Ithaka

Our Organization

We care deeply about our mission. We work with leaders in the global higher education community to advance and preserve knowledge and to improve teaching and learning through the use of digital technologies. We are passionate about the value of education and are driven to deploy technologies to make our universities, colleges, and high schools better, more affordable, and more effective, and to reach beyond these traditional walls to support learners everywhere.

In two decades, we have launched some of the most transformative and widely used services in higher education: JSTOR, Portico, and Ithaka S+R. Our 300+ employees in the United States, Europe, and Asia work closely with our user communities, day in and day out, to build and continuously improve upon these services, and to identify new opportunities to expand access to knowledge and learning.

 Mission and Funding

We are proud to be a not-for-profit organization, but our status is a reflection of our mission, not our funding model. Our work across these services is highly valued in the global higher education community, and we cover our costs by collecting fees in exchange for the access, preservation, and research and consulting services we provide. That exerts a real discipline on our operations in that we must continually adapt to the needs of our audiences to be worthy of their support. Thousands of higher education and related institutions around the world are ITHAKA’s primary financial supporters; their JSTOR participation fees provide 88% of ITHAKA’s revenue. Our 99% renewal rate for JSTOR generates stable recurring income, alleviating the dependency on fundraising that many not-for-profits experience. Because the organizations share our commitment to our mission, we have the financial resources necessary to maintain a great work environment that encourages innovation and excellence.