Open Future is registered as a Stichting (Foundation) in the Netherlands (KVK registration number 80732453). It is run by the executive board (Bestuur) consisting of Paul Keller and Alek Tarkowski. The Executive Board operates under the supervision of the supervisory board currently consisting of Martin Senftleben (Chair) and Renata Avila. The statutes of the organization are available in Dutch (official version) and English (unofficial translation). Open Future is registered in the EU transparency register under the registration number 936143941653-07.
Read our Annual Reports:
2021 2022 2023
Our Funders
As a nonprofit foundation our work is made possible through grants and other charitable contributions. Our work is made possible due to the following funders:
Open Future received support from the Information Programme of
the Open Society Foundations through a one-year (2021 – 2022) €210.000 grant. In 2023, we received a new, 3-year general support grant worth $300.000. The Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, are the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights.
In 2023 Open Future has been awarded a grant for €450.000 from the European Union’s
Horizon Europe program for our participation in the
NGI commons project (Grant Agreement number 101135279). In 2024 Open Future has been awarded a €228.124 grant from the European Union to build an Interoperable registry for public domain and openly licensed works (Grant Agreement number LC-03511895).
In 2025 Open Future received a €95.000 grant from
Stichting Internet Archive to support our work related to the upcoming review of the EU copyright framework in 2026.
In 2024 Open Future received a €35.000 grant from the
Bertelsmann Foundation to write a white paper on public AI infrastructure.
In 2025, we received a grant of €41.375 from the
European AI & Society Fund to support our work on a meaningful implementation of the copyright provisions in the AI Act.
Previous Funders
Open Future has previously received grants and other financial support from the following organizations:
Open Future was supported by
Arcadia’s open access programme through a four-year, €1,05 million grant running from 2020-2024. Arcadia is a charitable foundation that works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage, and promote open access to knowledge. Since 2002, Arcadia has awarded more than $1 billion to organizations around the world.
In 2024 Open Future received $50.000 from the
Mozilla Foundation to support our work on the implementation of the AI training data transparency provisions in the AI Act.
In 2024 Open Future received a $10.000 grant from the
Open Source Initiative to write a white paper on data governance in open source AI development.
In 2023 Open Future received a $30.000 grant from the Omidyar Network for
our work on Public Digital Infrastructure. Omidyar is a social change venture that brings about structural changes that will fundamentally shift the systems that govern our daily lives.
In 2023 Open Future received a $25.000 grant from
NORAD to conduct research on data governance for the Open Earth Platform Initiative.
Networks and partners
Much of our work happens as part of networks and in collaboration with others. Open Future is a part of the following organizations and networks:
Open Future is one of the core members of the
COMMUNIA Association for the Public Domain. COMMUNIA is a Brussels-based network that advocates for policies that expand the public domain and increase access to and re-use of culture and knowledge. Paul Keller currently serves as President of the COMMUNIA association.
Open Future is a member of
EDRi, the biggest European network defending rights and freedoms online. The EDRi network is a dynamic and resilient collective of 45+ NGOs, as well as experts, advocates and academics working to defend and advance digital rights across Europe and beyond.
Open Future is a partner in the
NGI Commons project, where we are responsible for developing a strategic agenda for support by the European Union for Digital Commons and Public Digital Infrastructure.
Open Future is a member of
the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA), a UN-endorsed multi-stakeholder initiative that facilitates the discovery, development, deployment, and investment in open source solutions that adhere to standards and best practices and are relevant to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
