In June of 2016, my son, Ean, turned 4. I looked at this guy with amazement (and some fear) of what he is capable of achieving in life. We often think about things in terms of “when we grow up”, but I thought that he has the potential to change the world right now. After all, kids are amazing the way their unbiased minds treat the world, solving problems, looking at things in a different way.

This provided a spark to my own life. I am passed my days of asking the traditional “what I am going to be when I grow up”, but I am not past the days of creating an idea that could change the world, in a good way, forever.

Thus, on that day in June, I came up with an idea. A simple idea, that could potentially grow into something amazing!

I came up with a not-for-profit concept that I could do from anywhere in the world. The premise was quite simple: I would create a global “science fair” focusing on STEM projects with a push for alternative energy, that would provide a BIG payout (6 figures) to the winners, along with a high level support/mentoring system that would help this product or idea get to market. The catch: the entrants had to be under the age of 18.

In July, 2016, I reached out to my good friend and marketing guy, Joey Commesso, and asked him for some help in developing a design concept for the new not-for-profit. In short order, I received a list of names, and settled on one: the Youth Energy Project. After all, that pretty much sums up what we were planning to do. Next came the logos, and after a bit of back and forth, we came up with this:

I incorporated the Youth Energy Project not-for-profit on September 6th.

I set out to write out the words that would bring the passion and drive that I felt for this project to others, and after talking it through with many friends and family members, it started to take shape. I sent all the information to Joey and his team, and on January 23rd, 2017, the website went live! It was more of a splash page to offer some insight to the project, and also provide an opportunity for people to contribute to the start up costs needed to get this thing off the ground, but it was a start.

Next step: send out a fundraising email and complete the 26 page IRS form 1023 for my 501c3 designation (not-for-profit organization).