Stem.org

The organization was founded in 2001 by Andrew B. Raupp under the name "Initiative Science," despite conducting outreach programs in all STEM fields (previously SMET). By 2014, STEM.org had been recognized by the United States Senate for having worked with over 100,000 students, through partnerships with schools involving collaborative educational activities. In K-12 education, STEM.org has worked with private, public, and charter schools.

STEM.org was initiated from a community outreach project in southwest Detroit, by Andrew B. Raupp in 2001. The organization has expanded its mission beyond initial activities it referred to as project “Initiative Science", establishing a global presence in over 80 countries. Notably, it provided framework for the 2005 STEM Congressional Caucus at the request of Congressman Vern Ehlers.

STEM.org developed a global quality assurance protocol focused on STEM education. It leverages blockchain technology to secure the credentials it issues, which are denoted as 'STEM Trustmarks,’ by securing each achievement on the Bitcoin distributed ledger for enhanced authenticity and trust.

The organization has carried out a five-year study concerning K-12 STEM schools, using a proprietary regression analysis, which was featured on the cover on the Newsweek. The research activities extend into the development of a quality assurance assessment framework, applicable to a wide array of stakeholders within STEM including individuals, educational programs, publishers, products and students. This is part of its commitment to decentralize STEM education, introducing distinct classifications like STEM-accredited (for schools), STEM-certified (for instructors), STEM-reviewed (for publishers), STEM-authenticated (for products) and STEM-endorsed (for students).