 WHAT IS JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT?
JA Worldwide ( Junior Achievement) is the
world’s largest organization dedicated to
educating students about work readiness,
entrepreneurship and financial literacy
through experiential, hands-on programs.
Junior Achievement programs help
prepare young people for the real world
by showing them how to generate wealth
and effectively manage it, how to create
jobs which make their communities more
robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial
thinking to the workplace. Students
put these lessons into action, and help
strengthen their communities.
PURPOSE
JA Worldwide’s purpose is to inspire and
prepare young people to succeed in a
global economy.
PROGRAM REACH
JA Worldwide reaches 9.3 million students
per year in 367,305 classrooms and
afterschool locations.
JA programs are
taught by volunteers in inner cities,
suburbs, and rural areas throughout the
United States of America and in more than
123 countries around the world.
VOLUNTEERS
JA Worldwide’s 287,000 classroom volunteers around the world
come from all walks of life and include business people,
college students, parents, and retirees. These dedicated
individuals are the backbone of the organization.
PROVEN SUCCESS
JA is one of a few global nonprofits to
use independent, third-party evaluators
to gauge the impact
of its programs.
Since 1993, independent evaluators have
conducted studies on JA’s effectiveness.
Findings prove that JA has a positive
impact in a number of critical areas.
These results are
available free upon
request. Summaries of the findings also
are published in the JA Programs
section
at
www.ja.org.
LEADERSHIP
Ralph de la Vega, President and
CEO of AT&T Mobility, is chairman
of the JA Worldwide board of directors.
Sean C. Rush is president and chief
executive officer. A total of 64 JA
Worldwide board members represent a
wide range of businesses and academic
institutions around the world.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Junior Achievement was founded in
1919 by Theodore Vail president of
American Telephone & Telegraph;
Horace Moses, president of Strathmore
Paper Co.; and Senator Murray Crane of
Massachusetts. Its first program,
JA Company Program, was offered to
high school students on an after-school
basis. In 1975, the organization entered
the classroom with the introduction of
Project Business for the middle
grades. Over the last 30 years, JA has
expanded its activities and broadened its
scope to include in-school and afterschool
students.
FUNDING
JA Worldwide Headquarters operates on a $32 million annual
budget; more than $266 million (gross revenue) is raised by JA
offices around the world and from individual contributors and
hundreds of corporations and foundations.
ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
JA Worldwide is headquartered in
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
The Headquarters office provides
strategic direction, leadership, and
support to approximately 3,362
employees worldwide. Local volunteer
boards of directors comprised of
business, education, and civic leaders
set the policy and direction for each
local office.
For More Information, Contact:
JA Worldwide Headquarters
One Education Way
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
719-540-8000
Web site: www.ja.org
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