LEI Impact Report 2021

JA IMPACT
REPORT

LILLY
ENDOWMENT INC.

TABLE OF 1 LETTER FROM THE CEO
2 JA IMPACT
CONTENTS 3 STRATEGIC PLAN
4 CONTRIBUTIONS
5 LEI IMPACT
8 MISSION IN ACTION
10 TESTIMONIALS
11 THANK YOU

JUNIOR
ACHIEVEMENT

Dear Lilly Endowment,

Thank you for putting your trust in Junior Achievement and investing in our mission
and programs over the last decade+. Through LEI funding and community support
over the past ten years, JA has increased student participation by 251%, giving
thousands of young people hope and a belief in their potential, building awareness
of how their interests and strengths connect to viable career options, and equipping
them with critical skills for success in work and in life. In 2010, JA made a
commitment to reach more under-resourced schools and placed at-risk students. As
a result, we have increased LMI student participation by 161% over the past decade.

While we are encouraged by the success stories of thousands of JA kids and teens,
we know there is much more to do. The past year has disrupted the landscape of
education and challenged us to redesign our program delivery in order to effectively
serve children in new ways, meeting them where they are, and providing the hope
and engagement needed to prevent the achievement gap from widening even
further. Through collaboration with our education and business partners, we have
successfully transitioned many of our programs to highly interactive digital platforms
for Pre-K-12 students, aimed at helping young people understand that while today
brings uncertainty, tomorrow can bring a brighter future for all.

The impact of COVID-19 will unfortunately be felt for years to come. However, there
are also greater opportunities for Junior Achievement to lead lasting change, and
this is our commitment. We have identified six key areas of strategic focus, including
expansion of our Inclusive Achievement Initiative to promote racial equity, inclusion
and social justice as an integral part of JA programming. We look forward to
continuing to build upon our shared commitment to help all young people reach their
full potential.

Sincerely,

President and CEO
Junior Achievement of Central Indiana

PAGE 01

JUNIOR
ACHIEVEMENT

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT

JA educates young people in the areas of career exploration,
employability/life skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and
philanthropy, and inspires them to explore and create
opportunities, to believe in their potential and make good choices
for their future.

IMPACT

Pre-K-12 experiential programs
In-person and digital delivery model
37,000+ annual student reach
60%+ LMI student population
5,000+ annual volunteers
300+ corporate partners
200+ urban, suburban and rural school partners

GOALS

All central Indiana children and teens will have equitable and
inclusive opportunities to experience the positive impact of JA’s
Pre-K-12 programs which will:

•Contribute to a sustained increase in high school graduation
rates and achievement of post-secondary plans;
•Decrease generational poverty; and
•Create a well-prepared talent pipeline for businesses and a
stronger central Indiana workforce and community.

PAGE 02

JUNIOR
ACHIEVEMENT

JA STRATEGIC PLAN

Scalable solutions to drive lasting change.

COMBAT HIGH SCHOOL
LEARNING PROGRAM
LOSS PRIORITY

INCLUSIVE STEM
ACHIEVEMENT INITIATIVE
INITIATIVE

WORKFORCE PRE-K-12+
DEVELOPMENT EXPANSION

PAGE 03

 LEI CONTRIBUTIONS

YEAR AMOUNT

2010 $3,000
2011 $7,600
2012 $320,000
2013 $3,000
2014 $303,500
2015 $55,750
2016 $3,500
2017 $981,935
2018 $304,200
2019 $6,368,500
2020 $319,000

TOTAL : $8,669,985

PAGE 04

JUNIOR
ACHIEVEMENT

LEI IMPACT

Lilly Endowment has invested in the mission of JA by generously supporting our programs
through multiple grants resulting in widespread communal and organizational impact.

2012: JA was awarded a two-year $317,000 grant to increase the reach and impact
of JA programs in Marion County and surrounding counties with a specific
focus on reaching underserved and placed at-risk youth. With the support of
LEI, JA increased student reach by 62% (11,968 in 2012 to 19,413 in 2014)
with an average of 59% of underserved students, a 24% increase from 2012.

2014: $300,000 was granted to JA to continue the impact of the 2012-2014 grant
and continue program expansion to underserved and placed at-risk youth.
During the 24-month grant period, JA delivered programs to 44,642 students,
58% of which are considered underserved. Funds from LEI allowed for 16,855
students to experience JA BizTown at a discounted rate or free of charge.

2015: JA received an instrumental Officer's Grant in 2015 to hire a Career Success
Manager, to oversee the execution and growth of JA's now largest program,
JA JobSpark. Cindy Kicinski was hired for this role in 2016 and has since
been promoted to Career Success Director.

2017: In 2017 JA received two $50,000 Officer's Grants to address immediate
needs. The first, to augment JA JobSpark curriculum and teacher training and
the second to enhance JA JobSpark through expanding volunteer training,
creating an interactive student app and to engage an education consultant to
develop strategies to increase school participation in the program. Funds
received made an instant and long lasting impact on the JA JobSpark
experience.

Following the Officer's Grants, JA was fortunate to receive $1,178,435
($300,000 of this amount was later awarded as part of a matching grant) over
two years to support JA's Career Success Initiative with a focus on increasing
the reach and impact of JA JobSpark and additional, complementary JA
middle and high school programs. During the 24 month grant period, JA
reached 27,516 middle and high school students, a 42% increase when
comparing middle & high school reach in 2017 to 2019. Funding from this
grant also allowed JA to create JA EduSpark, a holistic approach to student
career exploration, where educators are connected to local employers to
better understand and connect students to future opportunities.

PAGE 05

JUNIOR
ACHIEVEMENT

LEI IMPACT

2018: LEI matched up to $300,000 for every new dollar JA raised in support of the
Career Success Initiative. JA was fortunate to receive the full funding from LEI
after raising $435,633 from individual donors and corporate partners.

2019: In 2019, JA was fortunate to receive a $5 million Sustainability Grant to create
an endowment and invest in the long term health of the organization. In the
same year, JA received $1,365,000 to expand career exploration
opportunities and experiences through three key program initiatives. This
grant period ends September 2021.

2020: JA of Central Indiana, Northern Indiana and Southwestern Indiana collectively
received $319,000 as a part of the Youth Program Resilience Fund to support
organizational needs in response to COVID-19. JA used funds to invest in
digital enhancements and virtual platform creation for middle and high school
students to ensure learning did not stop and achievement gaps didn't widen
during the pandemic. To date, JACI has reached 24,219 students with our
digital programs this year and is projected to reach an additional 12,932 by
the end of the fiscal year.

JA Programs 2020-2021 JA Program Reach Projections

As of April 19, 2021 2020-2021

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JUNIOR
ACHIEVEMENT

LEI IMPACT

Annually, JA has received funding from LEI to support all
costs for student ambassadors to serve as emcees and

presenters at JA's largest event, the Central Indiana
Business Hall of Fame. For weeks leading up to the event
students work with JA staff to learn public speaking skills,

build confidence and have fun!
(pictured above)

PAGE 01

JUNIOR
ACHIEVEMENT

MISSION IN ACTION

JA
K-12 Programs

2020
JA JobSpark

Jobs!

(Video creation funded through the
2019 Career Exploration grant)

(click on the images to view videos)

PAGE 08

JUNIOR
ACHIEVEMENT

MISSION IN ACTION

PAGE 09

TESTIMONIALS

"JA has been the perfect launching pad for our middle school
students as they prepare to make the important choice of
where they want to attend high school next year. I could not
imagine a more impactful way for the students to explore
their post secondary options and prepare for the 3 E’s:
Enrollment, Enlistment, & Employment."
-Educator

"I feel like I was able to point
kids in a direction they had
not even been aware of yet
before JA JobSpark. The
most valuable part of my
volunteer experience was
hearing one of the students
say, 'I'm living my dream
right now!''
-JA Volunteer

"My biggest takeaway was
that any of us could be
successful in life."
-JA student

PAGE 10

Thank You

FOR YOUR ONGOING
SUPPORT OF OUR 
VITAL PROGRAMS

Junior Achievement of
Central Indiana

EMPOWERING YOUNG PEOPLE TO
OWN THEIR FUTURE SUCCESS.