OPEN’s revenue model relies heavily on direct donations from the communities we serve. As much as possible, OPEN’s projects and events are free, all ages, and accessible. We celebrate all types of stories, collections, art, people, and histories and in return, ask those who enjoy our offerings to contribute what they can.

OPEN’s initial goal is to get 2,000 people to contribute $25 annually for a total of $50,000. This breaks down to about $4,100 per month—it sort-of covers rent, photography, writing, some production costs, taxes, vendor fees, insurance, etc. It’s not everything but, also means OPEN is not actively losing a ton of money.

Building on decades of experience in branding, cultural event production, and partnerships development, OPEN will earn additional revenue helping clients do awesome things.

Ben Sisto, founder of OPEN, has done projects for Ace Hotel, The City of Providence Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism, The Clinton Foundation, Bose, The New York Times, and other great organizations. If you’d like to talk about what OPEN can do for your biz, at any scale, email ben.sisto@gmail.com

OPEN will have things for sale in the future. Small editions, art prints, limited-run apparel, and the like. This is unlikely to be a huge cash cow, think of Printed Matter’s Art Book Fair editions, on a Rhode Island scale.

We have put a lot of time and thought into this one, and ultimately determined being non-profit isn’t for OPEN. We sort of look and feel like one, but Providence has so many nonprofit arts orgs already—we don’t want to compete with them for limited dollars.

Plus, there’s really nothing about being a 501c3 that makes an organization “good” or “moral” — even if the phrase sends a certain vibe. Consider that the Oath Keepers Educational Foundation got 501c3 status. We don’t believe for a second that anyone giving at the $25 level is really that concerned about the implications for their personal taxes.

So rather than deal with all the reporting, board meetings, and red tape, we’re just going to operate as ethically as we can and likely get a lot more done.