Funders’ Brief

steamHouse: Purpose-First Youth Development

Young people face algorithmic manipulation, echo chambers, and attention capture at unprecedented scale. The effects are measurable: anxiety and depression at historic highs, civic disengagement accelerating, capable students lacking direction.

steamHouse addresses root causes. Not another SEL program layered onto struggling institutions—a community-based framework that develops conscious, purposeful young people through mentored practice in teams, projects, and competitions.

What exists: 1,900 pages of curriculum at first draft. Operational Club in Golden, CO (100+ families, 8+ years). Universal Team Framework adaptable to any coach, leader, or educator. Six-book suite in development. Research-grounded framework drawing from 1,100+ sources across cognitive science, character development, and civic education.

What we need: Professional editing, Chronicles development, systematic validation, organizational infrastructure. First-year target: $150K–$200K.

The opportunity: Fund the development of replicable models before market scale. Character education, youth mentoring, critical thinking, and civic engagement converge here.

The bet: That teaching young people how to think—not what to think—is the highest-leverage educational investment of this decade.