Open Education Funding Guide

Written By Nicole Allen

Finding and sustaining funding is an essential part of supporting mission-driven work. This guide is a practical starting point for practitioners and organizations looking for funding in the field of open education, whether you are seeking your first grant or building a more deliberate sustainability strategy. It covers tips for how to think about funding before you pursue it, where to look, how to build relationships with funders, how to write a strong proposal, and how to manage the work once the money arrives.

The funding landscape shifts with the political and policy environment, so this guide is meant as a starting point, not a substitute for legal, tax, or financial advice tailored to your situation. Always confirm current details with the relevant funder, and consult your own advisors before making decisions that carry legal or tax weight.

Webinar: Funding Strategies for Open Education

In June 2026, the Open Education Association hosted a webinar on finding, securing, and managing foundation funding. Advice from this panel is incorporated into this guide. The webinar features a presentation by Cailyn Nagle from the Michelson 20MM Foundation, as well as a panel discussion among Amber Angel from the ECMC Foundation, Amanda Hurford from PALNI, and Paola Santana from the Glendale Community College Foundation.

1. Before You Start

Funding works best as one part of a plan, not a goal in itself. Before you chase any specific opportunity, it helps to get clear on what you are trying to accomplish, what you have to work with, and how different kinds of funding fit together.

  • Strong funding strategies start with a clear goal, not a grant opportunity. Before you look at who might fund your work, define what the work is and what it needs to succeed. A useful goal is specific, measurable, and tied to a timeline — specific enough that you can explain it to someone outside your field and know whether you hit it.

    One important thing to determine up-front is which stage you work is in:

    • Piloting something new means testing whether an idea works before committing to scale. Your pitch centers on the question you are trying to answer, not outcomes you have already achieved.

    • Growing a program is a story many funders like to support. New reach, new outcomes, and expanded capacity give a funder something to point to.  

    • Maintaining a program that already works rewards steady, relational effort. Keep your funders close, deliver on what you promised, and protect the relationships that sustain the work. However, finding new funders for maintenance work can be challenging.

  • Pursuing funding takes time, skill, and relationships. Before you start, take stock of what you can draw on.

    • People who can write and manage grants. Does your institution have a grants office, sponsored research staff, or colleagues who have won funding before? They can save you significant time and help you avoid costly mistakes.

    • Your network. People who can make introductions, co-sign your credibility with a funder, amplify your work, or advocate internally are often as valuable as people who can give directly. A warm introduction to a program officer is worth more than a cold application.

    • Your own strengths. Knowing what strengths you personally bring is important. Do your strengths lie with writing, strategizing, relationship building, or somewhere in between? Knowing where you are strong helps you identify where to ask for help. 

    • Existing relationships with funders. A funder who has supported your institution before, even for unrelated work, is easier to approach than a stranger.

  • Relying on a single source of funding is risky. If that source changes direction or dries up, your work stops. The stronger approach is to cultivate a mix of funding, with different sources doing different jobs. Each type comes with real trade-offs.

    • Grants often arrive in larger amounts and buy you time to focus on the work before the next ask. They also come with strings: reporting requirements, restrictions on how you spend, and a tendency to fund specific projects rather than ongoing operations. Many funders will not renew the same grant indefinitely. Examples: government grants, foundation grants.

    • Small-donor and community support tends to be smaller and slower to build, and it requires ongoing effort. In return it is more flexible and stable over time, since no one individual’s decision has a big impact on the bottom line. It also builds a community of people personally invested in your work. Examples: alumni funds, direct donors. 

    • Sponsorships sit somewhere between grants and small donors. A foundation or company may sponsor an event, publication, or program in exchange for visibility. This usually requires a less formal process than a grant, and the money can be meaningful, particularly for programs with an audience or platform to offer. Example: local businesses, vendors.

    • Public and institutional funding can be substantial and signals that decision-makers support your work. Accessing it often requires sustained advocacy or relationship-building over time. State budget cycles, legislative initiatives, and institutional strategic planning processes are all places where open education advocates have created funding opportunities. Examples: state appropriations, provost funds.

    Note that some programs also generate earned revenue through consulting, program fees, or events. This guide focuses on grants and donations, but a complete funding picture may include revenue from the work itself.

  • Most funders do not list "open education" or "OER" as a priority area. That does not mean they will not fund your work, it just means you have to translate it.

    The most effective approach is to lead with the population your work serves or the outcome it produces, and let open education be the method rather than the headline. A funder focused on student parents, first-generation students, students experiencing basic needs challenges, or rural learners may have no awareness of OER but strong interest in the problem you are trying to solve. A workforce development funder may not care about course materials specifically but they care about reducing barriers to completion and skill attainment.

    This is not about deprioritizing your goals. It is about entering the conversation through the door the funder has already opened through their priority areas. Once you have established a shared purpose, the specifics of how open education delivers on it follow naturally.

    For strategies on framing open education for audiences outside the field, see our webinar Beyond Echo Chambers: Bringing Open Education to New Audiences.

2. Finding Funding

The right source of funding depends on what you are trying to do and where you are doing it. This section covers the main categories, what makes each one distinct for open education work, and where to start looking.

  • If you are based at an institution, internal funding is a great starting point, since it can be the most accessible for early-stage programs. Internal grants tend to move faster than external ones, and securing one signals institutional support that makes future external asks easier.

    Where to look:

    • Teaching and learning centers and libraries may have small grants tied to course redesign, pedagogy innovation, or OER adoption specifically.

    • Provost's office and student success initiatives may fund projects that align with institutional strategic priorities, even if they do not advertise open education by name.

    • Sponsored research or grants offices track both internal funding cycles and external opportunities, which are worth a conversation before you start searching on your own.

    • Advancement and development teams manage relationships with donors and may know of restricted funds that match your work. If your institution has an alumni giving program, it is worth asking whether there are funds or donors that could connect to student success or course affordability work. Other options include dedicated campaigns or a designated fund during a day of giving.

    One practical move: Search your institution's website for terms that could relate to open education, which might include course redesign, student success, retention and completion, innovative teaching, professional development, and more. Also think about how open education may relate to programs available to specific student audiences such as veterans, student parents, and first generation students. This may surface contacts and programs you may not have found otherwise.

  • In some states, the connection between state funding and open education is explicit: dedicated OER grant programs, affordability initiatives, or system-level RFPs. But some of the other major opportunities are where that connection is not explicit at all. Workforce development funding, student success initiatives, and course redesign grants may all support open education work without naming it, and framing your proposal around those priorities is often more effective than leading with OER.

    Where to look:

    • State higher education coordinating boards and system offices have run mini-grant programs, RFPs, and subgrant opportunities in a number of states. Search for terms like "affordability," "course redesign," or "student success" on your state agency's website, and subscribe to their newsletters.

    • Campus government relations offices monitor legislative activity and state-level funding cycles. They can sometimes flag opportunities before they are publicly announced.

    • Community foundations exist in many states and major cities. They pool resources from local donors and businesses and tend to fund projects that serve their region. A community foundation may support education, workforce development, or student access work that open education fits into naturally.

    • Regional interstate compacts — MHEC, NEBHE, SREB, and WICHE — support cross-state collaboration and are worth knowing as field partners and sources of information about what is happening in your region.

  • Federal funding has historically been a source of support for open education work, but the landscape has shifted significantly. Programs that were reliable a few years ago now carry more uncertainty around availability, timeline, and continuity. Federal opportunities are still worth pursuing, but approach them with clear eyes about the administrative investment required relative to the likelihood of an award.

    Where to start:

    • Grants.gov is the central hub for federal funding. Use filters for eligibility, agency, and funding theme. Reading past award abstracts can be a useful way to see how funded applicants framed their work and whether your institution type or project is a realistic fit.

    • Know the agencies that have historically aligned with this work. This includes the Department of Education's higher education programs, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Science Foundation's education research programs, and the National Endowment for the Humanities for curriculum and digital humanities work.

    • Build in administrative capacity before you apply. Federal grants require substantial reporting and compliance infrastructure. If your institution's grants office is not already resourced to support a federal award, that is part of the cost to plan for.

    While there are a few federal grant programs that directly relate to open education, the vast majority of federal opportunities do not. It is important to think outside the box about how your open education work could achieve the outcomes these grant programs seek.

  • Private foundations are where many open education programs have found external support. The range is wide, and understanding the differences between types of foundations helps you find ones that align with your goals and approach them the right way.

    Types to know:

    • Independent foundations are professionally staffed organizations with published strategies and dedicated program officers. They are often large and typically have formal grant processes, clear priority areas, and staff who are genuinely experts in the fields they fund.

    • Family foundations reflect the priorities of the family that funds them. Some operate like independent foundations with professional staff, others are smaller and more personal.

    • Community foundations pool contributions from individuals and businesses within a region and tend to fund projects focused on their local community. 

    • Corporate foundations are established by companies to pursue social impact goals. Their priorities often track to workforce, STEM, digital access, or community development.

    • Faith-based foundations fund according to the values of the tradition they represent and can have a large presence in some areas.  

    • Donor advised funds allow donors to recommend grants from money they give through a sponsoring charity. Access often comes through a direct ask to the donor, whom you may identify through board members, alums, or supporters. 

    Finding the right private foundation that aligns with your project requires research. Before you apply, be sure to weigh geographic and programmatic restrictions, whether the process is open or invitation-only, current strategic priorities, and whether your institution type is one they typically fund.

  • This is an underused funding approach in open education, and the hesitation is understandable: asking people for money can feel at odds with the ethos of open sharing. But the two are not necessarily in conflict. Your work creates real value for students, educators, and institutions. Giving people a way to contribute to that is an invitation, not a contradiction.

    Small-donor programs can be more stable than grants over time. Losing one contributor does not disrupt your budget the way losing a major grant does. They also build something grants cannot: a community of people who have personally invested in your work.

    A few starting points:

    • Set numerical goals for new donors. With small donor fundraising, the number of people who donate is often more helpful than the amount they donate. Once someone donates once to an effort, it is more likely they will do so again in the future, with follow up and relationship building.

    • Put a donate button somewhere visible. You cannot receive donations you have not made it possible to give. 

    • Connect the ask to something specific. People give to stories and outcomes. "Help us fund faculty stipends so instructors can replace a $200 textbook with something students get on day one" lands differently than "support our work."

    • Consider your alumni. Students who benefited from no-cost or low-cost materials are potential supporters. A message that connects their experience to the program that made it possible can land differently than a generic appeal.

3. Building Funder Relationships

Grants are not just transactions between an organization and a checkbook. The people who work at foundations are experts in their fields, connected to others doing similar work, and often genuinely invested in the outcomes they fund. Building real relationships with them before, during, and after any specific grant is one of the most durable things you can do for your funding strategy.

  • Before you reach out to any funder, know enough about them to have a real conversation. Program officers can tell the difference between someone making a generic pitch and someone who has done their homework.

    What to learn before you make contact:

    • What is their mission and current strategy? Most foundations publish this. Read it carefully enough that you can explain how your work connects to their goals in their language, not yours.

    • Do they have an open application process, or is it invitation-only? Many foundations do not accept unsolicited proposals. Knowing this before you reach out saves time and shapes how you approach the relationship.

    • What have they funded recently? Past grants tell you more than a mission statement. They show you the scale of projects they support, the types of institutions they work with, and how they think about impact.

    • What are their geographic and programmatic restrictions? A foundation that only funds work in a specific state or sector is not a prospect for work outside it, no matter how strong your proposal.

    • What do their grants require? Reporting requirements, matching funds, and restrictions on how money can be spent are all part of the real cost of a grant. Know them before you apply.

  • Many foundations welcome outreach before a formal application, and when they offer it, take it. A conversation with a program officer before you apply is not just a chance to get feedback on your idea. It is the beginning of a relationship that can outlast any single grant cycle.

    A few principles for making contact well:

    • Start with the human elements. Introduce yourself. Ask questions. Listen as much as you talk. Program officers have conversations with dozens of applicants, and the ones who treat it as a real exchange rather than a pitch stand out.

    • Be clear and brief about your work. Have a version of your project you can explain in two or three sentences. What are you doing, who does it serve, and what changes as a result? While many foundation workers are experts in their field, avoiding jargon, acronyms, and insider language can still be helpful.  

    • Focus on shared goals, not your funding needs. The question you are trying to answer in every funder conversation is how your work advances what they are already trying to do.

    • Ask good questions. Is this work a fit for your current priorities? Are there aspects of the proposal you would want developed differently? Is there a better program or colleague you should talk to instead?

    If a foundation offers an informational meeting or office hours, use them even if you are not sure you are a fit. You will learn something useful, and you will have met someone who knows about the funding field.

  • Some of the most valuable funder relationships start outside the formal application process, at conferences and convenings where program officers are present as participants. If you know a funder is likely to be somewhere, have a version of your elevator pitch ready. If you are hosting an event tied to your work, you can also extend an invitation to local program officers. 

    Foundations also do more than write checks. Program officers may connect you to other funders, share relevant research, invite you to convenings, or amplify your work through their networks. A foundation that cannot fund you directly may still open a door you did not know existed.

  • A no from one funder tells you less than you might think. It may mean your work is not a fit for their current priorities, which can change. It may mean the competition was strong and the decision was close. It rarely means the work is not worth funding.

    What to do with a no:

    • Ask for feedback. Not all funders will give it, but many will. Specific feedback on what did not land is more useful than any amount of general advice about proposal writing.

    • Keep the relationship open. A polite response to a rejection is not nothing. Foundations change strategies, program officers move, and priorities shift. The person who said no this year may be the right contact two years from now.

    • Do not generalize. If you know one foundation, you know one foundation. A no from one says nothing about the next.

4. Writing a Strong Proposal

A strong proposal is not just a good idea on paper. It is a clear, credible plan that speaks the funder's language, demonstrates that you understand their goals, and builds confidence that you can deliver. This section covers the elements that make a proposal succeed, including steps to take before you start writing and how to follow up after it is submitted.

  • Before you write a word, assess whether the opportunity is actually a good fit. Applying for grants that are not well matched to your work wastes time on both sides and can damage relationships with funders you may want to approach again.

    Ask yourself:

    • Does this funder's current strategy connect to what you are already doing or planning to do?

    • Can your project deliver meaningful results within the funding period and budget?

    • Do you have the institutional capacity to manage the grant, including reporting and compliance?

    • Are you proposing work that is genuinely a priority for your program, not just work that fits the funder's guidelines? Grants for projects that lack internal support tend to stall, and funders notice.

    The last question matters more than it sounds. Proposing work that is well aligned with a funder's priorities but is not actually a priority for your institution is a common way to set a relationship up to fail.

  • Strong proposals are built on preparation that happens before the writing starts. Rushing to the narrative before thorough planning can result in a less compelling outcome.

    • Meet with the funder first. Designing a project takes a lot of capacity and work, and some funders will be open to meeting around a specific idea before you start the process. Always take advantage of this when you can: it can help you write a stronger proposal or save you time on an opportunity that is not the right fit. 

    • Define your goals, audience, and outcomes. What is your project going to deliver, for whom, and by when? Be specific enough that someone outside your field could understand it.

    • Build a work plan. Break the project into phases with milestones, task owners, and realistic time estimates. A clear work plan keeps your narrative, budget, and team aligned, and it signals to a funder that you have thought past the idea stage.

    • Build your budget carefully. Make sure it reflects what the work actually costs, aligns with your narrative, and complies with funder and institutional guidelines. A budget that does not match the proposed activities is a red flag. Consider having versions at different funding levels if the funder's range is flexible.

    • Collect your data and stories. Funders want both. Quantitative data establishes need and scale. Stories from the students, educators, or communities your work serves make the stakes real. Have both ready before you start writing.

  • Many foundations use a letter of inquiry (LOI) as a first step before inviting a full proposal. An LOI is typically a one or two page document that introduces your organization, describes the project in broad strokes, and makes the case for alignment with the funder's priorities. Format varies by funder, so follow their instructions rather than importing a structure from elsewhere. Think of it as a pitch, not a proposal. The goal is not to explain everything but to earn the next conversation.

    A strong LOI typically includes:

    • Organization or program overview

    • Project description and expected outcomes

    • Connection to the funder's priorities

    • Proposed budget and timeline

    A strong LOI that does not advance is still useful: it tells you something about fit, and it is the beginning of a relationship, not the end of one.

  • With preparation done, the writing itself is largely an exercise in translation: taking what you know about your work and rendering it in terms that connect to what the funder cares about.

    • Use the funder's language. Read the guidelines carefully and mirror the framing they use. This is a practical way to demonstrate that you understand their goals well enough to speak to them directly.

    • Distinguish outputs from outcomes. Outputs are what you will do: train 30 faculty, redesign 15 courses, publish an OER. Outcomes are what will change as a result: students save an average of $400 per semester, course completion rates improve, a model gets adopted at peer institutions. Funders want both, and they want them to be specific and measurable. Vague outcome language is one of the most common weaknesses in proposals.

    • Address sustainability. Even small grants benefit from a plan for what happens when the funding ends. You do not need a fully formed sustainability strategy, but you do need to show you have thought about it.

    • Use AI carefully. If you use AI to help draft your proposal, review the text thoroughly and be sure to add specifics that make your proposal unique (partners, numbers, quotes, etc.) Program officers read large numbers of submissions and are likely to notice when AI-assisted text has not been edited for quality. Also check the funder's guidelines, since some require disclosure of AI use.

    • Get an outside reader. Before you submit, have someone who is not immersed in your work read the proposal. They will catch the assumptions you forgot to explain, the acronyms you did not define, and the places where the narrative makes sense in your head but not on the page.

5. Managing a Grant

Securing funding is the beginning of the work, not the end of it. How you manage a grant shapes your relationship with the funder and your chances of continued support.

  • Grant timelines are long. Six months to a year between application and decision is not unusual, and federal grants can take longer. Use the waiting period rather than pausing.

    • Build your action plan now. If the award comes through, you will want to move quickly. A checklist of first steps means you hit the ground running rather than spending the first month figuring out where to start.

    • Keep pursuing other sources. You have already done the hard work of scoping the project. Other funders may be worth approaching with the same or a related proposal.

    • Start what you can without funding. Early momentum generates evidence, and evidence is useful whether or not this particular grant comes through.

  • The strongest grantees treat reporting and communication as relationship tools, not compliance exercises.

    • Share milestones as they happen. Do not wait for a formal reporting window to communicate good news. A brief note when you hit a meaningful outcome keeps the relationship alive and gives your program officer something to point to when they advocate internally for continued support. When possible, invite the funder to attend milestone events like trainings, awards, or summits. 

    • Communicate early when things change. If plans shift or something is not working, tell your program officer before it becomes a problem. Most funders would rather adjust a grant than watch a project fail quietly.

    • Refresh your strategy before you ask again. Returning to a funder with the same proposal rarely works. Show how your goals have evolved, what the first grant made possible, and what the next investment would unlock.

6. Tools and Resources

Below is a curated set of resources that have been used or recommended by practitioners in the field. Note that the Open Education Association does not endorse any of these specific tools, nor does it receive compensation for listing them. If you have a resource to suggest, email us at contact@opened.org.

Found this resource useful? Join the Open Education Association to support our work and get access to networking and opportunities. Also be sure to check out our other guides and resources.

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Nicole Allen
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