Hey everyone,
If you’re here, you probably want to know more about what Future Computing is, how it’s funded, and when we’ll actually start sponsoring teens. So, let’s talk about it.
What is Future Computing?
Future Computing (FC) is a nonprofit designed to give free cloud resources to teenage developers with cool projects. Whether that’s AI experiments, large-scale full-stack web apps, or anything else they can dream up. We’re also putting together education programs so teens can learn the skills they need to build their ideas in the first place.
How is it Funded?
Right now, Future Computing is fully donation-based. We’ve already been sponsored by The Hack Foundation and Yubico, which is a huge deal, but we still need more funding to cover cloud costs and actually start sponsoring teens. Since I’m running this on a best-effort basis (and not getting paid for it), I’m taking the funding process slow, reaching out to local companies, applying for grants, and seeing what sticks in general.
When Will We Start Sponsoring Teens?
Short answer: When we’re ready.
Longer answer: Probably in a few months. The last thing I want is to rush into this, take on students before we’re financially stable, and then have to pull the plug because we weren’t ready. I’ve made that mistake before in past projects (*cough* Frantic *cough*). Scaling too fast, overpromising, and burning out. Not doing that again.
Right now, I’m focusing on:
- Getting a bit more funding to make sure we can actually afford cloud resources for students.
- Setting up applications, budgeting, and internal processes so everything runs smoothly when we do launch.
- Finding a few teens to be the first test group, so we can work out any issues before expanding.
Who’s Running This?
Just me.
Future Computing is solo-run by a high schooler (hi, I’m Jacob). This is my first time running a nonprofit, and just like the teens I want to sponsor, I’m learning nonprofit work as I go (like I always do). That means things will take longer no matter what, because I have no team, and no funding cushion to fall back on. And since this is a best-effort project, I can’t dedicate 40+ hours a week to it, but I’ll always do my best to keep things moving. Running a nonprofit is very different to running a for-profit startup, I’ll tell you that.
Why Am I Taking This Slow?
Because I’ve learned that going too fast kills projects. FC isn’t a startup that needs to scale overnight, or even in a month. It’s a nonprofit, and it’ll be built at a sustainable pace, which for a single high-schoolers side-project, isn’t the same speed as some Google or Microsoft.
I also want to be upfront: Since I’m running this in my free time, FC is a “best-effort” project. That means I’ll do my best to keep things running, but I can’t dedicate 40+ hours a week to it. This is about helping as many teens as possible, as sustainably as possible.
How You Can Help
If this sounds like something you want to support, donations are the best way to help right now. Every dollar goes directly into cloud resources for students. If you’re a company that wants to sponsor us, I’d love to chat.
And if you’re a teen interested in applying for resources, stay tuned, we’ll have updates soon.
Thanks for reading,
Jacob
Leave a Reply