Junior Achievement of Dallas Receives $1.2 million Gift from Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott
Junior Achievement of Dallas announced today that it has received a gift of $1.2 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The gift is part of a total of $38.8 million donated to Junior Achievement USA and JA operations in 26 communities across the country. This is the largest gift from a single donor in the organization’s 103-year history.
“We greatly appreciate the generosity of MacKenzie Scott for this amazing gift to our organization,” said JA Dallas President & CEO Jan Murfield. “We see this investment as recognition of the passion and commitment of the business leaders, educators, volunteers, and other partners who support Junior Achievement in our community. This gift will allow us to expand the in-person and virtual programs that have seen a dramatic increase in demand and will impact students’ lives.”
In 2021-2022, Junior Achievement of Dallas served more than 113,000 of Dallas’ one million school-age students. The JA Dallas service area includes some of the region’s most under-resourced communities, with nearly 80% of the student population considered economically disadvantaged.
In the past two years, JA Dallas has more than doubled its student reach by expanding its program offerings to better suit the needs of students during the pandemic. By increasing virtual access to JA resources, JA Dallas has been able to increase its geographic and socio-economic impact throughout North Texas. The gift is part of JA Dallas’ larger fundraising campaign to continue transformation of our education curriculum, meet the growing demand, build sustainability, and support for our vision for young people to have the mindset and skillset to build thriving communities.
About Junior Achievement of Dallas (JA Dallas):
Junior Achievement of Dallas (JA Dallas), a nonprofit organization, impacts the lives of students by teaching life skills in budgeting, careers, and business start-ups. JA Dallas’ mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy through volunteer-delivered curriculum. The organization has been in Dallas for more than 65 years and has reached over 1.5 million students. JA Dallas is committed to serving students in under-resourced areas to grow diversity, be more inclusive, and ensure students have equitable access to JA resources. Last year, over 2,000 volunteers helped change the lives of more than 106,000 Dallas area students through JA programs. Surveys show that students who take JA have a high school graduation rate of 93% compared to 85% for the general population, and 67% have an advanced post-secondary degree.
Contact:
Holly Preston
Marketing and Communications Manager
(817) 266-4868
hpreston@jadallas.org