⏰ We need to raise $25,000 by December 31st to sustain OpenRefine’s core team and keep the project strong in 2026
Transparency You Can Trust: Help OpenRefine to Remain an Impactful Open Source Tool
OpenRefine is a free, open-source power tool for working with messy data: cleaning it, transforming it from one format into another, and extending it with web services and external data.
Support independent software that belongs to its community. Your donation funds more than software, it funds the principle that essential research tools should be transparent, community-driven, and free.
We Need Your Help to Sustain Our Model
For the last seven years OpenRefine has followed a grant-based sustainability model, enabling a small core team to maintain the software, coordinate the community, and handle essential administration. Without raising $25,000 by the end of this year, we will not be able to continue this model in 2026.
The project itself will continue, but ran purely on volunteer effort before as it did before 2019. Without this community-funded model, we risk slower development, reduced support for contributors, and fewer opportunities to collaborate with partners like Wikimedia, Universities and Research Institutes.
$500 raised of $25,000 goal
Your Support Powers Real Impact
Over the year OpenRefine grew from a software, to a core part of the today’s digital infrastructure for Wikipedian, Libraries, Journalist and Researchers. It allows people in all sectors to explore, clean, and connect data without needing expensive commercial tools. Your support directly enables OpenRefine's independence, ensuring we can focus on what matters most: building exceptional tools for data work. Each contribution helps us:
- Host annual community events like Barcamp
- Develop features based on community feedback, and provide frequent releases
- Maintain rigorous security and privacy standards
- Provide comprehensive documentation and user support
- Keep all functionality free and accessible to everyone
Real Stories, Real Impact
See how OpenRefine is making a difference in the hands of real users:
Uncovering Government Waste
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Used OpenRefine to clean, parse, and match data for the Panama Papers and other investigations, revealing hidden financial flows.
Connecting Knowledge at Scale
Wikimedia Community
Over 1,900 editors have used OpenRefine to make more than 10 million edits in Wikidata and upload hundreds of thousands of files to Wikimedia Commons.
Preserving Cultural Heritage
GLAM Institutions
Museums and libraries use OpenRefine to clean and reconcile metadata for digitized collections, making cultural heritage accessible to researchers globally.
Transparency and independence have made OpenRefine the trusted choice for sensitive work: investigative journalism, academic research, government accountability, and nonprofit advocacy. What story will your support help create next?
Join Our Community of Supporters
Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a difference. Here’s how your support directly enables our mission:
🏆 Patron
$5,000+ annually
Sustain our entire mission. Your leadership gift funds our core development team for months, ensures stability, and enables growth.
🤝 Partner
$1,000–$4,999 annually
Power major feature development. Your partnership enables us to add new capabilities, improve performance, and maintain compatibility with evolving data standards.
🎯 Sponsor
$100–$999 annually
Keep OpenRefine accessible worldwide. Your sponsorship covers hosting, infrastructure, and community support systems.
Current backers: Vanguard Charitable
💪 Sustainer
$25–$99 annually (or $5/month)
Power our daily operations. Your consistent support covers essential infrastructure like servers, security updates, and administration.
Current backers: RefinePro, ostephens, DaxServer, alanorth, timtomch, trantor, wetneb, EstebanMH-SiB, btseee
🛠️ Service & Infrastructure Partners
Special thanks to Coverall, Weblate, GitHub, and Discourse for their generous in-kind support.
Other Ways You Can Help
Not everyone can contribute financially — here are other powerful ways to support OpenRefine:
📢 Spread the Word
Help us reach our $25,000 goal by telling others why OpenRefine matters to you. Share this campaign with colleagues, post about it on social media, or mention it in your presentations and workshops. Every new supporter brings us closer to sustaining our core team in 2026.
🛍️ Get OpenRefine Gear
Show your support and spread the word by wearing OpenRefine merch. Proceeds from every order go directly to sustaining the project.
💰 Double Your Impact with Employer Matching
Many employers match charitable donations dollar-for-dollar. Your $100 could instantly become $200.
Need help? Email us at martin@openrefine.org with "employer matching" in the subject line.
🏢 Corporate Sponsorship
If your organization benefits from OpenRefine, consider a sponsorship. We offer recognition, and case study opportunities
Contact us at martin@openrefine.org
The Choice is Yours
OpenRefine can continue being the free, powerful data tool that millions depend on — but sustaining our core team requires your support. Without it, we risk losing the capacity to release regularly, respond quickly to community needs, and grow partnerships.
Will you be part of the community that keeps data tools free and accessible for everyone?