Next 10
Next 10 is a San Francisco-based nonprofit think tank producing research publications and interactive digital tools on California's economy, environment, and governance. It serves California residents, policymakers, educators, and local governments through flagship products including the California Budget Challenge and the annual California Green Innovation Index.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Next 10 does
Next 10 is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit think tank founded in 2003 (some sources cite 2005) and headquartered at 345 California St., San Francisco. The organization produces research publications and interactive digital tools focused on California's economy, environment, and quality of life, operating three programmatic pillars: Clean Energy, Economy & Governance, and Budget. Its core product is the California Budget Challenge, a web-based interactive application launched in 2005 that allows users to simulate balancing California's General Fund budget by adjusting spending and revenue across categories such as education, corrections, and healthcare; the tool has been used by over 560,000 Californians. The organization complements this with the Federal Budget Challenge, California Choices, the California Water Challenge, and the annual California Green Innovation Index, now in its 17th edition, which tracks greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy progress, and zero-emission vehicle adoption.
Next 10 operates a hybrid revenue model combining two streams. First, it licenses the Budget Challenge software as a customizable, CMS-based platform to cities, counties, states, school districts, and nonprofits at a $15,000 one-time fee for large entities, with pricing flexibility for smaller municipalities; named licensees include the City of San Francisco, Los Angeles USD, Oakland USD, Washington D.C., and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia. Second, the organization funds its research and educational programs through grants and donations, commissioning work from academic institutions including UC Davis, the University of Pennsylvania, and Santa Clara University, as well as research consultancies such as CEC Economics and The Brattle Group. All published research and tools are provided free to the public.
The organization reaches its audience through a multi-channel distribution strategy including its website, email newsletter, social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), press releases generating coverage in outlets such as the LA Times, Bloomberg, and Politico, webinars, and in-person civic engagement workshops conducted across California. Founded by F. Noel Perry, Next 10 operates with a small team of 1-10 employees and does not publicly disclose its financials. Recent strategic focus areas include the intersection of data center expansion with water availability and environmental justice, EV charging infrastructure economics, and pathways for cleaner data centers leveraging California's stranded renewable energy.
Next 10 firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Next 10
- Legal name
- Next 10
- Website
- https://next10.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Next 10 is a San Francisco-based nonprofit think tank producing research publications and interactive digital tools on California's economy, environment, and governance. It serves California residents, policymakers, educators, and local governments through flagship products including the California Budget Challenge and the annual California Green Innovation Index.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Next 10 industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civic Education Technology
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Public Finance Activities (921130)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Budgeting & Fiscal Planning (BPAIAEAA), Environmental Science & Sustainability Programs (Ecology, Climate, Conservation) (EDAMABAD)
Keywords
Where Next 10 is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Next 10 business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Budget Challenge Software Licensing: Next 10 licenses its Budget Challenge software to cities, counties, states, and school districts. The license is a one-time cost that includes software use and all hosting fees. Licensees can update their challenges as often as needed.
- Research and Grant Funding: Next 10 commissions research from universities and experts, funded by grants and donations. The organization produces educational materials and reports on California policy issues.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Large cities, counties & states: $15,000 one-time license |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Next 10 product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Next 10 is a nonprofit think tank that produces nonpartisan policy research and interactive digital civic education tools focused on California's economy, environment, and quality of life. Its flagship product, the California Budget Challenge, is an online interactive tool that lets users balance the state budget by making spending and revenue tradeoffs. The organization also licenses the Budget Challenge software platform to other government and nonprofit entities, and publishes the annual California Green Innovation Index tracking climate and innovation metrics.
Product overview
Next 10 is a nonprofit think tank that produces educational tools and research publications focused on California's economy, environment, and quality of life. Its core product portfolio consists of interactive budget education tools (California Budget Challenge, Federal Budget Challenge, California Choices) that allow users to explore policy trade-offs by balancing state and federal budgets. These tools are available as a licensable software platform for other entities (cities, states, school districts) to customize for their own use. Alongside the software products, Next 10 publishes annual research indices (California Green Innovation Index) tracking California's climate and innovation progress, and water-related educational resources (California Water Challenge, Budget Basics series). The organization operates three programmatic focus areas: Clean Energy, Economy & Governance, and Budget.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- California Budget Challenge: A nonpartisan online budget education tool that lets users decide how to spend on California state programs and how to pay for them. Created in 2005 as a public service to educate and engage Californians on the trade-offs involved in building the state's General Fund budget.
Products and services
- California Budget Challenge A nonpartisan online budget education tool that lets users decide how much to spend on schools, prisons, healthcare and other California state programs and how to pay for them. Users balance the state budget while learning about trade-offs. For California residents and the general public.
- Budget Challenge Licensing Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- California reduced climate pollution by 3% in 2023, one of the largest single-year drops on record
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Next 10
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Next 10 technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Next 10 partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Santa Clara UniversitycoreNext 10 partnered with researchers at Santa Clara University's Water and Climate Justice Lab and Markkula Center for Applied Ethics to produce the first comprehensive analysis of California data centers through a combined water access and environmental justice lens.
- University of Pennsylvania (Benjamin Lee)coreNext 10 commissioned University of Pennsylvania Professor Benjamin Lee to lead research comparing data center siting strategies in urban vs. rural settings. The resulting report 'Curtail to Compute' analyzes how data centers can leverage California's stranded renewable energy.
- Institute for Transportation Studies at UC DaviscoreNext 10 and the Institute for Transportation Studies at UC Davis jointly released a report analyzing the business case and consumer preferences for EV chargers in California, finding that co-located amenities significantly boost charging station usage and profitability.
- CEC EconomicssupportingCEC Economics provided lead research and analysis for the 17th annual California Green Innovation Index, with Hoyu Chong serving as lead researcher and principal.
- The Brattle GroupsupportingResearch from The Brattle Group on distributed energy resources indicates that aggregated DERs can deliver capacity value at roughly 40-60% the cost of traditional infrastructure, referenced in Next 10-commissioned work.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Next 10 competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Next 10 social profiles
Digital presenceNext 10 financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Next 10 leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Next 10 funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Next 10 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 Next 10
What does Next 10 do?
Next 10 is a nonprofit think tank that produces nonpartisan policy research and interactive digital civic education tools focused on California's economy, environment, and quality of life. Its flagship product, the California Budget Challenge, is an online interactive tool that lets users balance the state budget by making spending and revenue tradeoffs. The organization also licenses the Budget Challenge software platform to other government and nonprofit entities, and publishes the annual California Green Innovation Index tracking climate and innovation metrics.
Is Next 10 a public or private company?
Next 10 is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Next 10 founded?
Next 10 was founded in 2005. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Next 10 based?
Next 10 is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Next 10 make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Budget Challenge Software Licensing is the primary driver. The others are research and Grant Funding.
Does Next 10 have an API?
No public API is recorded for Next 10.
What industry is Next 10 in?
Next 10's product category is Civic Education Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAFAO, Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes, with a secondary code of BPAIAEAA, Budgeting & Fiscal Planning. Its NAICS code is 54172 and its SIC code is 7372.