Junior Achievement of New Jersey

How We Started

The History of Junior Achievement of New Jersey, Inc.

Junior Achievement was started in 1919 by Horace Moses. Moses was a businessman, an industrialist who owned a paper company in Springfield, Massachusetts. He found he was constantly retraining employees on skills he felt they should already know. Mr. Moses was also inspired by the 4-H Club in his region - a hands-on learning experience for kids to learn about farm life from those who lived on farms. He wanted to start a similar program where city kids could learn the essentials of business from those who worked in offices and factories throughout the city. He started Junior Achievement as a after-school program where kids would meet at a local site and actually start a company from scratch (similar to our "Company Program" today).

Horace Moses circa 1920

Through the years JA has made several changes and today we are the largest economic education program in the United States. Our programs reach students kindergarten though twelfth grade during school hours. Volunteers from the local community serve as role models and visit a classroom 5-8 times to present the Junior Achievement programs. JA provides a comprehensive training on our curriculum for all new volunteers.

Junior Achievement has been in existence in NJ since 1953 when JA opened its first office in Newark, NJ. JA opened satellite offices in Elizabeth in 1957, Camden in1965, and Princeton in 1985. In February 2001, four Junior Achievement operations across the State of NJ merged to become one statewide operation. The four offices that merged were: JA of Union County (Elizabeth), JA of Southern NJ (Camden), JA of Central NJ (Princeton), and JA of Northern NJ (Newark).

The consolidation was designed to create more opportunities in key areas and effectively reach more kids throughout the state. Benefits to the merger included:

Providing an opportunity to bring together all the great ideas and initiatives that the separate offices had in the past.
Creating new opportunities to connect more of the business community with schools throughout NJ.
Reaching more kids effectively and efficiently throughout NJ.
Strengthening the operations of the district offices.

This was the first time in the 87 year history of Junior Achievement Worldwide that separate JA offices consolidated into one statewide operation. The move was designed to better position Junior Achievement to reach more students, volunteers and potential business partners.

JANJ Leadership

Michael O’Loughlin	President	Jan 2000 - May 2002	Led JANJ for 19 months
Paul Miles	President	May 2002 - Jan. 2004	Led JANJ for 15 months
Catherine Milone*	President	Jan. 2004 - Present	*Employed w/ JA (NY & NJ) for more than 11 years

Organization Overview
Junior Achievement of New Jersey, though incorporated as a single, non-profit entity, is separated into three areas of operation, or districts…north, central and south…each with a district board to oversee local operations. A state board, which includes an executive committee comprised of representatives of the three district boards, is the overall governing board.

Some of our accomplishments in 2006-2007 were:

Grew our program outreach by 26% impacting 28,882 students statewide, nearly doubling our program reach since 2003
Received the JA Worldwide Phoenix Award presented to JANJ on October12, 2007 in recognition of its complete operational turnaround. This award represents a series of successes including a return to financial solvency and a dramatic growth of student participation over a three-year period.
Placed in the top 10% of all JA areas in the USA for student growth, ranking 37th out of 140 area operations
Realized a surplus and started the new fiscal year debt free
Implemented the New Jersey Business Hall of Fame™ (NJBHOF) event for the state of New Jersey, held on April 19, 2007
Successfully increased whole-school marketing approach through JA In-a-Day program events

FYE 6.30.2007 24 companies partnered with 42 NJ schools

Fiscal year (6/30/08) ends with success...

For the 4th straight year, JANJ celebrates another milestone of program growth & financial stability, reaching 30,600+ children in NJ, doubling the number of children reached 4 years ago!

JANJ qualifies for 1st Summit Award in its history since merger of 2001…
Junior Achievement of New Jersey has been awarded the non-profit organization’s Bronze Summit Award. The Summit Award is one of Junior Achievement’s highest honors. It is given by JA Worldwide® Headquarters to local JA offices that have reached outstanding success in financial health, program quality, management effectiveness, and program growth.

Board Personal Giving Campaign yields unprecedented results...
99% of our board members & 100% of our staff have contributed personally this year & raised more than $70,000. Foundations will be impressed to hear that nearly 100% of our board & staff have “skin in the game.” Congratulations to the South Board for achieving 100% first.

JANJ receives Phoenix Award for Organizational Turnaround, October 2007
The JA Phoenix Award is given by JA Worldwide to the franchise that has exhibited the greatest turnaround on several fronts, including funding, volunteer recruitment and student reach.

State Board Leadership expands by 18% / Exceeded goal (5%) Growth of State Board Leadership

John Beatrice	Partner	Ernst and Young, LLP
Pamela J. Craig	Chief Financial Officer	Accenture
Nicholas De Tura	SVP Supply Chain & Procurement, NA Region	Alcatel-Lucent
Chris Delaney	President, Emerging Markets	Campbell Soup Co.
Yvette Donado	SVP People, Process & Communications Services	ETS
Dino Robusto	Executive Vice President Chief Administrative Officer (Chief Claim Officer)	Chubb Corporation

Inaugural Marketing Task Force is assembled
Many thanks to Bill Ballinger, Brian Dunlap, Dan Walsh and Dave Weaving for developing the executive peer to peer solicitation tool.

Business – Education partnerships grow by 33%
FYE 6.30.2008: 36 companies partnered with 63 NJ schools

Fiscal year (6/30/09) caps off five robust years of program growth and financial stability

JANJ receives “The Summit Award” for exceptional performance during the 2008-2009 year, again being recognized for operational soundness- i.e., financial health, program quality / growth, and management effectiveness. JANJ was one of only a few operations to receive this honor at a reception in DC last week, hosted by JA Worldwide and their Boards of Directors!
31,739 students reached
Capital One/Junior Achievement Mobile Finance Park™ initiated in Newark, NJ – this innovative hands-on facility corresponds with a life-simulation curriculum that teaches youth how to save, invest, and shop wisely to take care of their families.
Introduced New State Board Director of the fiscal year 08-09, Cory Thackeray, Managing Director / Goldman, Sachs & Co.
JA Directors & Staff for being invited to the New Jersey Partnership for 21st Century Skills Advisory Council, led by Department of Education and Commissioner Lucille Davy.