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 partnerships
On the corporate side, national and local partnership models offer companies the ability to pretty much design their own City Year experiences. The organization’s National Leadership Sponsors are ARAMARK, Bank of America, Cisco, Comcast, CSX, Pepperidge Farm, Pepsi, Timberland and T-Mobile. Outdoor-wear giant Timberland, for example, started out by donating 50 pairs of boots to corps members in Boston in 1989. From that initial donation, Timberland helped found City Year New York; President and CEO Jeffrey Swartz served as chair of City Year’s National Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2002; and the company became the organization’s official outfitter, providing 1,500 corps members and staff with full uniforms.