City Year transforms the lives of two distinct sets of constituents — but it doesn’t stop there. Relying on powerful stories to engage them, it also transforms the lives of donors.

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

“[Corporate relationships] really vary all across the board,” Gordon explains. “In some ways, the highest profile partnerships really are our team sponsorships … where a company is branded in sponsoring a team. We will brand that team as Company X team, and we’ll put the name right on their City Year uniforms. As for our National Leadership Sponsors, I can’t say enough about the commitment that they have extended to City Year. In some cases, the partnership has huge visibility components to it (in addition to all NLS logos on team T-shirts), and, in other cases, it’s companies that are sponsoring large numbers of teams all across the U.S. In some cases, it’s the underwriting of our middle-school program. It may mean enhanced communication opportunities. It varies.