about
junior achievement

Junior Achievement® (JA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy.

Junior Achievement was founded in 1919 by a few of the country’s top business leaders who felt that young people were not leaving high school prepared for the workforce. Today, Junior Achievement reaches more than 10 million students in over 100 countries and every U.S. state.

Junior Achievement of central ohio

Founded in 1950, Junior Achievement of Central Ohio serves more than 30,000 K-12 students each year. In the 2018/2019 school year, nearly 4,000 community volunteers participated in the delivery of our programs.

Junior Achievement of Central Ohio imagines a future where each new generation of students is inspired and prepared to achieve personal success in their career and in life. To accomplish this, JA provides career readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship programs to students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. JA programs are highly interactive, align with state learning standards, and are delivered by community volunteers.

Learn more about JA of Central Ohio at https://centralohio.ja.org/.

JA of central ohio BY the numbers

The 2019/2020 academic year was a challenging one. In March, our traditional, in-person programming ceased due to COVID-19. Junior Achievement of Central Ohio quickly adapted, however, to provide students with digital experiences that hone foundational career skills, ignite entrepreneurial thinking, and foster financial prudence.

2019-2020 School Year

• 26,093 students

• 1,876 volunteer roles filled

• 1,047 classes

• 209 schools

• 15 counties

• 258,419 hours of instruction

• 47 school districts

JA alumni stats

JA USA conducted a national survey (2016) and found that JA alumni - Americans who had at least one JA program during their K-12 education - obtain higher levels of education, career satisfaction, income, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship when compared to the general public.

• Alumni earn 20% more income than the general public

• They are 143% more likely to be involved in entrepreneurship

• 88% say they’re satisfied with their career, compared to 48% of the general public

• 90% are confident in their ability to manage their finances

• Alumni are 30% more likely to have a bachelor’s degree

• 47% of alumni have paid off their student loans in 10 years or less compared to the average 21 years for a US college graduate with a 4-year degree

• 1 in 5 alumni works in the same field as their JA volunteer