Stellar Dreams opens in Buffalo as Dr. Raven Baxter gives telescopes to 27 students
Twenty-seven students received Celestron telescopes at Buffalo State University on February 19, 2024, at the kickoff of Dr. Raven Baxter's Stellar Dreams program.
IRS recognizes The Science Haven, Dr. Raven Baxter's STEM nonprofit, as a public charity
Grown from STEMbassy, the live web series on science and society that Baxter started in 2020, the nonprofit works to widen access to science education and careers
The Internal Revenue Service has recognized The Science Haven, the nonprofit founded by Dr. Raven Baxter, as a 501(c)(3) public charity. The determination letter is dated May 26, 2023, and makes gifts to the organization tax deductible.
IRS records list the Haven as a public charity that draws its support from the general public. It announced the news on June 1 under the headline "The Science Haven™ is Now a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit!" on its news page.
The Haven's stated aim is to "foster and support educational and career pathways" in science, technology, engineering and math. Its goals include "Promote STEM diversity and access," according to its 2023 About page.
National data showed the gap that goal addresses. In January 2023, the National Science Foundation's statistics center reported that underrepresented minorities held 24% of STEM jobs in 2021, up from 18% in 2011. Women held 35%. Both groups remained underrepresented compared with the U.S. population.
Public trust in scientists had also slipped. In February 2022, Pew Research Center found that 29% of U.S. adults had a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the public interest, down from 40% in November 2020.
The recognition came as Americans were giving less. Three weeks after the Haven's announcement, Giving USA reported that U.S. charitable giving fell to $499.33 billion in 2022, down 10.5% after inflation.
The Haven grew out of STEMbassy, a weekly live web series Baxter started in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its scientists met in front of a live audience to discuss science and society. Baxter began turning the effort into a nonprofit in November 2022, and it was incorporated in Virginia on March 22, 2023. The organization describes itself as "dedicated to democratizing science, fostering curiosity, and bridging the gap between complex scientific concepts and the public," on its mission page.
Its telescope program followed five weeks after the announcement. On July 6, 2023, the Haven launched Stellar Dreams as "a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization," aiming to give 100 telescopes to underserved students. In September it reported reaching its telescope target with support from Celestron.
On February 19, 2024, 27 students received telescopes at the program's Buffalo kickoff, which WKBW covered. "I'm sort of a hometown hero, and it felt really good to give back to the community that invested so much into me," Baxter told Space.com in June 2024. Stellar Dreams won a Gold Award in the inaugural Astronaut Rock Star Awards, announced May 3, 2024.
Baxter, who also serves as the nonprofit's president, is a molecular biologist with a doctorate from the University at Buffalo.
The Haven's mission page tells its history.
