American YouthWorks Awarded 2025 Neighborhood Builder by Bank of America

Multiyear investment and leadership training will support local workforce training and strengthen Central Texas communities

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, February 18, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Bank of America has named American YouthWorks a 2025 Neighborhood Builder^® in recognition of its long-standing impact preparing young adults for living-wage careers while addressing critical community needs, including housing stability, disaster recovery, and community resilience across Central Texas.

Bank of America’s signature Neighborhood Builders program continues to be one of the nation’s largest philanthropic investments into nonprofit leadership development, while providing unique multiyear flexible grant funding annually to high-impact nonprofits in communities nationwide.

“We are deeply honored to receive the Neighborhood Builders Award again, nearly twenty years after being named one of the first recipients in 2006. Our longstanding partnership with Bank of America has strengthened our mission and helped thousands of young people build brighter futures. As we celebrate 50 years of service, this new investment comes at a pivotal moment for American YouthWorks. It will allow us to strategically and sustainably expand our impact—creating high-quality training, education, and service opportunities for more young adults while addressing critical community needs such as disaster relief from the recent Central Texas floods, affordable housing for our unhoused neighbors, community health access, wildfire prevention, park and natural resource restoration, and access to technology. We are grateful for Bank of America’s continued belief in our work and their commitment to developing the next generation of community leaders,” says Parc Smith, CEO of American YouthWorks.

As a Neighborhood Builder awardee, American YouthWorks will receive a $200,000 grant in unrestricted funding over two years, recognizing the organization’s proven, community-responsive programming and measurable impact. This investment will advance the organization’s strategic growth and long-term sustainability, expanding high-quality training, education, and service opportunities for more young adults while strengthening community capacity in areas such as disaster recovery, affordable housing, wildfire prevention, forestry and natural resource restoration, and expanded access to technology.

The award also includes executive leadership development and access to a national peer network of high-performing nonprofits.

“A strong economy depends on a workforce that is both skilled and resilient, and American YouthWorks is helping build exactly that,” said David Bader, Bank of America Austin president. “Their innovative training programs empower young adults to step into good jobs and become the next generation of Texas leaders. As a Neighborhood Builder, their impact—both on workforce development and on the well-being of our region—will help create a more sustainable and prosperous future in our community.”

Founded in 1975, American YouthWorks prepares young adults with education, paid career training, and comprehensive support services through its nationally recognized, evidence-based Conservation Corps and YouthBuild programs. Participants gain industry-aligned skills, hands-on work experience, and clear pathways to meaningful careers while delivering tangible benefits to their communities.

Neighborhood Builders is part of Bank of America’s longstanding efforts to build thriving communities by addressing issues fundamental to economic opportunity. Since 2004, Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program has invested more than $346 million in communities across the U.S. and trained more than 4,000 leaders at nearly 2,000 U.S. nonprofits.

American YouthWorks
Celebrating over 50 years of service, American YouthWorks (AYW) connects young adults with meaningful pathways to education, paid career training, and comprehensive support - all at no cost to participants - through its AYW Conservation Corps and YouthBuild Pre-Apprenticeship Program. In a supportive learning environment, participants earn industry-recognized certifications while gaining on-the-job experience addressing urgent community needs such as disaster response, housing insecurity, environmental resilience, and access to technology, healthcare, and affordable housing. In addition to workforce development and skilled trades training, AYW provides support services including mental health counseling, food and transportation assistance, and college and job placement. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, AYW operates additional sites in Taylor, Houston, Baton Rouge, Oklahoma City, and Northwest Arkansas, serving young adults in rural and urban communities across the region. For more information on AYW, visit www.ayw.org or https://linktr.ee/americanyouthworks.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving nearly 70 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,600 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 59 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for news email alerts.

Jonnyka Bormann
American YouthWorks
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