Facing History and Ourselves

What Facing History and Ourselves does

Facing History and Ourselves is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization founded in 1976 in Brookline, Massachusetts, that develops curriculum, professional learning programs, and teaching resources centered on Holocaust education, civic education, US history, English language arts, and the prevention of bigotry and hate. Its core product is the Holocaust and Human Behavior textbook alongside a Resource Library of more than 3,200 instructional assets—including the Civic Education Curriculum Collection, the US History Curriculum Collection, the Antisemitic Tropes Chart, and lessons on stereotyping—distributed in multiple languages (English, Spanish, French). The platform is supported by proprietary pedagogical frameworks (Scope and Sequence methodology, the Pedagogical Triangle) and delivered through eight US regional offices, a Canadian office (operating since 1981), and international partner organizations across the UK, Colombia, France, Mexico, Northern Ireland, and South Africa.

The organization's GTM combines self-serve educator adoption (free account registration at facinghistory.org, downloadable curriculum, on-demand courses) with enterprise-style district and school partnerships offering whole-school implementation, professional development, and ongoing coaching. Educator-facing professional learning events—summer seminars in multiple US cities, virtual workshops, webinars—complement the digital distribution. Facing History serves middle and secondary school educators (grades 6-12), schools and school districts, and educators in Jewish educational settings, reaching a network of more than 350,000 active educators across 60,000 schools in all 50 US states and over 100 countries.

Revenue is generated entirely through donations (100% tax-deductible individual and corporate giving), foundation grants (notably Hammer Family Foundation and Jim Joseph Foundation), and corporate partnership programs; all curriculum resources are provided free of charge to educators. The organization holds a Charity Navigator 4-star rating and a Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency, and is recognized as an evidence-based program by CASEL, Evidence for ESSA, the US Department of Education, Harvard's EASEL Lab, and the Education Commission of the States. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, but headcount of 200+ professionals and a multi-regional footprint are consistent with a mid-sized national nonprofit operating budget.

Name

Facing History and Ourselves

Legal name

Facing History & Ourselves

Website

https://facinghistory.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Facing History and Ourselves is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1976 that provides Holocaust, civic, and anti-bias curriculum plus professional learning to middle and high school educators, reaching 350,000+ educators across 60,000 schools in 50 US states and 100+ countries, funded by donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Services and Curriculum

NAICS

Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Digital Curriculum & Interactive Lessons (EDAGAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Teaching Resources & Lesson Plan Libraries (EDAGAEAK), Education & Instructional Practice Reference (Pedagogy, Curriculum Methods for Educators) (EDAGAGAL)

Keywords

• Social emotional learning curriculum
• Holocaust education programs
• Civic education resources
• Teacher professional development
• History-based pedagogy

Headquarters

HQ city

Brookline

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Facing History & Ourselves primarily generates revenue through tax-deductible donations from individual donors, foundations, and corporations. The organization explicitly states donations are '100% tax-deductible' and runs campaigns for direct giving.
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants: The organization receives support from foundations such as the Hammer Family Foundation, which specifically supports on-demand learning and teaching resources development. Corporate partnerships are also mentioned as a giving option.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Facing History & Ourselves develops research-based history and civic education curriculum resources (including the flagship Holocaust and Human Behavior textbook and Civic Education, U.S. History, and Antisemitism curriculum collections) and delivers professional learning programs to middle and secondary school educators, schools, and districts. Its offerings are delivered through a digital Resource Library, in-person and virtual seminars/workshops, and multi-year Whole School and District Curriculum Partnerships anchored by its proprietary Scope and Sequence methodology and Pedagogical Triangle framework.

Product overview

Facing History & Ourselves offers a comprehensive educational platform centered on history-based pedagogy to challenge racism, antisemitism, and bigotry. The core offering includes the flagship Holocaust and Human Behavior textbook alongside curated curriculum collections (Civic Education, US History), all accessible through a Resource Library platform with over 3,200 teaching resources. Professional Learning services provide workshops, seminars, and school/district partnerships. The organization supports educators with professional development, implementation guides, and whole-school programs designed to foster civic responsibility and ethical reasoning in students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Holocaust and Human Behavior Flagship digital textbook examining the history of the Holocaust through readings, primary sources, and documentary films, using Facing History's methodology to explore human behavior, choices, and ethical reflection. Designed for middle and high school educators and their students.
• Civic Education Curriculum Collection Modular C3-aligned curriculum collection for grades 6-12 that prepares students for informed and ethical civic participation in democracy through history-based civic learning journeys in an Explore, Learn, Participate sequence. Intended for middle and high school educators.
• US History Curriculum Collection: Democracy & Freedom Flexible curriculum collection featuring units, lesson plans, and C3-style inquiries to teach U.S. history centered on themes of democracy and freedom, including the founding era, Reconstruction, and Civil Rights. Intended for middle and high school social studies and U.S. history teachers.
• Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools Online resource exploring the history and lasting effects of Canada's Indian Residential Schools on Indigenous Peoples, using primary sources and survivors' testimonies. Designed for Canadian educators and students.
• Resource Library Comprehensive digital library containing more than 3,200 resources including readings, books, guides, images, videos, collections, lessons, mini-lessons, teaching strategies, units, and toolkits across topics such as antisemitism, genocide, democracy, and civil rights. Provided free of charge to educators via a free account.
• Professional Learning Events Professional learning for educators through in-person and virtual workshops, summer seminars, self-paced courses, webinars, and community events covering topics such as Holocaust education, antisemitism, civic education, and ELA. Delivered via regional offices and the website.
• Whole School Program Comprehensive school-wide implementation support including professional development, curriculum integration, and ongoing coaching to drive sustained organizational change within a school. Available to K-12 schools through direct partnership with Facing History's regional teams.
• District Curriculum Partnerships Long-term partnerships with school districts to implement Facing History curriculum and professional learning across multiple schools with consistent instructional practice. Available to school districts through direct engagement with regional offices.
• Antisemitic Tropes Chart Educational resource providing information about common antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories to support identification of antisemitism in classroom and discourse settings. Targeted at middle and high school educators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% more likely to report class motivated them to learn
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gladstein Family Human Rights InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for the 'Democracy at Risk: A Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior Seminar' held in Storrs, CT. This partnership brings together Facing History's Holocaust education expertise with the human rights focus of the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute.
• Teach for TomorrowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based educational organization partnered with Facing History & Ourselves for international programming and educator support in the United Kingdom.
• Facing History en FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational organization in France operating as part of Facing History's global partner network, adapting and delivering programs to French educators and students.
• International Partner OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacing History partners with educational organizations in Colombia, Mexico, Northern Ireland, and South Africa as part of their Global Programs initiative to extend reach beyond traditional markets.
• Share My LessonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for co-hosting professional development events. Share My Lesson is a platform for educators to share resources, and this partnership enables cross-promotion and expanded reach for professional learning events.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Anti-Defamation League (ADL): The ADL runs the comparable "ADL Education" programs that deliver anti-bias and Holocaust curricula to K-12 schools and educators, often offering parallel professional development workshops for teachers on antisemitism and identity-based prejudice.
• USC Shoah Foundation: USC Shoah Foundation builds and distributes Holocaust testimony-based educational resources and teacher training for secondary schools through its IWitness platform, directly overlapping Facing History's flagship Holocaust and Human Behavior offering.
• Echoes & Reflections: Echoes & Reflections delivers Holocaust education curricula and professional development for middle and high school educators in partnership with ADL, USC Shoah, and Yad Vashem, competing head-to-head in the same teacher-training and lesson-plan market.
• iCivics: iCivics provides civic education curricula, games, and lesson plans for grades 6-12 and trains teachers in civic instruction, directly comparable to Facing History's civic education curriculum collection.
• Learning for Justice (Southern Poverty Law Center): Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) produces free K-12 anti-bias education resources, lesson plans, and a school climate framework, directly mirroring Facing History's social-emotional and identity-focused curriculum approach.

Emerging players

• Newsela: Newsela is a K-12 instructional content platform with SEL and social-studies extensions sold on a subscription model to the same district customers Facing History works with, representing a commercial alternative to free resources.
• Common Sense Education: Common Sense Education provides free and premium K-12 digital citizenship and SEL curricula for teachers and schools, overlapping Facing History's SEL/civic resources in middle and high school classrooms.
• EVERFI: EVERFI delivers digital SEL, financial literacy, and citizenship curricula to K-12 schools and districts via sponsored subscriptions, competing for the same district partnership budgets that fund Facing History programs.

Broad incumbents

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: USHMM produces Holocaust education curricula, teacher training, and resources used in U.S. middle and high schools, operating at larger institutional scale than Facing History in Holocaust-specific content delivery.

Others

• Aspen Institute (Education & Society Program): The Aspen Institute runs cross-sector civic education and leadership programs for educators and school leaders, overlapping conceptually with Facing History's professional learning offerings for school and district leaders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@facinghistory
• Facebookfacebook.com/facinghistory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/facing-history-and-ourselves
• Instagraminstagram.com/facinghistory
• Xx.com/facinghistory

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Facing History and Ourselves