City Year Columbia Named Bank of America’s 2023 Neighborhood Champion®

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COLUMBIA – Bank of America today announced City Year Columbia as the 2023 Neighborhood Champion® awardee for their work advancing economic mobility and building up underserved neighborhoods in Columbia. Through this multi-year grant funding and leadership training for the nonprofits’ leadership, programs and services addressing the lack of equitable access to educational opportunities for youth will be able to expand.

As part of the bank’s Neighborhood Builders program, one of the largest philanthropic investments into nonprofit leadership development in the nation, Neighborhood Champions provides funding and leadership training to nonprofits that are advancing economic mobility and building up underserved neighborhoods.

Through the program, City Year Columbia will receive the opportunity to participate in virtual leadership training delivered by experts in the nonprofit sector on topics like human capital management, increasing financial sustainability and storytelling and a $50,000 grant over two years.

City Year’s mission is to help students and young adults succeed, and they train and deploy diverse teams of AmeriCorps members to serve full-time as Student Success Coaches in systemically under-resourced schools. These coaches provide a comprehensive range of services to help students graduate from high school prepared for college and career success. In return, City Year also provides the coaches with extensive training, meaningful work experience, and an evidence-based workforce development program to prepare them for their careers following their year of service.

Bank of America has a longstanding relationship with City Year, and this new grant funding will allow them to advance beyond their current capacity and meet the growing needs of the Columbia community. In addition to helping City Year expand services into a new school, this funding will also help them launch a pilot program focused on internship opportunities.

“In Columbia, our local youth face significant educational barriers, and City Year Columbia is dedicated to addressing these challenges in underserved schools,” said Tanika Epp, executive director, City Year Columbia. “The generous award and funding from Bank of America as the 2023 Neighborhood Champion will not only help us expand our services and reach, but it will also enable us to strategically plan for long-term success, ensuring that we can continue making a real and lasting impact on our community’s educational landscape and workforce development.

The invitation-only program is highly competitive, and nonprofits are selected by a committee comprised of community leaders and past awardees. Five nonprofits have been selected as Builders in Columbia since 2019, with the bank investing $250,000 into these local nonprofits.

“City Year plays an important role in addressing educational barriers and challenges for our area youth in under-resourced schools,” said Vaughn Reynolds, president, Bank of America Columbia. “We are committed to providing the resources in flexible funding and leadership training to help position City Year for sustainable, long-term success, as they continue creating real change in our community.”

Since 2004, Bank of America has invested more than $300 million in nearly 100 communities across the U.S., partnered with more than 1,600 nonprofits, and helped more than 3,000 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills through the Neighborhood Builders and Champions program.

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