SciStarter
SciStarter is a 501c3 nonprofit web platform that connects 450,000+ public volunteers across 140 countries with 3,000+ citizen science research projects, offering free project discovery, contribution tracking, and embeddable affiliate tools for partner organizations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What SciStarter does
SciStarter is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 2009 and headquartered at 306 Delancey Street, Philadelphia, that operates one of the largest online platforms connecting public volunteers with citizen science research projects. Its core product surface consists of a Project Finder spanning 3,000+ projects and events, an Event Finder, and a personalized member Dashboard for tracking contributions, bookmarking projects, and earning badges. Beyond the consumer-facing site, SciStarter distributes through Affiliate Tools, the Exchange iframe, a lightweight Widget, and a public API that enable project leaders and partner organizations to embed SciStarter directly on their own websites and apps, with anonymized cross-project analytics flowing back to the platform.
Underlying the platform is a freemium technology stack that is free for all end users and project leaders, funded instead by grants and donations from foundations and government agencies including the National Science Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, The Simons Foundation, and IMLS. The platform is GDPR- and CCPA-compliant, is governed by an ASU IRB-overseen research relationship with Arizona State University (where founder Darlene Cavalier is a Professor of Practice), and runs additional research partnerships with NC State, Cornell, and Harvard. AI work is limited to an in-product recommender feature, with Harvard explicitly engaged to improve those algorithms.
SciStarter's go-to-market is community-led rather than sales-led: it grows via NSF-funded university partnerships, federal-agency collaborations (NASA, NOAA, NNLM, EPA), library and Girl Scouts programs, syndication through Discover Magazine and PLoS blogs, and annual events such as Citizen Science Month (450,918 volunteers across 140 countries contributing 4,730,752 Acts of Science in the most recent April) and Citizen Science Day. Headcount is in the 11-50 range, no venture capital is involved, and the organization has no subsidiaries, M&A history, or disclosed revenue.
SciStarter firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SciStarter
- Legal name
- The SciStarter Foundation
- Website
- https://scistarter.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- SciStarter is a 501c3 nonprofit web platform that connects 450,000+ public volunteers across 140 countries with 3,000+ citizen science research projects, offering free project discovery, contribution tracking, and embeddable affiliate tools for partner organizations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SciStarter industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Citizen Science Platform
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Topic/Interest-Based Content Discovery Apps (MPACAKAB), International Science, Technology & Space Cooperation Organizations (BPADAAAK)
Keywords
Where SciStarter is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SciStarter business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Donations and Grants: As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, SciStarter is funded primarily through donations and grants from foundations and government agencies. Donations are tax deductible. Major supporters include Burroughs Wellcome Fund, National Science Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and The Simons Foundation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free platform access for citizen scientists |
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Affiliate Tools for project leaders |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels11 records
SciStarter product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SciStarter operates a free, web-based citizen science platform that connects individual volunteers with more than 3,000 scientific research projects across diverse topics. The platform provides a Project Finder, Event Finder, and personalized Dashboard for discovering, joining, and tracking participation. It also offers Affiliate Tools (embeddable widgets, Exchange iframes, and a public API) that enable researchers, libraries, and partner organizations to recruit and coordinate volunteers on their own websites.
Product overview
SciStarter is a citizen science platform that operates as a unified ecosystem connecting volunteers with research projects. The core platform consists of a Project Finder, Event Finder, and personalized Dashboard that work together to enable discovery, participation, and contribution tracking. The platform extends through add-on modules including the SciStarter Exchange (embeddable iframe solution for organizations), SciStarter Widget (lightweight embedding tool), and Affiliate Tools (for project leaders). An API product enables programmatic access for developers. The platform organizes thousands of projects from around the world and shares them with partner organizations to reach participants where they are.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SciStarter Project Finder A searchable database enabling people to find and join citizen science projects by keyword, topic, location, or advanced filters. Designed for individual volunteers seeking research projects matching their interests.
- SciStarter Event Finder A calendar and search tool for finding citizen science events, workshops, webinars, and programs. Designed for individual volunteers looking to attend science engagement activities.
- SciStarter Dashboard A personalized member dashboard for tracking contributions, bookmarking projects, earning badges, and networking with other citizen scientists. Includes My Recommendations for personalized project matching.
- SciStarter Exchange A customizable iframe-based widget that organizations can embed on their websites to display SciStarter project finder and search results aligned with their community's location and interests, with optional Add Project/Event features and on-demand analytics.
- SciStarter Widget A plug-and-play tool that allows websites to display up to 2 SciStarter projects with customizable search filters and styles.
- SciStarter Affiliate Tools Digital tools for citizen science project leaders to integrate on their own websites, enabling analytics, volunteer recruitment, contribution tracking across projects and platforms, and data sharing with SciStarter.
- SciStarter API
Quantifiable outcome
- 450,918 volunteers from 140 countries contributed 4,730,752 Acts of Science during Citizen Science Month 2026
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use SciStarter
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
SciStarter technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature6 records
SciStarter partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
28 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- NASAcoreMultiple NASA partnerships including EMERGE initiative, GLOBE Observer app, NASA LIVE events, and Do NASA Science LIVE virtual series. SciStarter serves as a gateway for NASA citizen science projects.
- EU-Citizen.SciencemajorEuropean citizen science platform that lists projects including Proteins Mosaic Q alongside SciStarter, enabling cross-platform project discovery.
- Pablo de Olavide UniversityminorLeads Proteins Mosaic Q citizen science project listed on SciStarter and EU-Citizen.Science platforms.
- University of SevilleminorPartners on Proteins Mosaic Q global citizen science initiative to study protein 3D architecture patterns.
- Microsoft ResearchcoreMicrosoft partnered with Human Computation Institute and SciStarter for Stall Catchers Megathon on Azure cloud platform. Microsoft Research Outreach managed the crowdsourcing infrastructure and hosted the event at Microsoft Redmond campus.
- Arizona State University (ASU) School for the Future of Innovation in SocietycoreSciStarter and ASU partnership led by founder Darlene Cavalier (Professor of Practice) to advance citizen science research. Includes joint research on online patterns, library hub programs, and platform development. ASU IRB oversees research studies on SciStarter users.
- North Carolina State UniversitycorePartnership with NCSU to study patterns of engagement and science learning outcomes. Hosts Citizen Science Campus initiative and practitioner workshops for deploying Affiliate Tools. Co-PI involvement in library citizen science projects.
- Cornell UniversitycoreCornell examines SciStarter project outcomes and conducts research on citizen science engagement. Cornell Lab of Ornithology's BirdSleuth K-12 and Project FeederWatch are featured on SciStarter.
- Harvard UniversitycoreHarvard researchers improve AI-powered recommender algorithms on SciStarter platform to better match volunteers with appropriate projects.
- Human Computation InstitutecorePartners on Stall Catchers project for Alzheimer's research. SciStarter provides volunteer recruitment and platform support for this crowdsourced biomedical research initiative.
- Cornell University Schaffer-Nishimura Biomedical Engineering LabcoreResearch lab conducting Alzheimer'Stall Catchers project with blood flow research. Partners with Human Computation Institute and SciStarter for crowdsourced data analysis.
- National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM)majorPartnership to activate public libraries as hubs for citizen science, particularly for Citizen Science Day and Stall Catchers Megathon planning.
- National Geographic SocietymajorCo-host annual BioBlitz species counts with National Park Service. National Geographic provides educational resources and programming support for citizen science activities.
- National Park ServicemajorCo-host annual BioBlitz events with National Geographic Society to collect and analyze wildlife data in national parks.
- Citizen Science AssociationcoreCo-presenter of Citizen Science Day annual celebration connecting people to real research. Co-organizer of C*Sci annual conference.
- NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network)majorNEON develops Citizen Science Academy providing online professional development for educators on citizen science projects including Project BudBurst.
- Public Libraries (Arizona pilot)coreIMLS-funded project to facilitate libraries as community hubs for citizen science in Phoenix area. ASU project team develops self-contained project kits for library checkout.
- Discover MagazinecorePart of SciStarter's syndicated blog network, publishing citizen science content on Discover Magazine's Citizen Science Salon blog.
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)corePart of SciStarter's syndicated blog network, publishing citizen science content on PLoS's blog platform.
- Science CheerleaderminorSister organization founded by SciStarter founder Darlene Cavalier. Promotes science literacy and citizen science through current and former NFL/NBA cheerleaders who are scientists and engineers.
- SciStarter AustraliamajorLocalized version of SciStarter for Australian users, using Exchange iframe to provide localized project finder.
- SciStarter AfricamajorRegional SciStarter initiative to expand citizen science in Africa.
- International Dark Sky AssociationminorPartner gateway for dark sky preservation citizen science projects including Globe at Night.
- National Pollinator Garden NetworkminorPartner gateway for pollinator-focused citizen science projects.
- Girl Scouts of the USAcoreSpecial programs connecting Girl Scouts with citizen science through the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey for older troops. Scouts use Affiliate Tools to track progress and earn badges.
- Broward County School DistrictmajorUses customized version of SciStarter to introduce citizen science to students. Requires Affiliate Tools for tracking student progress across projects.
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)minorEPA hosted free citizen science workshops in NY/NJ areas and announced up to 10 new citizen science project grants totaling $125,000 in New York City.
- NanosatisfiminorPartnership to launch ArduSat Project - first open-source satellite allowing public to design and deploy experiments in space.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SciStarter competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SciStarter social profiles
Digital presenceSciStarter compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
SciStarter financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SciStarter leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
SciStarter funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SciStarter M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SciStarter
What does SciStarter do?
SciStarter operates a free, web-based citizen science platform that connects individual volunteers with more than 3,000 scientific research projects across diverse topics. The platform provides a Project Finder, Event Finder, and personalized Dashboard for discovering, joining, and tracking participation. It also offers Affiliate Tools (embeddable widgets, Exchange iframes, and a public API) that enable researchers, libraries, and partner organizations to recruit and coordinate volunteers on their own websites.
Is SciStarter a public or private company?
SciStarter is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was SciStarter founded?
SciStarter was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SciStarter based?
SciStarter is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
How does SciStarter make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Grants.
Does SciStarter have an API?
Yes. SciStarter offers a public API that enables projects to integrate Affiliate Tools on their websites to enable citizen scientists to discover, join, and track their participation. The API allows projects to plug-and-play with their website or app to enable analytics, help projects recruit and coordinate volunteers, and help volunteers track contributions across projects and platforms. Through the API, projects can access anonymized analytics showing what other projects volunteers join or bookmark. Developer documentation is at scistarter.org/api.
What industry is SciStarter in?
SciStarter's product category is Citizen Science Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMABAA, Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs), with a secondary code of MPACAKAB, Topic/Interest-Based Content Discovery Apps. Its NAICS code is 51929 and its SIC code is 7371.