The case in five lines
- Kids ages 9 to 11 already use AI, mostly alone, and take the answers as fact.
- Schools are not teaching them to check it.
- Bot Catchers teaches checking through a game kids want to play: catch the AI being wrong.
- It is built. It gets tested at home first, with the founder's own kids, before any cohort.
- We measure before and after, and we publish the real numbers, whatever they are.
NextGen serves at-risk youth in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, and adults who want a little guidance getting into IT. Bot Catchers is the first program.
What your money does
Here is where the money goes. We're finalizing the first-cohort budget and will publish it here.
They stay with the program, so every cohort after the first costs less.
A Philly Kids' Fact Book for every kid, plus the weekly missions.
Kids come hungry.
Certified Bot Catcher, Level 1 certificates and the family event.
Eight sessions plus prep and Demo Day.
Room costs and event insurance.
What we'll measure
Nothing has run yet, so there are no results to show you. Here is exactly what we will count when it does.
Skills Check
A 16-point check of what a kid knows about AI and checking it, taken before Week 1 and again after Week 8.
Confidence
Each kid rates their confidence using AI from 1 to 4, before and after.
Attendance
How many of the eight sessions each kid made it to.
Finished projects
How many kids finish a project and present it at Demo Day.
Catches
Times a kid proved Nova wrong with two sources, counted per kid and for the whole cohort.
Parent survey
What parents saw change at home, in their own words.
Results get published on this site after the first cohort, whatever they are.
Governance and documents
What a funder usually asks for, in one place.
Status
NextGen Tech Youth Foundation, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity based in Philadelphia, PA. Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent the law allows.
Founder and Executive Director
Travis Thomas is a Philadelphia-based tech and IT professional with nonprofit and fundraising experience. He wrote the Bot Catchers curriculum, built the Sandbox and Nova, and will run the home test with his own kids this fall.
Board
A board is in place and growing. Members care about the mission and are working on the first programs. Names and roles will be listed here. If you have served on a nonprofit board, worked in youth programs, or worked on AI safety and want to be considered, email tthomas@nextgentyf.org.
Documents
- IRS determination letter (PDF)(uploading soon)
- Bot Catchers program overview (PDF)(uploading soon)
- Sponsor packet (print-ready, opens in your browser)
- Bylaws available on request
- Form 990 available on request. First Form 990 due after our first fiscal year.
Ways to give
Three doors. Pick the one that fits how you fund things.
Sponsor a cohort
Four tiers, each with a plain report on what the money did.
- Bronze, $1,000 a year
- Silver, $5,000 a year
- Gold, $10,000 a year
- Platinum, $25,000 and up a year
Give as an individual
Gifts pay for laptops, printed Fact Books, snacks, and certificates. Any amount goes to the first cohort.
NextGen is a registered 501(c)(3). Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent the law allows, and you get a receipt.
Fund a grant
Foundations and giving programs: send one email. You get a full proposal, the budget, and a logic model within a week.
Subject line is set for you: "Grant inquiry, Bot Catchers."
Talk to the person who built it.
Travis Thomas
Founder and Executive Director, NextGen Tech Youth Foundation, Inc.
Four pages. Opens in your browser, prints to PDF.