NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Youth INC held its 25th Annual Celebration Gala at the Grand Hyatt New York last night. The event raised over $2.1 million to directly support Youth INC’s work and also helped 10 nonprofit partners raise over $825,000 to fuel each of their organizations.
Youth INC builds the capacity of grassroots nonprofits and provides them with tools and resources to measure and maximize their impact. Over the past twenty-five years, the organization has raised over $100 million to empower more than 180 nonprofits that have collectively impacted over 1 million NYC kids.
“At Youth INC, we believe all young people deserve the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to succeed in life,” said Rehana Farrell, executive director of Youth INC. “When you pair our industry-leading work in impact evaluation with our capacity building programs in fundraising, governance and leadership, you get a powerful combination that puts us at the forefront of venture philanthropy.”
The Celebration Gala marked the culmination of Youth INC’s year-long fundraising training program for 10 of Youth INC’s nonprofit partners, where Alan Schwartz, Executive Chairman of Guggenheim Partners was honored. Mr. Schwartz was presented with the John C. Whitehead Leadership Award by Peter Georgescu for his dedication to improving the lives of New York City youth. “I have long admired Alan’s commitment to empowering our city’s young people, so it was great to see him honored on this occasion,” said Peter Georgescu, a friend of the honoree and supporter of the event. “More remarkable still was seeing New Yorkers from so many different industries, backgrounds, and perspectives come together to invest in our next generation.”
Nicole Doyle, an alumna of Youth INC’s nonprofit partner Row NY, graduate of Marist College, and now an analyst at Goldman Sachs, spoke passionately about the impact of Row NY’s programs. “The skills I honed at Row New York help me every day,” she said. “I had a place where people cared about me, believed in me, and saw something in me that I couldn’t even imagine at the time . . . I am proof that Youth INC’s model works.” The evening was punctuated by an inspiring theatrical youth presentation as well as a stirring tribute to the late Alex Navab, who was a Youth INC supporter and advocate for almost 25 years.
One of the celebrants in the audience was Youth INC founder and National Advisory Board member, Steve Orr. Reflecting on the organization’s evolution over the past twenty-five years, he said, “Looking around the room, I see so many faces who have been with us on this journey since the beginning and so many new faces joining us. It is truly humbling. I am so proud of what we have accomplished and really excited by our potential to do even more.”
Dinner Vice-Chairs included: Todd Boehly (Eldridge Industries), Gregory J. Fleming (Rockefeller Capital Management), Jeffrey R. Holzschuh (Morgan Stanley), Stephen K. Orr (Orr Group), Rick Schifter (TPG Capital), George Stamas (Gibson Dunn), Paul J. Taubman (PJT Partners), Mark Van Lith (Guggenheim Securities), Ted Virtue (MidOcean Partners), John E. Waldron (Goldman Sachs), and Jonathan G. Weiss (Wells Fargo Securities).
Sponsors of the evening included: AIG, Allen & Overy, Alphaserve, American Airlines, Antares Capital, Ares Management, Bain & Company, BNP Paribas, Boston Consulting Group, Canaccord Genuity, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, FTI Consulting, Gibson Dunn, Gladstone Place Partners, Goldman Sachs, Gray Foundation, Guggenheim Partners, Hilton, Investcorp, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, KKR, KPMG, Madison Square Garden, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, MUFG, Overdeck Family Foundation, Paul|Weiss, Pricewaterhouse Cooper, RBC Capital Markets, Refinitiv, Ropes & Gray, Scotiabank, Skadden, The Chris and Loretta Stadler Foundation, United Airlines, Verizon Foundation, Vinson & Elkins LLP Weil, and White & Case.
Youth INC’s 10 participating Nonprofit Organizations were: America SCORES New York, Beam Center, Chess in the Schools, Drama Club, Girl Be Heard, Roads to Success, The Reading Team, Saint Barnabas High School, STEM from Dance, and viBe Theater Experience.
Contact:
Vanessa Marquez
vmarquez@youthinc-usa.org
(212) 401-4049
About Youth INC
Youth INC’s mission is to transform the lives of NYC youth by empowering the organizations that serve them. Youth INC’s network of 80 grassroots nonprofits collectively champion the lives of more than 200,000 young people across New York City. Youth INC provides our nonprofit partners with the coaching, capital, and connections to achieve sustainable growth and maximize their impact. Our fundraising, governance, and impact evaluation programs yield incredible results. Over the course of a partnership with Youth INC, our partners experience average growth in revenue of 154%, board size of 38%, and youth served of 180%. Using our pioneering Metrics Platform, our partners helped 80% of their young people surveyed to improve key Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills that scholars agree are the most predictive indicators of success in school, career and life. Since inception, our venture philanthropy model has raised over $100 million and empowered over 180 nonprofits, impacting the lives of 1 million NYC youth.
To learn more about Youth INC, visit www.youthinc-usa.org.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6554c460-2e5f-45e7-b915-26f8f10d3c05