Accenture Gives $2 Million to Support Junior Achievement Technology Platform Development
NEW YORK; December 13, 2005 – As part of the Accenture Corporate Citizenship Investment Program, Accenture* today announced a $2 million (USD) grant to JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement) to support the development and implementation of a new technology platform. The platform, which is designed to more effectively manage the organization’s worldwide operations, will allow JA Worldwide to focus more resources on increasing the number of students it reaches around the world with its business education programs.
The donation comprises a cash gift of $1.5 million (USD) by the Accenture Foundations, coupled with $500,000 of in-kind consulting and related services, which leverage Accenture’s leading technology capabilities. The in-kind consulting services include approximately 3,000 hours of service focused on program management, change management, technology design and systems integration expertise.
JA Worldwide is the world’s foremost organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and free enterprise. JA Worldwide’s programs teach primary and secondary aged schoolchildren of all backgrounds and income levels the importance of workforce readiness, personal financial literacy, ethics and character, citizenship and entrepreneurship.
Accenture has a long-standing relationship with Junior Achievement. The company’s support to-date includes funding, Board participation and volunteer activity. JA Worldwide is supported by Accenture offices around the world and is one of four key charitable organizations specifically supported by Accenture’s U.S. operations.
"Junior Achievement and Accenture share a history together – as well as many core competencies," said Vernon Ellis, Accenture’s international chairman and chairman of Accenture’s Corporate Citizenship Council. "The organization produces significant, tangible results and impacts students from a leadership and mentoring perspective. Through this funding, Accenture will help Junior Achievement leverage technology to increase the educational opportunities provided to the world’s future business leaders."
The grant, which will be dispersed over the next three years, will help JA Worldwide improve collaboration across its global organization, improve overall business operations and reduce operational costs. Specifically, the technology platform will allow JA Worldwide offices to more effectively monitor key aspects of its operations, including:
- Students – enable the organization to more efficiently track the number of students served by its programs on a continual basis, giving it the ability to better measure the reach and effectiveness of its business education programs
- Volunteers – monitor the number of volunteers in each location and better target recruiting programs to increase volunteers in underserved areas
- Donors – allow a single view of donor information across the organization, increasing organization’s ability to market new programs to key donors
“As a nonprofit organization, JA Worldwide is continually seeking ways to improve organizational efficiency in order to ensure we are good stewards of the donations we receive,” said David. S. Chernow, president and chief executive officer of JA Worldwide. “This generous grant from Accenture will fundamentally improve the way we do business and, in turn, will help us direct our focus even more on improving the lives of children through business and entrepreneurship program implementation.”
The project will be performed in four phases:
- Phase One –definition of the business requirements and development of the workplan
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- Phase Two – design and development of the new platform
- Phase Three – pilot deployment of the new platform in up to 20 JA Worldwide global locations
- Phase Four – deployment of the new platform to the remaining JA Worldwide global locations
“We’re proud to be a part of this project,” said Ellis. “Essentially our end-goal is to support JA Worldwide in becoming a high-performing organization.”
*References to Accenture include Accenture Ltd and its subsidiaries as well as independent charitable organizations that bear the Accenture name.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills, and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With more than 123,000 people in 48 countries, the company generated net revenues of US $15.55 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
About JA Worldwide
JA Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and entrepreneurship. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA Worldwide offers educational programs that focus on seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. Today, 142 offices reach approximately four million students in the United States, with more than three million students served by operations in 96 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.
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Laura Ryan
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