Why Schools Love E&I: Smarter Buying, Bigger Savings, & Zero Headaches.
If you work for a school district or on a college or university campus, you already know procurement can feel like running a marathon with a backpack full of bricks. RFPs, supplier vetting, endless contract reviews—it’s exhausting. That’s where E&I Cooperative Services swoops in to save the day.
That’s where E&I comes to the rescue.
E&I is the only member-owned, nonprofit sourcing cooperative built exclusively for education. With more than 6,000 member institutions and over 85 years of experience, they’ve turned the messy, slow grind of procurement into a streamlined, cost-saving machine that keeps money where it belongs—on your campus.
The best part? Membership is free. And chances are, your school is already a member… you just might not realize it!
The E&I Magic: What Makes Them Different.
So, what sets E&I apart from other group purchasing organizations (GPOs)? For starters:
They’re not-for-profit and exist only to serve schools, not shareholders.
They return profits to members through rebates and their patronage refund program. (Yep, cash back for buying smarter.)
They build contracts just for education, not for random industries.
They’ve been part of the higher ed community for over eight decades.
Put simply: E&I isn’t just about buying power, it’s about building partnerships that actually make sense for education and they’ve been doing it for a very long time.
“Our core mission is to help keep millions of dollars per year in your ecosystem so you can do more of what you do—change lives through teaching and research.”
Why Campuses & School Districts Love It.
Here’s what makes E&I so popular with for education:
Skip the RFP Hassle – They handle the whole process so you can focus on bigger things, like selecting the right products to meet your community’s needs and sustainability goals.
Get Better Pricing – Aggregated spend from thousands of schools means stronger negotiating power.
Shop Smarter – Choose from over 200 competitively solicited contracts, spanning everything from IT to facilities, residence life to healthcare…and yes, EV charging too!
Lean on the Experts – Their team knows educational procurement inside and out. They’re not just paper pushers—they’re partners.
Unlock Savings – Beyond competitive pricing, members enjoy supplier rebates and that sweet end-of-year patronage refund.
Why E&I Makes Sense for EV Charging.
Campuses everywhere are racing to hit ambitious sustainability goals, and EV charging is one of the most visible, student-facing ways to show progress. The challenge isn’t whether EV charging is the future (it is)—it’s navigating procurement in a fast-moving industry. Traditional RFPs can take 12–18 months before a single charger is installed.
That’s where E&I Cooperative Services changes the game. With competitively solicited, pre-vetted contracts, schools can skip the RFP and buy with confidence—faster, fully compliant, and with the collective buying power of 6,000+ institutions behind them.
Through E&I, schools also unlock year-over-year savings with supplier rebates and patronage refunds. And with National Car Charging (NCC) as E&I’s trusted EVSE partner, campuses get access to top brands like ChargePoint, Kempower, EV Connect, and Tritium—plus the expertise to scale from parking lots to fleets and everything in between.
Bottom line: E&I makes electrification simpler, faster, and more cost-effective—so schools can meet climate goals without breaking budgets.
As they put it: “Our core mission is to help keep millions of dollars per year in your ecosystem so you can do more of what you do—change lives through teaching and research.”