Quinnipiac University cybersecurity graduate student Marcus Pierre turned his interests and ideas into launching a nonprofit organization.

The Massachusetts-based nonprofit, Digital Defenders Inc., aims to teach children about internet safety and how to prevent online dangers, such as creating strong passwords, identifying phishing, scams and malware.

“About 1.7 million children fall victim to a data breach, meaning 1-in-every-43 kids had personal information exposed or compromised,” according to a 2022 survey by Javelin Survey and Research.

Children’s exposure to the internet can make them easier targets, as many do not know how to handle a cyberattack.

Being the oldest of two brothers, Pierre saw firsthand his younger siblings’ online activity and wondered if they were safe. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, Pierre was interested in law enforcement, prompting him to apply to the 4+1 cybersecurity program at Quinnipiac.

However, Pierre didn’t plan to create a nonprofit, until he enrolled in Assistant Professor of Management Danielle Beerli’s “Introduction to Nonprofit” course, where he learned the history of nonprofits, the differences between nonprofits and for-profits and how to write mission and vision statements.

“I went into class thinking we were going to talk about nonprofits … but when we had our first class, she said we were going to be making our own nonprofit,” Pierre said. “I was like that’s not what I signed up for. At the same time, I’m already here. I may as well put my effort into this and see what I can do.”

When thinking of ideas, Pierre leaned on the thought of creating a nonprofit to help children stay safe online. Originally wanting the name to be “Cookies 4 Kids,” a play on how websites use cookies to track users, but the name was already taken. Soon, with the help of a class assignment, he settled on “Digital Defenders.”

Though students create these projects for classroom purposes, Beerli saw Pierre’s potential and wanted him to make his idea a reality.

“(The projects are) all really good, but there’s probably one or two that stand out,” Beerli said.

Beerli, who is the founder of Belle Sol — a nonprofit motivating women and young girls through social and emotional skills — guided Pierre through the registration process. With support from his stepmother, who also runs a nonprofit, Pierre found guidance in those who saw his vision.

“She’s a very welcoming person, so I wasn’t closed off to asking her questions about her nonprofit,” Pierre said. “I think her just being so open and emailing me and asking me how it’s going, if I need help, I think that really helped me a lot to be able to open up to her and ask her for her input on certain things.”

Pierre’s process involved receiving feedback on the mission, finding board members, getting tax exemptions from the IRS, filling out paperwork and calling state and government agencies.

“We started going at it for real in January, and we didn’t get the final approval until July,” Pierre said. “There’s a lot of setbacks, but it definitely was worth it.”

Pierre is Beerli’s first student in five years to take the initiative to start a nonprofit.

“I think they all (leave class with the same feeling of, “Wow, I did something, look what I made,” and it was something that meant a lot to me,” Beerli said. “There are some that are personal … but nobody’s ever done it, so it was really awesome.”

Pierre has already found potential donors and is looking to line up activities with schools, libraries and community centers starting in October. The nonprofit will use “hands-on learning” about online safety through interactive games, role-playing scenarios and engaging web applications, according to Digital Defenders Inc.

Pierre started a GoFundMe page in hopes of receiving donations.

The past eight months have been filled with challenging moments, but Pierre said the experience taught him perseverance.

“There were so many things where it kind of tested how bad did I want to open this,” Pierre said. “I think over time it came to me like, ‘you know what, if you want it, then do it anyway.’ So I kind of put my head down and started going.”