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Junior Achievement USA (National Office)

CharityWatch report issued
May 2021

Top-Rated Charity
A-
CharityWatch Grade
Our independent grade based
on a number of factors.
 
76%
Program Percentage
Amount spent on programs
relative to overhead.
 
$11
Cost to Raise $100
Amount spent to raise
$100 of contributions.

Contact Information

Junior Achievement USA (National Office)
One Education Way
Colorado Springs, CO 80906

Other Names

JA Worldwide
Junior Achievement

Tax Status

501(c)3

Website

www.ja.org

Stated Mission

Empowers young people to own their economic success through volunteer-delivered programs which give students knowledge & skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship.

View similar charities
Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 06/30/2019

Program Percentage: 76%

The percentage of Junior Achievement USA (National Office)'s cash budget it spends on programs relative to overhead (fundraising, management, and general expenses).

$23,000,000

Calculated Total Expenses

(rounded)

 

Cost to Raise $100: $11

How many dollars Junior Achievement USA (National Office) spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions.

$15,000,000

Calculated Total Contributions

(rounded)

Government Funding

0% to 24%

Percentage of cash revenue
coming from government sources

 

Financial Documents

Entity Document Type Tax ID
Junior Achievement USA IRS Form 990 84-1267604
3DE National, LLC IRS Form 990 83-1444494
Junior Achievement USA Audited Consolidated Financial Statements Multiple
Entity: Junior Achievement USA
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 84-1267604
Entity: 3DE National, LLC
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 83-1444494
Entity: Junior Achievement USA
Document Type: Audited Consolidated Financial Statements
Tax ID: Multiple

Governance & Transparency

CharityWatch evaluates certain criteria related to a charity's Governance and Transparency. Donors may want to consider a charity's willingness to be open and transparent with CharityWatch to be a good litmus test for determining its commitment to public accountability.
This charity is Top-Rated
What does it mean to be Top-Rated?
 
Junior Achievement USA (National Office)
meets governance benchmarks.
 
Junior Achievement USA (National Office)
meets transparency benchmarks.
Transparency
Provides Financial Information
Audit Accessibility
Governance: Policies
Reports regularly & consistently monitoring & enforcing compliance with a written Conflict of Interest Policy
Reports required, annual disclosure by officers, directors, and key staff of interests that could give rise to conflicts
Reports having a written Whistleblower Policy
Reports having a written Document Retention and Destruction Policy
Governance: Financials
Reports providing copy of tax form to all board members prior to filing it with IRS
Reports that financial statements were audited by an independent accountant
Governance: Board of Directors
Reports at least 5 voting board members
51% or more of voting board members reported as independent
Reports documenting minutes of board and board committee meetings
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy No Sharing  

  Name Title Compensation
1 Jack E. Kosakowski President/CEO $566,224
2 Cecil Thibodeaux Executive VP $420,377
3 Timothy Greinert Senior VP, Development $342,381
1
Name: Jack E. Kosakowski
Title: President/CEO
Compensation: $566,224
2
Name: Cecil Thibodeaux
Title: Executive VP
Compensation: $420,377
3
Name: Timothy Greinert
Title: Senior VP, Development
Compensation: $342,381

CharityWatch Analysts perform an in-depth analysis of charities' audited financial statements and IRS tax filings, and often review other documents such as state filings, annual reports, and fundraising contracts during their evaluations. Below are select notes that CharityWatch believes may be of interest to donors.

According to the Junior Achievement USA consolidated audit of June 30, 2019 (Note 1 re: Nature of Operations):

"Junior Achievement USA® is the Regional Operating Center for the United States and reaches out to the local community through a network of area offices who educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise, business and economics to improve the quality of their lives. ... An area office is a community-based organization that serves a specific geographic area. Each area office is incorporated under the guidelines of its respective state and by-laws, which govern the actions and responsibilities of the area office's Board of Directors. The Regional Operating Center and the area offices join together under the terms of a signed agreement whose guiding principle is mutual support. As of June 30, 2019, 106 U.S. area offices provided programs in 50 states. The area offices' financial statements are not included in the financial statements of Junior Achievement USA, since it does not have a controlling interest in the area offices' Board of Directors or a financial interest in the area offices' operations..."


CharityWatch's rating of Junior Achievement USA does not include the activities of the 106 U.S. area offices since the area offices' financial statements are not included in the Junior Achievement USA audited consolidated financial statements (as noted above).

The rating does include the financial activities of 3DE National, LLC, a 501(c)(3) public charity wholly-owned by Junior Achievement USA, which are consolidated in the Junior Achievement USA audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. All material intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in the audited consolidated financial statements.

According to the Junior Achievement USA consolidated audit of June 30, 2019 (Note 1 re: In-kind Contributions):

"In addition to receiving cash contributions, the Organization received in-kind contributions of software, services and other gifts from various donors. ... For the years ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, $890,014 and $666,375, respectively, was received as in-kind contributions."

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the Junior Achievement USA consolidated audit of June 30, 2019 (Note 13, Significant Estimates and Concentrations, Contribution Concentrations):

"Contribution revenue (including grants and in-kind contributions) of $10,804,205 and $6,616,206 in 2019 and 2018, comprised approximately 35% of the Organization's total support and revenue. Approximately 75% of contribution revenue was received from four donors in 2019. No individual donors exceeded 20% of contribution revenue in 2018."

According to the Junior Achievement USA consolidated audit of June 30, 2019 (Note 12, Related-party Transactions, Activity with JA Worldwide, Inc.):

"The Organization and JA Worldwide, Inc. are related parties that are not financially interrelated organizations. Through a contractual agreement, JA Worldwide, Inc. purchased fund raising, accounting and administrative support services from Junior Achievement USA® totaling $3,073 and $2,970 during 2019 and 2018, respectively. Through a license fee agreement between JA Worldwide, Inc. and the Organization, JA Worldwide, Inc. assessed a license fee of 1% of prior fiscal year gross revenues of each of the local area offices for their use of logos and trademarks owned by JA Worldwide, Inc. The Organization remits this fee to JA Worldwide, Inc. from the license fees the Organization collects from each local area office. As a result, the Organization recorded an expense of $1,338,376 and $1,355,497 during 2019 and 2018 respectively, to JA Worldwide, Inc..."


According to the Junior Achievement USA consolidated audit of June 30, 2019 (Note 12, Related-party Transactions, Activity with USA Area Offices):

"The Organization also receives license fee income from area offices. These fees totaled $4,915,286 and $4,956,046 for the years ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively..."

According to the Junior Achievement USA (JA USA) tax filing for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, JA USA reports re: Compensation, Supplemental Information (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part III):

Regarding nonfixed payments to officers, directors, trustees, key employees and highest compensated employees (Schedule J, Part I, Line 7):

"There are two key components of the executive compensation philosophy of JA USA:

1. Reward for performance

2. Provide reasonable and competitive pay packages with those offered to leaders of organizations comparable to JA USA in terms of size, complexity and mission impact.

"As part of the reward for performance the executive compensation subcommittee (the committee) of the board of governors has adopted the management incentive compensation plan (MIC). MIC is intended to stimulate and reward results and achievement necessary to accomplish the multiple objectives of JA USA's strategic plan. The MIC plan is designed to:

A) Motivate growth in total revenue and program impact to enhance services to the community.

B) Link accomplishment of the organization's mission and objectives with the compensation of the organization's managers.

C) Control costs by providing variable compensation based on performance to enhance affordability and offering a competitive incentive and total cash compensation program

D) Enhance the focus, motivation and retention of key organizational managers.

"In setting the annual incentive compensation opportunities for the MIC for each executive, the committee targets the median of the comparable market data for that executive's position for target performance and the upper quartile of the comparable market data for that executive's position for superior performance. There is a cap on the amount of incentive that any executive can earn from the MIC.

"The committee uses discretion in determining the level or achievement of certain performance measurements. The committee also annually examines the comparable market data for these positions...

"The governors may, in their sole discretion, and at any time, elect to amend, suspend, or terminate the plan."


JA USA reports "Bonus & incentive compensation" payments to nine individuals in calendar year 2018, including $66,843 paid to Jack E. Kosakowski, President & CEO, and $47,751 paid to Cecil Thibodeaux, EVP. Their reported total compensation in 2018 is $566,224 and $420,377, respectively. The "Bonus & incentive compensation" payments to the other seven individuals ranged from $29,270 to $16,265, with associated total compensation ranging from $342,381 to $155,659 (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part II).


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