Global Citizen Year is an award-winning non-profit social enterprise re-inventing the “gap year” between high school and college as America’s launch pad for global leaders. 

Each year, we recruit and train a diverse corps of our country’s brightest young leaders, and support them through a school-year long immersion in communities that represent the “global majority” (current placements include Brazil, Ecuador, Senegal, and India). Our fellows live with local families and apprentice with projects in education, public health, and the environment. The depth and length of their immersion is transformative: by living alongside the problems they’re solving, our fellows experience first-hand the difference between “feel good” and “real good” in creating social change.  

Since our launch in 2010, we’ve grown our operations 15x. Our nearly 600 alumni are thriving in college and careers, and have been honored as Fulbright Scholars, Davis Peace Prize winners, Teach For America corps members, and Peace Corps volunteers. We have raised $15M in seed capital from a growing roster of funders and partners and awarded $10M+ in financial aid to ensure each cohort reflects our nation’s diversity. We’ve built a talented global team, advisory council and board of directors, and our work has been featured in prominent forums from The Washington Post to the Aspen Ideas Festival, and by thought leaders including Katie Couric and Nicholas Kristof. 
 

Ultimately, we envision a world in which a Global Citizen Year becomes a new rite of passage — transforming education and unleashing our next generation as social innovators and global citizens.