Open Road Alliance

Founded in 2012, Open Road Alliance is a private philanthropic initiative that provides grant capital to non-profits for mid-implementation projects facing an unexpected roadblock or a sudden catalytic opportunity. Open Road makes discrete, one-time charitable and recoverable investments across all sectors and geographies. The current average gift size is $76,000. Open Road Alliance was founded by psychologist and philanthropist Laurie Michaels, to fill a market demand for fast, flexible contingency funding in the philanthropic sector. Open Road’s model is based on speed and financial leverage. As of December, 2015, Open Road’s current portfolio includes over 48 charitable grants. Additionally, in 2014 Open Road expanded its portfolio to include recoverable grants. Like its charitable grants, Open Road’s recoverable grants are provided mid-implementation to projects faced with an unforeseen roadblock that can be solved through discrete funding to produce a catalytic impact. Recoverable grants are tax-deductible donations that function like a loan and are repaid to Open Road Alliance. In January 2016 Open Road launched the “The Unexpected Fund,” (TUF) a matching fund for donors. TUF is designed to encourage other funders to integrate contingency and risk mitigation strategies more formally into their operations. Open Road is offering grants of up to $100,000 against an equal amount from a funder, with a project that faces an unexpected roadblock.