When the for-profit company FEI Behavioral Health, Milwaukee, prospers, members of the Alliance for Children and Families earn a social and capacity-building dividend. Yet, they are insulated from the risks typically associated with being corporate shareholders.
“In a way, FEI enables Alliance members to invest back into themselves,” says Ted Uczen, president of FEI. “FEI allows Alliance members to do what they’re already doing—like purchasing an employee benefit service, or marketing their training program—but in a way that can have a greater impact on a larger scale, and keenly serves their own interests.
FEI has a deep-rooted partnership with the Alliance; the two are affiliated under a parent organization, Families International. This relationship allows FEI to operate as a for-profit, yet invest in the Alliance, providing the Alliance with additional capacity to serve its members.