange offerings. Overlap with iEARN-USA in cross-border youth exchange and global citizenship programming.
• PenPal Schools: PenPal Schools delivers web-based global project-based learning for K-12 students, partnering classrooms across countries on curriculum-aligned topics. Comparable K-12 virtual exchange model with similar school-recruitment GTM and educator-facing product experience.
• Empatico: Empatico operates a free virtual exchange platform connecting K-5 classrooms globally, with teacher resources and structured activities aligned to SEL and global competencies. Direct competitor in K-12 virtual exchange with overlapping funder support and similar target customer (elementary teachers and districts).
• Global Nomads Group: Global Nomads Group is a nonprofit that runs virtual exchange programs for K-12 and university students worldwide, including Building Understanding Through Language Learning (which it co-delivers with iEARN-USA in Oaxaca). Highly comparable mission, customer (K-12 schools), and funder base (Stevens Initiative).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iEARNUSA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/iearnusa
• Facebookfacebook.com/iearnusa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iearnusa
• Instagraminstagram.com/iearnusa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about iEARN-USA - International Education and Resource Network