Michelson Spark Grants - Open Educational Resources (OER)

Michelson Spark Grants - Open Educational Resources (OER)

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Michelson 20MM Foundation
Amount: Up to US $25,000
Last Updated: February 19, 2026

Summary

The Michelson Spark Grants aim to enhance affordable, equitable, and high-quality educational experiences through the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). This funding initiative focuses on addressing digital discrimination and promoting digital equity, particularly in underserved communities in California. By supporting impactful projects that leverage OER, the grants seek to foster innovation in education, ensuring that all students have access to valuable learning materials and opportunities.

Overview

NOTE: LOIs that pass initial grant committee review will be asked to submit a full application. Within 6 business days you will be notified if your proposal is moving forward in the process. Open Educational Resources We seek to advance affordable, equitable, culturally relevant, and high-quality learning experiences for postsecondary students by increasing the number of courses and faculty that use open educational resources (OER). Open educational resources are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. The Open Educational Resources (OER) Spark Grants funding cycle will open on March 2nd and close on March 16th. Michelson Spark Grants Spark Grants is an innovative, just-in-time grantmaking process. Our vision is to introduce a process that can fill urgent needs for education organizations that are well-aligned with our focus areas. We seek to fund highly impactful initiatives that would not be possible if they needed to wait through a traditional grant decision timeline. OER Funding Cycle 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 completionEfforts that research specific student success metrics, including but limited to degree completion, grades, retention rates, career attainmentProjects 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 systemsPolicymakers 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 studentsResearch 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.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. For our Spark Grant cycles, we generally focus our impact on organizations doing work in California.

Ineligibility

Organizations whose work does not impact California are likely ineligible.