Launching the Greater NY Class of 2019

Greater NY launched its fourth class of partnerships on June 13, 2017. Ten new matches made a grand total of 60 Greater NY partnerships forged since the initiative was launched in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008.

Sharon Greenberger, GNY ‘18, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater New York, offered eight pieces of advice as a seasoned Greater New Yorker in her second year of Greater NY partnership:

• Focus on your problems.

• Take on the project that makes you nervous.

• Treat Greater NY as grad school. Take it seriously, stretch assignments, push yourself.

• Take the opportunity to live vicariously through another sector. Understand how the corporate mind works and use that experience.

• Use Greater NY to perfect your storytelling. Being eloquent is more important than ever.

• Test your own leadership. Greater NY is a safe space to share fears and acknowledge what you can’t figure out.

• Know that your partner is your ally.

• Elevate New York City. Work together to make it better.

Jamie Rubin, GNY ‘18, founder of Greater NY with Cheryl Cohen Effron, offered three key pieces of advice to corporate partners:

• Work to really understand what your nonprofit does. Ask questions, even if you think they are stupid questions.

• Recognize the opportunity on both sides and the value of a thought partner as advisor and friend.

• Remember, there’s nothing like New York City. The talent and ability to make things happen is unparalleled.

For a full list of the class of 2019, click here.

Greater NY matches partnerships on a rolling basis and launches a new class every April