Partners & Supporters
Help Build the Infrastructure of Opportunity.
Youth in Orbit is building a pathway from curiosity to capability, from Buffalo classrooms to the global watch industry.
We invite companies, foundations, institutions, philanthropists, and community leaders to help us create experiences, resources, and opportunities worthy of the young people we serve.
BECOME A PARTNER | VIEW SPONSORSHIP PACKET
“There Is More Than One Way to Help a Student Reach Orbit.”
Corporate Sponsorship — Fund cohorts, student materials, programming, Exhibition Night, transportation, and other program operations.
Swiss Experience Support — Help remove financial barriers to international educational travel and global horological exposure.
Equipment & In-Kind Support — Provide tools, technology, materials, professional services, facilities, transportation, and other resources.
Industry Partnership — Host students, provide guest professionals, offer facility visits, mentorship, technical expertise, manufacturing exposure, internships, or career pathways.
Philanthropic Support — Support Youth in Orbit's long-term institutional development, accessibility, scholarships, expansion, and Acts of Return.
Strategic Partnership — Collaborate with YiO on education, workforce development, youth opportunity, economic mobility, design, entrepreneurship, or community development.
Why Youth in Orbit?
Youth in Orbit is not built around one-time exposure.
Students move through a structured educational pathway encompassing horology, design, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, financial literacy, marketing, professional communication, leadership, and global readiness.
They earn competency-based credentials. They develop portfolios. They contribute to the creation and commercialization of a real watch. They present their work publicly. They build relationships with professionals and institutions. They are challenged to return what they have learned to the communities that helped shape them.
Support for Youth in Orbit helps build durable infrastructure around young people—not simply memorable experiences.
Youth in Orbit Model
LEARN → CREATE → LEAD → RETURN
30 Weeks of Instruction → 10 Weeks of Execution → Watch Expo → Swiss Experience Pathway → Alumni Leadership Ladder → Acts of Return
What Your Support Makes Possible.
Your partnership can help provide:
Student Kits and educational materials; horology tools and equipment; technology and design resources; instructor and program staffing; transportation and field experiences; guest professional programming; cohort watch prototyping and production; Youth in Orbit Watch Expo operations; Swiss Experience readiness and travel; student accessibility supports; credential administration; alumni leadership opportunities; and long-term program growth.
Accountability & Stewardship
Built to Earn Trust.
Youth in Orbit is governed by formal operating policies covering financial management, procurement, safeguarding, data governance, risk management, partnerships, evaluation, travel, student safety, and institutional accountability.
Partnerships are documented. Restricted funds are tracked. Conflicts of interest are disclosed and reviewed. Program performance is evaluated. Student access and safeguarding cannot be purchased by sponsors.
We believe institutions serving young people should be as intentional about accountability as they are about ambition
Explore the Partnership Opportunity
Youth in Orbit Sponsorship Packet
Review Youth in Orbit's sponsorship opportunities, partnership philosophy, program model, proposed benefits, and opportunities to help build the institution.
VIEW/DOWNLOAD SPONSORSHIP PACKET
Request a Conversation
Interested in supporting Youth in Orbit, funding a specific initiative, providing equipment or expertise, hosting students, or developing a strategic partnership?
We welcome conversations with organizations and individuals who share our commitment to expanding access, developing capability, and creating pathways to opportunity.