Today, the Knowledge Commons team is delighted to share that Digital Scholar has donated $20,000 to supporting KC. We are immensely grateful to the support Digital Scholar has shown us over the years, with the funds donated to our project since 2019 now totalling $172,500. And, this donation is particularly impactful for us this year, as it means we’ve officially met our National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Challenge match!

In case you haven’t been following our blog or social platforms, we were challenged by the NEH in 2020 to raise $1.5 million over the course of four years from non-federal sources. With this donation from Digital Scholar, we have officially earned the full NEH challenge fund match, which totals approximately $500,000. Keep reading to learn more specifically about how this match benefits our team. 

And join us in celebrating Digital Scholar, not only for this amazing gift, but for their crucial support of open source infrastructure projects around the world!

So…what’s next?

In our initial post about the NEH match campaign, we were candid about what these funds meant for our team. To summarize, the combined $2 million dollars in federal and non-federal support allows us to cover about 50% of the salaries and benefits of our core team, plus the same percentage of our hosting costs and other expenses. This support began in 2020 when we were first awarded the grant, and will extend through the end of fiscal year 2027. We’re two years away from spending down these funds, and so even though meeting our match guarantees sustainability until then, it also means the next couple of years are a crucial period of fundraising for us.  

We are fully committed to remaining a free platform for all users, and we do not plan to place our tools behind a paywall. Yet, as an institutionally-led, non-profit organization, meeting this match does not mean we’ve completed our fundraising. We are far from it, and we know that’s hard to hear. The generosity of our funders have made it possible for us to do the work we’ve been doing, but long-term sustainability is still something we aspire to. In addition, as you might imagine, we have a lot on our roadmap for the near future, including ongoing enhancements to KCWorks and collaborative work with the NEH, all which will require significant resources as we continue making knowledge accessible for all.  

What can I do to support Knowledge Commons?

If you’re in a place where you are interested in helping to support us financially, you might consider: 

• Making a one-off individual or organizational donation at our Crowdpower page
• You can commit to a recurring monthly donation via our Crowdpower page
• Talk to your organization or institution about supporting Knowledge Commons. One of the ways you can do this is through sustaining membership. Sustaining membership includes many perks, including a first look at our roadmap and the ability to work with our team on enhancing the future of the Commons. Organizations and institutions can also launch their own Commons node on our network, which makes space for a thriving community within our network. Read more on our About site. 
• If you are using the Commons for a funded project, you can allocate a portion of your budget as a project contribution.

Every little bit of support helps, and we know you may have questions that are specific to your project or organization. Email us at network@hcommons.org to chat with our team about options that are available to you. 

Over the coming weeks and months, we will continue to share our progress on the work we’ve mentioned above. The best places to follow us are our newsletter, this blog, and social media platforms. Just by keeping in touch with us, you’re helping spread the word about what we’re doing to foster open infrastructure.