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

Those folks with the longest relationships to the organization — corps members from its first few years in existence — are in their mid-30s to mid-40s and most likely entrenched in their careers. Naturally, they skew younger than the national average for philanthropic givers, but many of the 10,000 alums consider their City Year experiences to have been life-altering and, perhaps, a precursor to the lives they’re leading now. And if that’s not a good reason to donate to City Year … what is?