Michelson 20MM

Our WHO

In 2010, Dr. Gary Michelson and his wife, Alya Michelson, formed the Michelson 20MM Foundation (formerly The Twenty Million Minds Foundation) with one goal in mind: to tackle a broken textbook publishing model controlled by “The Big 5” (the nickname for the major trade book publishing companies in the United States). 

Our WHY

Dr. Michelson first became involved in this effort when he learned from a group of professors at Santa Ana College that several bright and qualified students failed to complete their degrees each term simply because they could not afford the increasingly expensive course textbooks. Textbook affordability, anchored around the promise of freely available open educational resources, became a focal issue area for the organization in the years to follow. Today, our activities extend into areas well beyond textbooks, including EdTech Innovation, Student Basic Needs, Smart Justice, Intellectual Property Education, and the Digital Divide. Our mission is to increase educational access, foster academic success, reduce cost obstacles, and address racial equity gaps that still plague higher education.

Our HOW

• Program-Related Impact Investments to help mitigate risk and support seed-stage, for-profit, mission-aligned companies
• Grants to organizations and initiatives at critical inflection points
• Public Policy Thought Leadership leveraging research and actionable market intelligence gathered at the frontlines of educational innovation