The Michelson 20MM Foundation is inviting applicants for its Educational Resources Spark Grants.
Donor Name: Michelson 20MM Foundation
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/17/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Michelson 20MM Foundation is committed to promoting programs and policies that advance the proliferation and adoption of open educational resources to improve the affordability of instructional materials, efficacy of faculty instruction, and equitable access to educational opportunities. The foundation was launched over a decade ago when a simple news article of qualified community college students dropping out due to the cost of textbooks moved Dr. Gary K. Michelson to first provide immediate help, and then to move towards addressing the issue at scale. The subsequent $1.5 million grant to Openstax created the world’s first commercial grade, openly licensed college textbooks available to students at zero cost—and set Michelson 20MM on its way.
Focus Areas
California-Specific
- Support the implementation of California’s historic investment in the Zero Textbook Cost degree program in the California Community College (CCC) system; This can include but is not limited to:
- Focusing on operational or technological infrastructure projects, capacity building, or professional development that scale OER impact.
- Projects that build public awareness and recognition of ZTC degrees’ impacts on campus and within communities, especially projects that have an accelerated turnaround period.
- Projects researching the impact of OER and ZTC programs, such as:
- Efforts that analyze how OER and ZTC projects can be improved to support student success and completion
- Efforts that research specific student success metrics, including but limited to degree completion, grades, retention rates, career attainment
- Projects that build on ZTC degrees beyond the CCC system. Specifically, implementation plans for building on, adapting, and adopting ZTC degrees within the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems with a focus on degree pathways that serve a high volume of CCC transfer students.
- Projects that mobilize student, faculty, and/or staff participation in passing OER and textbook affordability policies at the UC, CCC, and/or CSU systems. In addition, projects that activate or incorporate member-based organizations representing campus communities, including professional, civic, and labor organizations.
National, Inclusive of California Projects
- Research and public education around student consumer protection in the textbook marketplace, including automatic textbook billing/equitable access programs, price transparency, and student data privacy with a focus on student experience. Efforts can include projects navigating the current political landscape. This can include but is not limited to:
- Research on the prevalence and types of automatic textbook billing that is occurring within the three California public higher education systems
- Policymakers at the system, state, and federal levels often have outdated understandings of the course materials landscape; public education is required to bring them up to speed on the current landscape and the impact it has on today’s students
- Research investigating the impacts of textbook affordability and access policies at the state and federal level, including OER funding, course marking, student consumer protection, price transparency, sustainability, and supporting educators adopting or creating OER. Across the country, states, systems of higher learning, and individual districts have worked to enact diverse policies to support student access to course materials. Understanding the impact of these policies will allow decision makers to better determine which policies are appropriate for their unique circumstances.
Funding Information
They will be awarding grants up to $25,000 to nonprofits and educational institutions looking for support of projects that hit one of the focus areas outlined above.
Eligibility Criteria
For Spark Grant cycles, generally focus impact on organizations doing work in California. Organizations whose work does not impact California are likely ineligible, but please review call for proposals each cycle.
For more information, visit Michelson 20MM Foundation.
