The Bakery Run
Transit · 1h 30m · 5.7 mi · 3 stops
Three bakeries, three neighborhoods, three buses and trains.
Partnership OpportunitiesPartner with
Partner with
Shift Your Summer 2026
Shift Your Summer is an 8-week active transportation challenge, open to anyone in Massachusetts, that encourages people to walk, bike, and ride transit all summer long. The Shift app automatically detects active trips — no manual logging — and participants build streaks, unlock achievements, rise through status tiers, and become eligible for prizes.
We’re looking for corporate sponsors and prize donors to help make it happen.
8Weeks · June 15 – August 15
OpenTo all of Massachusetts
2006Year GSI was founded
Active transportation is surging.
Massachusetts is in the middle of a generational shift. New protected bike lanes, expanded transit service, and redesigned streetscapes are changing how people move. Ridership is climbing. Bike commuting is up. Walking rates in metro Boston consistently rank among the highest in the country.
The infrastructure is improving — and people are ready to use it. What’s missing is the nudge: a reason to try that first bike commute, take transit to work, or walk to the store. Active trips are faster, healthier, cheaper — and genuinely fun. Most people just haven’t built the habit yet.
For partners, it’s an opportunity to align your brand with a visible, positive, community-driven campaign — one that generates measurable environmental impact and authentic engagement with an audience that values sustainability.
Explore Massachusetts with Roams
Roams are curated, multi-stop active transportation adventures built into the Shift app — guided explorations by foot, by bike, or by transit. Each Roam includes a map, turn-by-turn stops, terrain details, and contextual information like nearby Bluebikes docks (with real-time availability), transit boarding points (with next arrival times), and tips for people trying a mode for the first time. Completing Roams during Shift Your Summer unlocks prize eligibility.
The Charles Loop
Bike · 1h 15m · 4.1 mi · 6 stops
The ride everyone should do at least once.
The World Cup Express
Transit · 8h · 24.6 mi · 2 stops
South Station to Foxborough on the Stadium Train. No traffic on Route 1.
North Point to City Hall
Bike · 1h 30m · 1.6 mi · 3 stops
The ride that proves Boston is a bike city — almost entirely on protected lanes.
Photo: John Phelan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Shining Sea Bikeway
Bike · 3h · 8.8 mi · 7 stops
Massachusetts' first rail trail traces 10.7 miles from North Falmouth to Woods Hole along the Cape's glacial coast.
Photo courtesy of MassTrails10 / MassDOT
MCRT: Wachusett Greenways
Bike · 2h 30m · 7.3 mi · 6 stops
An 8.6-mile stretch of the Mass Central Rail Trail through Central Massachusetts' rolling countryside.
Photo: Karl Alexander
Alewife Brook to Mystic River Greenway
Bike · 2h · 6.7 mi · 5 stops
A 7.1-mile urban greenway connecting Cambridge's Alewife Station to Medford's Wellington Station along two river corridors.
Photo: Pi.1415926535 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
MCRT: Sudbury to Hudson (SudHud)
Bike · 2h · 5.4 mi · 5 stops
A 7.8-mile section of the Mass Central Rail Trail through MetroWest, connecting South Sudbury to downtown Hudson.
Photo: Pi.1415926535 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Marblehead Rail Trail
Bike · 2h 30m · 4.9 mi · 7 stops
A 5.1-mile trail connecting Marblehead's historic harbor district to Salem's waterfront.
Photo: John Phelan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Manhan Rail Trail
Bike · 2h · 4.3 mi · 6 stops
A 6.5-mile trail from Northampton to Easthampton in the Pioneer Valley, with a spur to Mount Tom.
Photo: Seasider53 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Battle Road Trail
Walk · 3h · 4.9 mi · 7 stops
A 7-mile trail through Minuteman National Historical Park retracing the route of the opening battles of the American Revolution.
Photo: John Phelan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Twin Cities Rail Trail
Bike · 1h 30m · 4.1 mi · 9 stops
A 4.1-mile paved trail connecting Fitchburg and Leominster in north-central Massachusetts.
Photo courtesy of MassTrails10 / MassDOT
WWII Veterans Memorial Trail
Bike · 2h · 3.4 mi · 5 stops
A 6.9-mile trail from Mansfield to Norton in southeastern Massachusetts, built on the rail corridor that served Camp Myles Standish during World War II.
Photo courtesy of MassTrails10 / MassDOT
Silvio O. Conte: Fort River Trail
Walk · 45m · 0.9 mi · 8 stops
A 1.2-mile fully accessible loop through the Silvio O.
The Freedom Trail
Walk · 2h · 3.5 mi · 16 stops
Sixteen stops, 2.5 miles, 400 years of history.
The Sunset Pedal
Bike · 1h · 1.6 mi · 2 stops
There's a reason cyclists line up on the Mass Ave Bridge at golden hour.
The B-Line Crawl
Transit · 3h 30m · 0.9 mi · 4 stops
Four consecutive B Line stops through the heart of Allston, each with a bar worth ducking into.
The Emerald Necklace Ride
Bike · 3h · 7.3 mi · 4 stops
Olmsted's seven-mile chain of parks, end to end.
Museum Hop
Multi-modal · 4h 30m · 3.6 mi · 3 stops
Three world-class museums, zero parking headaches.
The Minuteman
Bike · 3h 30m · 6.4 mi · 2 stops
Ten miles tracing the route the British marched in 1775.
Harbor Walk to Eastie Eats
Multi-modal · 3h · 1.7 mi · 3 stops
Boston's best-kept-secret Harborwalk + Latin American food scene.
Sail Boston: The Tall Ships Walk
Multi-modal · 6h · 2.3 mi · 2 stops
Walk from Charlestown Navy Yard to the Seaport during Sail Boston.
Salem by Rail
Transit · 6h · 16.6 mi · 2 stops
30 minutes from North Station drops you in downtown Salem.
The Community Path Connector
Bike · 2h 45m · 4 mi · 5 stops
Davis Square to Lovejoy Wharf, end-to-end on the new Somerville extension.
The Harbor Islands Hop
Multi-modal · 4h 32m · 18.1 mi · 4 stops
A national park 20 minutes from Long Wharf by ferry.
A City of Squares
Multi-modal · 36m · 4 mi · 5 stops
Four Cambridge squares, end to end, on the Red Line.
Fresh Pond Loop
Multi-modal · 34m · 1.5 mi · 5 stops
Cambridge's 155-acre reservoir, fully looped, no street crossings.
Scroll to explore →
Sponsorship
Three ways to partner.
Corporate sponsors help underwrite and promote Shift Your Summer. Sponsorship funds support paid advertising on Reddit, Nextdoor, Facebook, and Instagram to drive app installs, as well as event operations, prize fulfillment, and press outreach. Every sponsor receives co-branded promotional materials to distribute through their own channels.
Community
$1,000
- Logo on challenge sponsors page
- Custom team sign-up link & QR code for employees
- Co-branded digital promo kit
- Aggregate impact report at challenge close
- Social media mentions (2×) during the 8-week campaign
- 1 co-branded social graphic
Champion
$2,500
- Everything in Community, plus:
- App spotlight card in community feed (1 week)
- Logo in all challenge email communications
- Social media tags (6×) with co-branded assets
- 3 co-branded social graphics
- Sustainability report paragraph (ready-to-use)
- Employer platform access for 1 year
- Team-level impact report
Presenting
$5,000
- Everything in Champion, plus:
- "Presented by" naming across all channels
- Priority mention in press releases & media
- Wrap event hosting opportunity
- Prize association & winner announcement
- Social media tags (8×) across campaign
- Full social asset kit (6+ graphics)
- Monthly sponsor report (automated)
- Logo on Shift app challenge home screen
Custom packages available for multi-year or multi-event commitments.
Brand Alignment
Associate your brand with Massachusetts's largest active transportation initiative — a positive, community-driven campaign backed by a nonprofit with nearly two decades of credibility in the region.
Employee Engagement
Your team gets a custom challenge with its own leaderboard. The employer platform gives HR or sustainability teams a dashboard with participation data, trip counts, and environmental impact.
Impact Reporting
Every sponsor receives an impact report at challenge close: total trips, miles traveled, carbon emissions avoided, and communities activated. Champion and Presenting sponsors also receive team-level data and a ready-to-use paragraph for sustainability filings.
Press & Visibility
GSI conducts PR outreach to local media including the Boston Globe, GBH, Boston.com, Patch, and neighborhood outlets. All sponsors are listed on the challenge page with linked logos.
Prize Donations
Donate a prize, reach an audience.
Shift Your Summer participants become eligible for prizes by building streaks, hitting active trip milestones, and completing Roams. We’re looking for in-kind donations across three categories — and every donated prize comes with brand visibility for the donor.
Grand Prize
E-bikes, annual transit passes, high-value gear
The headline prize that draws attention to the challenge. Featured prominently in press outreach, social campaigns, and the winner announcement at the wrap event.
Weekly & Milestone Prizes
Bike accessories, gift cards, fitness gear
Awarded throughout the 8-week challenge for achievements like streak milestones and trip count thresholds. Keeps participants engaged and creates recurring social content.
Reward Catalog Items
Coffee, meals, local experiences
Rewards from local businesses that participants access as they rise through status tiers. Great for local shops, restaurants, and service providers who want ongoing visibility with active transportation users.
What prize donors receive
- Logo and link on the Shift Your Summer prizes page
- "Prize provided by" branding in the app when your prize is featured
- Social media mention when your prize is awarded
- Inclusion in the challenge wrap report
- Photo opportunity at the winner announcement (grand prize donors)
- Mention in press outreach (grand prize donors)
Become a Partner
Ready to get involved?
Tell us about your organization and how you’d like to participate. We’ll follow up within two business days with next steps and a partnership agreement.
Let’s shift
Massachusetts
together.
Sponsorship commitments and prize donations for Shift Your Summer 2026 are open now. Presenting sponsorship is limited to one partner. Reach out to discuss the right fit for your organization.