Open Up Resources
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MISSION OF OPEN UP RESOURCES (OUR) IS TO INCREASE EQUITY IN EDUCATION BY MAKING EXCELLENT CURRICULA FREELY AVAILABLE TO DISTRICTS.
- Income
- $27.6 million
- Spending
- $23.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 69%
- Reserves
- 12.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- other income, 79%
- Employees
- 71
- Volunteers
- 9
- Highest pay
- $549,340, ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 79% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 12.7 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 57% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 14% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 13% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1569% of spending went to programs.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 50% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $16.4 million spent. DESCRIPTION OF OUR'S PROGRAMS: WHEN OPEN UP RESOURCES BEGAN THEIR JOURNEY IN 2016, SCHOOL DISTRICT LEADERS AND TEACHERS WERE STRUGGLING WITH A LACK OF COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS (CCSS)-ALIGNED, COMPREHENSIVE CORE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (ELA) AND MATHEMATICS MATERIALS. THESE STANDARDS RAISED THE BAR FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIALS, YET THEY WERE LARGELY UNAVAILABLE IN THE MARKET. IN SEPTEMBER 2017, THE NONPROFIT EDREPORTS, A "CONSUMER REPORTS" FOR INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, HIGHLIGHTED THESE GAPS IN THE TEXTBOOK MARKET, FINDING THAT MOST TEXTBOOKS WERE NOT ALIGNED TO THE STANDARDS, DESPITE HAVING HAD SINCE 2012 TO DO SO. OPEN UP RESOURCES DEBUTED WITH A MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM AND AN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM, BOTH OF WHICH WERE RATED BEST-IN-CLASS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE CATEGORIES ON EDREPORTS. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME COMPREHENSIVE, CORE CURRICULA THAT WERE FULLY ACCESSIBLE WERE ALSO DEEMED HIGH QUALITY. OUR DISRUPTED THE MARKET, PROVING THAT FREE AND HIGH QUALITY WERE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. NOW, WITH A COMPLETE K-12 CORE CURRICULA OFFERING, SCHOOL AND DISTRICT LEADERS AND TEACHERS NO LONGER STRUGGLE FROM A LACK OF HIGH-QUALITY CCSS-ALIGNED MATERIALS. FURTHERMORE, BECAUSE OUR PUBLISHES THEIR CURRICULA OPENLY ON THEIR WEBSITE, EDUCATORS CAN EASILY ACCESS THESE MATERIALS. OUR PARTNERS WITH CURRICULUM AUTHORS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO BRING THE HIGHEST QUALITY CURRICULUM TO MARKET WITH A TWIST. UPON PUBLICATION, THESE MATERIALS ARE OPENLY LICENSED, MEANING THEY ARE FREELY AVAILABLE TO EDUCATORS ONLINE SO THAT ANY TEACHER, IN ANY CLASSROOM, IN ANY SCHOOL, IN ANY DISTRICT, CAN ACCESS AND USE THEM TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION. ADDITIONALLY, OUR'S MATERIALS ARE CREATED WITH EQUITY AS A FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN PRINCIPLE, INCLUDING RESEARCH-BASED SUPPORT FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND STUDENTS WITH VARYING ABILITIES.TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION OF THEIR OPEN CURRICULA, OUR ESTABLISHED A BENCH OF HIGH-QUALITY TEACHER LEADERS IN RESIDENCE, PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PROVIDERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND AN OPENLY ACCESSIBLE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY. COMMUNITY COACHES, ALL OF WHOM ARE CURRENT PRACTITIONERS AND MASTER TEACHERS OF OUR CURRICULA FOR EACH GRADE LEVEL, NURTURE THE COMMUNITY THROUGH VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES. COMMUNITY COACHES ALSO PLAY A KEY ROLE IN OUR'S ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE, HIVE, WHICH IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EDUCATORS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY TO CONVENE FOR INTENSIVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TO SUPPORT THEIR IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR'S CURRICULA. OPEN UP RESOURCES' PORTFOLIO SEEKS TO INCLUDE THE HIGHEST-QUALITY, STANDARDS-BASED K-12 CURRICULA. THIS INCLUDES VALIDATION FROM RESPECTED THIRD-PARTY ENTITIES, EVIDENCE OF EFFICACY, EFFECTIVE SUPPORT FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS, INCLUSIVE STRATEGIES FOR STUDENTS WITH VARYING ABILITIES, EMBEDDED CULTURALLY-RELEVANT PEDAGOGY, AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING THAT IS INCLUSIVE AND CULTURALLY CONSIDERATE. OUR HAS BUILT A BUSINESS MODEL THAT ENABLES THEM TO FUND THE NECESSARY DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTIZATION OF NEW PROGRAMS AS WELL AS MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING PROGRAMS. WITH REVENUE-GENERATING SERVICES THAT WRAP AROUND THE OPENLY ACCESSIBLE CURRICULUM (LOW-COST PRINT SERVICES, KITTED TRADE BOOKS, AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING), THE ORGANIZATION IS FINANCIALLY SELF-SUSTAINING.OUR NOW HAS A COMPLETE PORTFOLIO OF CURRICULA IN K-12 MATHEMATICS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS. AS OF 2020, OUR IS A SELF-SUSTAINING ORGANIZATION WITH REVENUE FROM SALES OF PRINT SERVICES AND IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORTING THEIR OPERATIONS. OVER 3 MILLION STUDENTS HAVE BEEN SERVED BY THE OUR CURRICULA, AND THEY ARE ON TRACK TO SERVE AN ADDITIONAL 700K+ STUDENTS BY THE END OF 2024.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since October 2015.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.