Dear Friend of OCW,

Educational resources when you need them most

As jobs become increasingly complex and careers more and more unpredictable, education has grown ever more vital to our success individually and as a society of humankind. Yet only a tiny fraction of the world’s population has access to educational resources, whether due to economic, geographic, or political barriers.

Meanwhile, traditional universities compete with an increasing number of for-profit schools—some of uncertain reputation—and new nontraditional educational web projects appear online every day. As the pace of change in higher education grows, it's more and more difficult to decide how to choose the right educational option, or to be certain the option you do choose will be the right one ten years from now.

Whichever educational choices you make, MIT OpenCourseWare provides the resources you need to complement traditional studies, learn independently, brush up on old skills or acquire new ones. With 2,100 courses in 33 academic disciplines, MIT OpenCourseWare shares the entire knowledge base of one of the world's leading educational institutions.

A comprehensive resource for challenging times

In this uncertain environment, MIT OpenCourseWare remains an unparalleled resource for learners worldwide. An e-mail we received from Marlene, an OCW website visitor from the US, shows how powerful a resource OCW can be during difficult times:

I used OCW during a time of lengthy unemployment to keep my statistics and mathematical skills up to date. Although I wanted to donate, I could not—no job. Because I kept my skills up, I was able to procure a good position in a growing organization where I can now use those skills. And now I am happy to be in a position to contribute to the ongoing development and maintenance of OCW.

Supporting individuals and institutions

MIT OpenCourseWare also provides comprehensive resources that can help educational organizations around the world manage crisis and change. We've recently been participating in efforts to help rebuild the Haitian higher education system, which was devastated by the earthquake of January 12, 2010. Through efforts led by the Université d’État d’Haïti (FdS/UEH) and the Foundation for Knowledge and Liberty (FOKAL), MIT OpenCourseWare is providing complete copies of our materials to Haitian universities. Mr. Jean Henri Vernet, Rector of the State University, commented:

This initiative will open a new gate for our students. Through this gate, they will find a comprehensive range of materials from the classrooms of one of the most prestigious universities in the world. These materials cover almost all areas of knowledge. Higher education is going to greatly benefit from this initiative.

Your contributions make a difference

Continually improving MIT OpenCourseWare and supporting innovations like OCW Scholar courses and our new Entrepreneurship course list is a big job.

With your help in the past, we've demonstrated not only that OCW is a unique resource, but that it can be a sustainable one. MIT continues to pay for half of OCW's $4 million annual budget directly, but we rely on sponsors and users like you for the rest.

As we approach the end of our fiscal year, we need your help to keep OCW fully funded for today and for the future. Please donate now. Help us ensure that OCW continues to be here when you need us.

Sincerely,

Cecilia d'Oliveira
Executive Director
MIT OpenCourseWare

FAQ: Donations

1. What is MIT OpenCourseWare?
2. Why does MIT OpenCourseWare need my donation?
3. How much does it cost to operate OCW?
4. How is MIT OpenCourseWare run?
5. How do you spend your revenue?
6. How do I donate?
7. Are my donations tax-deductible?
8. Do you accept matching gifts?
9. Who are your supporters?
10. How else can I support OCW?
11. How can my company become a corporate sponsor?
12. How can I become a Course Champion?

What is MIT OpenCourseWare?

OCW is a revolutionary approach to sharing educational resources. The site presents the core academic content–including lecture notes, syllabi, assignments and exams–from substantially all of MIT's undergraduate and graduate curriculum freely and openly to support formal and informal learning around the world. Many of the site's more than 1,900 courses also include rich media resources such as video lectures, simulations, and animations. OCW has inspired a worldwide movement that now includes hundreds of universities sharing materials from more than ten thousand courses.

Why does MIT OpenCourseWare need my donation?

Your gift to MIT OpenCourseWare demonstrates your commitment to knowledge as a public good and is an important part of OCW's overall sustainability plan, which includes support from MIT, endowment income, corporation and foundation support, and other revenue. Your donation is also important in demonstrating to sponsors and funders how much our visitors value the site.

How much does it cost to operate OCW?

The total annual cost of MIT OpenCourseWare is about $3.5 million. The effort required to produce OCW may not be readily apparent, but for each course we publish we must compile course materials from faculty, ensure proper licensing for open sharing, and format materials for global distribution. Additional rich media, such as our very popular video content, is especially costly. We must also sustain a considerable technical infrastructure to manage content and distribute it through a worldwide network to our global audience. In addition, we provide and support local mirror sites in bandwidth constrained regions.

How is MIT OpenCourseWare run?

Courses published on our site require an average of 100 hours of effort to produce. While the MIT faculty devote 5-10 hours of their own time for each course, it would be impossible for them to produce OCW courses alone. In order to publish materials from 200 courses each year while minimizing impact on MIT faculty time, OCW maintains a publication staff of twelve people who work directly with the faculty to collect and compile course materials, ensure proper licensing for open sharing, and format materials for our site. We also employ two intellectual property staff and four production staff who support our publication team. In addition, OCW has five outreach and administrative staff who manage communications, media relations, outreach, program evaluation, and OCW's sustainability.

How do you spend your revenue?

(Fiscal Year 2009 information shown)

Other (24%): Outreach, evaluation, fundraising, planning, management, finance and admin.		Publication (47%): Faculty liaisons, IP clearance, publication planning, data entry, video, metadata, QA, editorial
Technology (29%): CMS infrastructure, content distribution, analytics, web development, systems support

We currently project that OCW reserves will run out in FY2014 without significant changes in our current funding model. Our challenge is to offset the loss of grant funds with substantial increases in revenues such as donations, endowments, corporate sponsorships, and alternative sources of revenue.

How do I donate?

There are several ways you can donate to MIT OpenCourseWare:

• Use our secure online donation form.
• Send us a check. Please make your check payable to "MIT OpenCourseWare" and mail your check to:

MIT OpenCourseWare
Attn: External Relations Director
One Broadway, 8th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02142

• Call us toll-free at 866-384-4040.
• Bank wire transfers. Please note that instructions differ for U.S. and foreign funds.

Are my donations tax-deductible?

Yes. MIT is a 501(c)(3) institution, and your gift is tax-deductible within the limitations of U.S. federal income tax laws. Our tax identification number is 04-2103594. You will receive a receipt in the mail.

Do you accept matching gifts?

Yes. To find out whether your company has a matching gift policy, please enter your employer's name in the MIT matching gifts page. Then make your donation to OCW.

Who are your supporters?

Our supporters include The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Lord Foundation of Massachusetts, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Ab Initio Corporation, and major supporters. In-kind contributors include Bain & Company, Google Grants, The CCG Group, Seagate, Inc, and United Nations Development Programme. We also have hundreds of terrific supporters.

How else can I support OCW?

Your donations are vital to OCW, but money isn't the only way you can support the project:

Encourage your company to sponsor OCW
OCW is a great sponsorship opportunity for companies who support knowledge as a public good. Learn more »

Shop at Amazon.com
Help support MIT OpenCourseWare by starting any visit to Amazon.com with a visit to OCW. Learn more »

Share your story
Your experience helps us demonstrate the global impact of OCW. Share how the site has made a difference in your life at ocw-outreach@mit.edu.

Spread the word
Tell family, friends and coworkers about the OCW site. Encourage your company's human resources or training department site to link to us as a resource for your fellow employees. Highlight OCW on web community forums.

How can my company become a corporate sponsor?

We welcome you to demonstrate your company's commitment to unlocking knowledge by providing major support for OCW. Through our Flagship and Leadership sponsor programs, your company will be acknowledged on our home page or main course list page as an organization committed to improving education around the world.

You will be providing visible support for a program that serves millions of visitors a month and has been recognized on the front page of The New York Times and Washington Post, in magazines such as US News & World Report and Forbes, and in thousands of other media outlets worldwide. Major sponsorship opportunities begin at $100,000 USD.

• Acknowledgment with logo on the OCW home page or main course list page.
• Acknowledgment in the OCW newsletter.
• Acknowledgment in the OCW new courses RSS feed.

For more information on OCW corporate sponsorship opportunities, please contact OCW External Relations Director Stephen Carson at 617-253-1250 or scarson@mit.edu.

How can I become a Course Champion?

You can help OCW continue to build its publication one course at a time. Often the materials MIT faculty share represent a lifetime of scholarship and teaching, and their gift is an act of intellectual philanthropy that touches the lives of millions worldwide.

Now, through our Course Champions program, you can demonstrate your commitment to knowledge as a public good by providing annual support for one of OCW's courses. With your gift, you join the MIT faculty in building OCW course by course.

Annual Support

Your Course Champion Gift of $5,000 provides one year of support for the course of your choice on OCW site.

Course Champions providing annual support receive:

• Acknowledgment by name on the course of your choice for one year
• A personalized message from you linked from your course
• Acknowledgment, including your personal message, in the MIT OpenCourseWare newsletter
• Complementary CD of your course
• Invitations to on-campus and virtual OCW events

Your gift supports:

• Ongoing delivery of your course
• Delivery of OCW to developing regions
• Teaching and technology innovation in the department of your course

Consider a gift of $15,000 or $25,000 to support several courses from a favorite professor or to support a favorite course for multiple years. We also welcome Course Champion support from groups of supporters, clubs, foundations and other charitable organizations.

Contact ocw-outreach@mit.edu for more information.