Skip to content

No open cycle

This cause does not have an open cycle right now. Your grant status is still available in the dashboard.

Open dashboard
Antitrust reform for small business
Antitrust reform for small business
Litigation

Empower Small Business through Coalitions & Litigation (Grassroots/Legal)

Form coalitions of small businesses to collectively advocate and perhaps sue under existing laws.

Organize small businesses into a collective voice that can document harm, advocate together, and bring strategic cases when appropriate. Support legal work that enables groups like independent app developers or retailers to challenge exclusionary practices without standing alone. Pair litigation with storytelling so this reads as Main Street versus concentrated power, not a purely technical dispute.

Why this works

  • It personalizes the fight – not just abstract consumers, but your local bookstore owner testifying how Amazon’s dominance hurt them.
  • Jurors/judges may be sympathetic.
  • Also, a unified small biz voice counters big biz lobby by giving cover to politicians (“I’m doing this for Main Street, not corporate interests”).

Open Markets Institute

Tax-deductible
openmarketsinstitute.org

Research and advocacy to confront monopolies

The Open Markets Institute is a nonprofit organization that promotes competitive markets and democratic accountability by tackling corporate monopolies. Emerging from a journalism and research project in 2017, Open Markets uses in-depth research, journalism, and advocacy to expose the dangers of monopolization in sectors from tech to agriculture. It pushes for strong antitrust enforcement, supports policymakers working to break up or regulate monopolies, and educates the public on how concentrated economic power undermines democracy.

Mechanism

About Litigation

How Open Markets Institute uses funding

  1. Recruit small businesses and founders across affected sectors and create a trusted coalition channel.
  2. Collect concrete examples of gatekeeper fees, exclusionary contracts, and retaliation fears described in the cause.
  3. Screen claims for standing, venue, and remedy clarity; choose cases with strong facts and manageable downside.
  4. Fund litigation operations and coordinate filings, including amicus and expert support where needed.
  5. Manage participant risk with privacy, communications discipline, and retaliation planning.
  6. Share outcomes and lessons publicly to grow leverage and deter repeat conduct.
View full partner profile

Milestones

Checkpoints and the expected timing for each step

  1. 1

    Coalition intake + governance set

    0–30 days

    A membership and intake process exists and participants understand guardrails.

  2. 2

    Case pipeline screened

    1–3 months

    Potential claims are vetted and a prioritized list of viable cases is selected.

  3. 3

    First filings + amplification

    3–6 months

    A strategic case is filed and coalition messaging explains the harm in plain language.

  4. 4

    Remedy + expansion

    6–18 months

    The case progresses toward settlement or ruling and the coalition expands.

Risks, trade-offs & sources

Updates

No updates yet.

Updates will appear here as the strategy progresses.

0votes left
Using bonus
0