The second project was beginning around the same time, and it was originally entitled the SacraTech Foundation. The inspiration for that Foundation began with a collaborative research project between Daniel Michaels, Jay Hammond and J.A. Wayne Hellmann in the Summer of 2000. [Earlier Daniel and Jay had met during their graduate studies at Saint Louis University. Both studied under J.A. Wayne Hellmann, OFM Conv. and were dedicated to supporting the Franciscan tradition.] The three worked to identify St. Bonaventure's interpretation and use of Scipture in his theological and hagiographical works. Daniel focused on Bonaventure's Scriptural exegesis and its applicaton in art. Toward this end, he developed a virtual web-based 2-D interactive reproduction of the upper church of the basilica of St. Franicis in Assisi which was presented at a seminar on Aesthetics and Religion at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim, Norway) and again at the Sacro Convento in Assisi, Italy. Shortly thereafter, Wayne, Daniel, and Jay utilized the software to present their research at the College Theology Society in Portland, Oregon. The new theological software allowed the three to uncover new interpretations of Bonaventure's exegesis - particularly its application in art. These discoveries inspired Daniel to experiment with a new interactive 3D model of the basilica, later presented at the International Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo (Michigan), Rome (Itlay), and again in Assisi (Italy) the following year.

The new software was now receiving national and international attention. The positive responses convinced Daniel and Jay to start a non-profit organization, the SacraTech Foundation. In April 2002 the foundation incorporated and held its first board meeting. In November 2002 it received its 501(c)(3) non-profit status from the IRS. This ruling freed the foundation to pursue its vision of establishing an endowment to provide support for a combination of theological and technical tools for scholarly research in theology and its expression in visual terms. The January 2003 board meeting elected Daniel Michaels Executive Director and Jay Hammond as the Associate Director of the foundation.