01
Learn & Create
Ideas become books, media, technology projects, ventures, and creative work—built with practical guidance and real tools.
Build it. Share it.Cedar Rapids youth development
Launching youth
into purpose.
We help young people turn ideas into projects, passions into pathways, and potential into purpose.
501(c)(3) nonprofit✦EIN 81-2131907✦Cedar Rapids✦Youth development✦Purpose in motion
The mission
Potential is already there.
Every young person carries something worth discovering.
Launch them
into purpose.
Big Bang Foundation is building an ecosystem of programs, mentors, partnerships, tools, and experiences where young people create real work—and connect it to real opportunity.
The access gap
Talent is everywhere.
Access isn’t.
Young people already have interests, ambition, talent, and ideas.
What’s often missing is access to experienced mentors, professional tools, transportation, networks, exposure, equipment, and the chance to build something that matters.
That’s the gap we help close.
One connected pathway
From a spark
to something real.
Not disconnected activities. A deliberate journey from curiosity to contribution.
- 01
Idea
Discover what sparks curiosity.
- 02
Project
Turn an interest into something tangible.
- 03
Mentorship
Learn alongside experienced professionals.
- 04
Opportunity
Reach new educational, career, athletic, and civic pathways.
- 05
Purpose
Build confidence, direction, and ownership.
- 06
Community impact
Use new skills to strengthen the community.
Every entry point can lead somewhere.
IDEA → PROJECT → MENTORSHIP → OPPORTUNITY → PURPOSE → COMMUNITY IMPACTPathways into purpose
Four ways in.
One direction forward.
Different passions can open the same door: a chance to learn, make, lead, and contribute.
02
Play & Compete
Athletic development becomes a route to discipline, teamwork, recruiting knowledge, confidence, and wider opportunity.
Practice with purpose.03
Culture & Opportunity
Creative expression meets professional exposure, performance, new industries, and relationships that widen what feels possible.
Be seen. Be heard.04
Community in Action
Service, cleanups, food distribution, and youth-led solutions turn growth into visible contribution close to home.
Make it matter.The case for support
You’re not funding
just an event.
You’re helping create the conditions in which a young person can make something real—and find the next door waiting to open.
Guidance
Mentorship, professional instruction, and the people who help an idea find direction.
Tools
Books, technology, equipment, creative materials, and the supplies needed to make something real.
Access
Transportation, events, exposure, recruiting knowledge, and connections to new industries.
Experience
Projects, publishing, entrepreneurship, athletics, service, and community initiatives.
Step into the momentum
Opportunity starts with someone opening a door.
Help give young people the mentorship, tools, relationships, and real-world experience to turn potential into purpose.
Can I donate online today?
Not through this preview. A direct giving channel will be added after the foundation approves its payment provider.
What does “ecosystem” mean?
A connected network of programs, mentors, partnerships, tools, experiences, and opportunities—not a physical project.
What can support make possible?
Mentorship, instruction, materials, equipment, transportation, access, staffing, and general operations.
How will gift amounts be described?
Specific amount claims will appear only when the underlying costs have been verified and approved.