Who Knew It Would Be So Tough?

Well I've been spending lots of time working on my plans for my non-profit (If you don't know what I'm talking about you can check out my previous blog http://chellesspace.blogspot.com/2013/03/going-out-on-limb.html)  and who knew how complicated it would be?! Don't get me wrong it's not as if I expected it to be easy to get this going but good grief... every time I turn around there's some new "difficulty" I encounter.

I'm trying to figure out how to legally get it set-up.... what to do about a mailing address since obviously we are not stagnant enough to just set it up here where we live (Thank you Jared for info to help me with this!)... where to actually set-up the nonprofit (Delaware perhaps?)... and not the least of my troubles is trying to settle on the "perfect" name because at the end of the day I have to have that information before I can really get any of this underway! I'll give you that I am not the most creative person when it comes to naming etc. but I can't help but be struck by the fact that the name I pick is the one that hopefully we be around for many many many years to come so I want it to be just right.

I've been so appreciative of everyone who has given suggestions and/or voted on the suggestions that I had so far. I took those inputs and started doing some more research for the top 10 ideas. I researched domain name availability (website), what other companies/foundations etc. are out there with similar names, ideas for logo design etc. Unfortunately based on some of these things I had to cut some great ideas for names. I've shortened the list but still don't have it narrowed down to 1....  so I created 1 more survey that is a short survey (seriously very short - 2 quick questions) that if you have a few minutes I would be GREATLY GREATLY appreciative if you'd check this out and tell me what you think..... My goal is to get this really underway (well the official set-up) as soon as possible so I can start fundraising for scholarship money!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LYM9C5D

Thank you so much in advance :)

Going Out on a Limb...

To say life is always busy is perhaps one of the greatest understatements I could ever make. That said life is fantastic and amazing and I love it just the way it is. So while perhaps one might think I am crazy to take on even more given how busy I am there are so many reasons I feel compelled to do so... Wait I am getting ahead of myself... Let me explain...

Let's be real honest... I didn't grow up with much money so when I wanted to do something crazy out of the box (for a gal like me without much means) as a youngster such as go to Space Camp I had to work my tail off and vie for a scholarship to do so. I was fortunate enough that Space Camp offered scholarships and I was even more fortunate that they felt I was worthy of a scholarship on 2 separate occasions. This was the only way I could afford to take part in something that was so encouraging of my passion about space. I have always been so appreciative of those experiences... now I've decided that I want to give something back...

I am going to start my own non-profit. I love working as a consultant to ISSET and that certainly won't stop but I want to do this non-profit in addition. I want to be able to sponsor scholarships for students to be able to attend ISSET experiences such as Mission Discovery and the Astronaut Leadership Experience. I want to be able to give back. This will be a non-profit that focuses (like ISSET) on using space to get students excited about Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) subjects as well as finding their passion in general about what they want to do in life.

So... I am in the process of getting my non-profit set-up. It's complicated (shocking right?) and I'm trying to make my way through all the insanity but I am hoping to get it done much sooner than later because the sooner I get it done the sooner I can start raising money to start giving scholarships to deserving students.

One thing I am a little stuck on is the name.... Still working on that one... If you've got any ideas please let me know.

I'm very excited but also a bit nervous I must admit... it's a big undertaking... but the excitement definitely outweighs the nerves! I promise to keep you all posted on this as it comes together but in the interim... send happy problem-free "get started" thoughts my way for this please :)