NYC Nonprofits New Heights & Pursuit Named BofA Neighborhood Builders

Programs and services that encourage economic mobility and reduce barriers to workforce development not only connect New Yorkers.

Connect New Yorkers with much-needed resources but help create meaningful employment and bolster the local economy. Recognized for their work in helping others chart a path toward economic opportunity, New York City-based nonprofits New Heights and Pursuit have been named as 2022 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders®.

Each organization receives a $200,000 grant; comprehensive leadership training for the executive director and an emerging leader on topics ranging from increasing financial sustainability, human capital management, and strategic storytelling; and joins a network of peer organizations across the U.S. The training program continues to be the nation’s largest investment in nonprofit leadership development.

“Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program helps local nonprofits develop and broaden their programming to address short-term needs, as well as create lasting stability in the communities they serve,” said José Tavarez, President, Bank of America New York City. “New Heights and Pursuit are two organizations that work to close gaps in opportunity for youth and systemic barriers in the tech industry to help drive social progress through academic and workforce skills training. I welcome both to our Neighborhood Builders family and look forward to seeing their continued impact.”

New Heights is a New York City-based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping underserved youth graduate from high school and college. Blending basketball programming with educational, social-emotional learning and college preparatory services, New Heights creates opportunities for young people to succeed academically and become leaders throughout their lives. Programming takes place after school, on the weekends and during the summer, and includes mentoring, tutoring, test prep and financial literacy resources. To revitalize and bolster its College Bound and Career Assist initiatives, New Heights will use Neighborhood Builders funding to hire a College and Career Assist Manager, as well as expand programming to include professional development, mentoring, internships, job search assistance and networking events among other key services.

“In New York City, disparities in high school graduation and college matriculation for lower-income students persist. These gaps can impact economic stability and opportunity in life beyond school, which is why New Heights helps students improve academic performance and career readiness through the support and services we provide,” said Ted Smith, Executive Director, New Heights. “As a 2022 Bank of America Neighborhood Builder, we are thrilled to expand our team and programming to continue empowering youth across the city.”

Pursuit is a nonprofit organization that addresses inequities and systemic barriers to entry in the tech industry by empowering adults from low-income backgrounds to make lasting and sustainable transitions into high-paying tech jobs. In addressing a lack of equitable access to software engineering training, exclusionary and ineffective hiring practices, as well as limited funding, Pursuit helps ensure that workers from marginalized communities both establish and thrive in their tech careers. With its Neighborhood Builders funding, Pursuit plans to double the number of Fellows in its training program and expand community outreach efforts.

“Low-income and marginalized communities have largely been left out of the life-changing career and wealth-generating opportunities brought about by tech,” said Jukay Hsu, Co-founder & CEO, Pursuit. “This is a loss, not only for those communities but also for the tech industry, who misses out on hiring and developing top-notch talent.

Our mission at Pursuit is to change this – to remove barriers to opportunity through world-class training, and workforce development, and by working alongside top companies to shift long-held industry beliefs and practices. The 2022 Bank of America Neighborhood Builder award will not only enable us to reach more talented people, but will also support our team as they develop the crucial leadership skills needed to advance our mission of creating a more diverse, inclusive and equitable tech industry.”

In New York City, Bank of America has selected 38 nonprofits as Neighborhood Builders to date, investing more than $7.6M in these local organizations. The invitation-only program is highly competitive, and organizations are selected by a committee comprised of community leaders and past Neighborhood Builders honorees.

Through 2021, Bank of America has invested over $280 million in 50 communities through Neighborhood Builders, partnering with more than 1,400 nonprofits and helping more than 2,800 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills. 

Neighborhood Builders is just one example of how Bank of America deploys capital in communities, builds cross-sector partnerships, and promotes socioeconomic progress as part of its approach to responsible growth.

Bank of America Environmental, Social and Governance

At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with.

It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).

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New Heights Youth, Inc.

New Heights Youth, Inc. is a sports-based youth development organization that combines basketball programming with academic support and college preparatory services. Our mission is to educate and empower promising underserved youth to be leaders, champions and student-athletes by developing the skills necessary for success in high school, college and life. 

New Heights has guided hundreds of girls and boys to and through high school and college, and has produced a strong track record. Since our inception in 2005, we have demonstrated 100% high school graduation, 98% college matriculation and over 75% college graduation rates. Beyond the numbers, our youth show increases in self-esteem, self-confidence and self-advocacy that extend beyond sports and prepare them for life beyond high school.

Learn more at www.newheightsnyc.org (@newheightsnyc)

Pursuit

Pursuit is an innovative social impact organization whose mission is to close the opportunity gap in America. Each year, their work builds pathways to lucrative, long-term tech careers for hundreds of adults with the most need and potential. Pursuit’s Fellows are 100% low-income;70% Black or Latino; 40% first-generation immigrants; 50% women, trans, or non-binary; and 60% do not have a Bachelor’s Degree. On average, Pursuit Fellows increase their annual income from $18,000 to nearly $90,000, and work at leading companies, including Citi, Uber, and Amazon.

Pursuit Fellows begin their journey with a year of high-quality, intensive, and supportive training, followed by three years of career development once they’ve been hired. Pursuit also works directly with companies to secure hiring commitments, which results in equitable employment practices, improved workplace culture, and on-the-job support. To ensure Pursuit’s training is sustainable and scalable, they have also created the Pursuit Bond, a revolutionary funding mechanism that allows nonprofits a way to tap into both philanthropic capital as well as impact investor funding. By connecting talent with opportunity, Pursuit empowers their Fellows to bring change to their families, tech companies, and communities across the nation.

To learn more, visit pursuit.org

Photo credit: From left to right: Fernando Nuñez, Senior Vice President, Preferred Lending Region Executive Bank of America; Ted Smith, Executive Director, New Heights; Khalid Green, Community Basketball Director, New Heights; Raquel Martinez, Director of Admissions, Pursuit; Jukay Hsu, Co-Founder & CEO, Pursuit; Victoria Liu, Director of Institutional Giving & Relations; A.J. Walton, Sr. Director of Communications, Pursuit; Connie Verducci, Market Executive, Bank of America New York Citibank. By Neighborhood Builders Group.