George Lamb didn’t need permission to care about justice-involved individuals — he needed capital to serve them at scale. Long before NRDC-IE entered the picture, George was doing the work: guiding people through the challenges of reentry, helping them access second chances, and building pathways to workforce readiness that changed lives one job at a time.

But even the most impactful organizations can’t run on passion alone. That’s where NRDC-IE came in — not to invent George’s mission, but to strengthen its infrastructure and position I.E. CEEMto win.

Since partnering with NRDC-IE, George has secured more than $3 million in grant funding. These dollars didn’t fall from the sky — they were unlocked through strategy, relationship-building, and alignment with NRDC-IE’s proven e3p3 model, which helped George transform compelling work into fundable outcomes.

“NRDC-IE helped us secure funding streams that gave us the revenue generation capacity to think about sustainability and the longevity of the agency,” George says.

And he didn’t waste a dollar. With this funding, I.E. CEEM expanded its workforce development programs, bringing in new training modules for warehouse logistics, construction, and soft skills development — all tailored to meet the real-world needs of individuals reentering society. He added staff capacity. He scaled his reach. He even laid the groundwork to develop social enterprise models that would position the organization for long-term revenue beyond grants.

This is what funding done right looks like.

At NRDC-IE, we don’t just help clients "get a grant" — we help visionary leaders build ecosystems of support around the communities they serve. George didn’t need help dreaming big. He needed a partner who could position his work in front of the right funders, in the right language, at the right time — and that’s exactly what we delivered.

In every grant we helped write, in every partner we helped bring to the table, and in every budget we helped structure, the goal was the same: ensure that I.E. CEEM could expand its footprint while staying true to its grassroots mission.

George Lamb is not just a client. He’s a proof point. His success is a reminder that when great leadership meets a powerful support system, the result is transformative — for individuals, families, and entire communities. 

At NRDC-IE, we don’t just open doors. We help our clients walk through them with confidence.