Junior Achievement Receives $7.5 Million From Lilly Endowment Inc. To Deliver Educational Programs to Students in Indiana
Colorado Springs, CO – Junior Achievement USA (JA) announced today that it is receiving $7.5 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to strengthen the delivery of JA’s educational programs to students in Indiana through Junior Achievement offices based in Indianapolis (JA of Central Indiana), Fort Wayne (JA of Northern Indiana), and Evansville (JA of Southwestern Indiana).
JA will work with its three Indiana affiliates to make capital improvements to on-site programs offered in Indiana communities, strengthen college and career readiness programs, increase the number of students served and engage more corporate partners in JA youth-development efforts.
“Helping young people become work and career ready is a priority for Junior Achievement,” said Jack E. Kosakowski, President and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. “Lilly Endowment’s support is a major investment in giving the young people of Indiana the best chance of linking their interests, talents, and passions to future jobs or careers that are fulfilling for them and that benefit our communities as a whole.”
The grant is one of nine grants totaling $91.5 million that Lilly Endowment has made to national youth-serving organizations to help them enhance and expand the impact of their Indiana affiliates and chapters. The grants reflect the Endowment’s longstanding commitment to the healthy development of youth in Indiana and to the youth workers and organizations that serve them.
“At Lilly Endowment we believe that this support will help Junior Achievement USA and the other organizations funded serve more effectively in Indiana and reach even more youth,” said Ted Maple, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for education. “We also are pleased by the interest many of these organizations have in replicating strategies that succeed in Indiana with their affiliates and chapters around the country.”
The funding to JA will be used in the following ways:
- Capital Support | JA will develop, expand, and enhance the state’s JA Discovery Centers, which house JA’s inimitable JA BizTown and JA Finance Park capstone spaces, as well as other experiential learning and engagement opportunities.
- Program Support | JA will expand the time-tested JA BizTown, JA Finance Park, and JA JobSpark programs to ensure more equitable access and will enhance the JA Finance Park program to increase student engagement. JA will also maximize the impact of local innovation by further developing and enhancing several new regional pilot programs and resources (i.e., JA 4E Workshop & Fair, JA Here to Career, the JA Work & Career Readiness Certificate, JA Innovation Challenge, and JA Industry Challenge). These programs and resources are new, exciting, and show great promise for future statewide expansion.
- Capacity Building | JA will invest in a number of capacity-building activities to ensure organizational stability and help sustain the JA career and postsecondary readiness continuum long into the future.
Implementation of this investment will begin this fall.
About Junior Achievement USA® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 3.2 million students per year in 103 markets across the United States, as part of more than 12.5 million students served by operations in 115 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K.Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. Although the Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
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